Hit The Ice:
The Panthers entered Sunday looking at the first of two big games in a row. They didn’t disappoint in game number one, beating Ottawa in regulation, closing within 1 point of the Senators. They also kept pace with tonight’s opponent, the Boston Bruins, remaining 4 back as the Bruins won their game against Carolina. This second big game promises to be just as hotly contested as the last one. The playoff feeling is in the air and that’s exactly what we want. Can the Panthers do it again? Will they treat everyone with more offensive goodness? On to the game!
Know Your Enemy:
Panthers All-Time Record v. Boston: 33-36-6 with 6 ties
All-Time Record v. Boston on the Road: 18-19-1 with 4 ties
2014-15 Season Record v. Boston: 1-0-1
Last Game: 3/21/15 @ BB&T Center, Panthers won 2-1 in the shootout
The Boston Bruins are no stranger to the Panthers faithful. This game has been vigorously circled on the calendar since the Panthers skated off victorious on March 21. As of tonight’s game, the Bruins hold the 2nd and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 89 points. While they have gone 2-1-1 since their defeat at the hands of the Panthers, that four game run has come in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fashion. The 2-1 shootout defeat was followed by a 5-3 clobbering at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. That loss was then followed by a narrow overtime defeat to the now league leading Anaheim Ducks. Then the Bruins rattled off two victories in a row, first a 4-2 regulation win over the Metropolitan Division leading New York Rangers and then a slim 2-1 overtime victory over the McEichel Derby entrant Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins have, however, gotten back one of their key pieces, as David Krejci is off the mend and on the ice. He has potted two assists in three games since returning. As for the rest of the team, David Pastrnak leads the way for the Bruins with four points in four games, while Torey Krug, Ryan Spooner, Carl Soderberg, and Patrice Bergeron all have three points. Tuukka Rask has done all right in net as well, making 81 saves on 89 shots, while his backup has not done as well in two appearances, giving up 3 goals on 25 shots.
Historical Data Courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com
The Rundown:
Panthers Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Nick Bjugstad (24)
Assists: Jonathan Huberdeau (36)
Points: Jonathan Huberdeau (49)
SAT Relative: Brian Campbell (+4.3%)
Scoring Chances Relative: Brian Campbell (+6.2%)
Individual Shot Attempts (Total): Nick Bjugstad (238)
Individual Shot Attempts (Rate/60): Brandon Pirri (17.9)
Power Play: 15.8% (36 for 228, 27th)
Penalty Kill: 80.2% (186 for 232, 22nd)
Bruins Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Brad Marchand (22)
Assists: Patrice Bergeron & Dougie Hamilton (32)
Points: Patrice Bergeron (53)
SAT Relative: Patrice Bergeron (+9.1%)
Scoring Chances Relative: Patrice Bergeron (+11.5%)
Individual Shot Attempts (Total): Patrice Bergeron (263)
Individual Shot Attempts (Rate/60): David Pastrnak & Patrice Bergeron (16.1)
Power Play: 18.4% (36 for 196, 17th)
Penalty Kill: 81.9% (186 for 227, 12th)
Data Courtesy of war-on-ice.com, Puckalytics.com, & NHL.com
The Hat Trick:
Another Majorly Important Game: The phrase “Most important game of the season” has been thrown around a lot lately. That suggestion hasn’t been wrong either. It was correct each previous time it has been used and it is correct for tonight’s game as well. Each game has been bigger than the last because the Panthers keep finding ways to hang in there. Tonight, the steaks are higher and the challenge is tougher. The situation is simple: a regulation win tonight brings the Panthers within two points of the Bruins for the final Wild Card spot. However, in order to achieve that, the Panthers will need to win in an arena that has not been kind to them of late. They are 1-8-1 in their last ten games at TD Garden, and they have been held winless the last seven games. The last Panthers victory at TD Garden came on December 8, 2011, a 2-0 shutout of the Bruins. Tomas Kopecky had the game winner with just 2:32 left in the 3rd period and Kris Versteeg added the empty net goal to seal the deal.
End of the Road: Tonight marks the final road game of the Florida Panthers regular season. Regardless of tonight’s outcome, this will be the first time the Panthers have had a winning record on the road since the 2008-09 season. They went 19-18-4 that year, contributing to an overall record of 41-30-11, the last time the Panthers had a 40 win season. This, however, is a season that Panther fans would likely want to forget, as they missed the playoffs by the slimmest of margins: losing their season series to Montreal, who had an identical record. With a win or overtime loss tonight though, the Panthers will secure the best road record in franchise history since the inaugural 1993-94 season. That year the Panthers went 18-16-8, for a total of 44 points. A win tonight will match that point total, but leave the Panthers three games over .500 at 18-15-8, which would result in the new franchise best by virtue of superior points percentage.
The Master and His Disciples: The spotlight has burned brightly upon the line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Jaromir Jagr lately. For good reason too, they have been spectacular. The line accounts for three of five Panthers with 10 or more points in the last 15 games. Huberdeau leads the team with 16 points, Jagr comes in second with 12, and Barkov rounds out the group with 10 points (The other two 10+ point players are Brandon Pirri and Jussi Jokinen). In all, the Panthers have scored 11 goals when the trio has been on the ice together during 5-on-5 play and have given up just 3 goals the other way. In fact, the line sees a general bump in just about every statistic when playing together, compared to their individual averages. The team shooting percentage with the line together is 13.0%, significantly higher than it is for Jagr (7.6%), Huberdeau (9.0%), and Barkov (6.7%). The same goes for SAT% (53.8% as a line, 51.3% for Jagr individually, and 51.1% for both Huberdeau and Barkov individually). The line even starts more of their shifts in the defensive zone, with a 43.3 OZS%. While the PDO for the line is unsustainably through the roof at 108.6%, much good is being done for the development of both Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. Though the hot streak will eventually fade, important lessons are being learned here.
Projected Lineup:
Florida Panthers
L1: Huberdeau | Barkov | Jagr
L2: Pirri | Trocheck | Boyes
L3: Jokinen | Bolland | Hayes
L4: Upshall | MacKenzie | Kopecky
D1: Campbell | Ekblad
D2: Mitchell | Gudbranson
D3: Kulikov | Petrovic
SG: Luongo
BG: Ellis
Boston Bruins
L1: Marchand | Bergeron | Krejci
L2: Lucic | Spooner | Pastrnak
L3: Smith | Soderberg | Eriksson
L4: Kelly | Campbell | Talbot
D1: Chara | Trotman
D2: Krug | Seidenberg
D3: Bartkowski | McQuaid
SG: Rask
BG: Svedberg
Courtesy of Daily Faceoff (Accurate as of 10:00 am)
Closing Thoughts:
It was so nice of Disney to give Milan Lucic his own full-length cartoon movie.
