GDT: Panthers @ Capitals 7 PM "Disconnect" (Alternative Title: #PirriFreed)

[CanadianPantherFan]

I wanted Ekblad for 18 months if we bottomed out again. Swede background and a Canadian, cmon now that's great genes! But seriously, if Eberle, EKane and Simmonds guys were dangled plus in some cases a top 8-9 pick for Ehlers/Nylander that was viable option for me. Look at our offense currently, puke.

But I did say to many early on Ekblad was runaway choice at #1 if we kept the pick. Most confident I've been on us selecting the guy we needed going back to Guds or even further back than that.

 

[Dread Clawz]

I know, I know... Don't worry !

I just remember some really heated arguments with what seemed to be the whole board at the time, trying to convince guys that having the first pick in 2014 was a blessing and not be afraid of picking a defenseman first, because Ekblad was really something else, he was THE pick.

Didn't saw the game tonight, only OT and SO... Did we play as good 5-on-5 as the last few games ?

This team is really growing IMO, and as you said, we should be kind of scary when Bjugstad and Barkov start firing on all cylinders... Bjugstad is making big strides these last couple of games... He just needs a goal to get the monkey off his back... Like Barkov !

Yes, although the Caps really turned on the heat in 2nd period. But we played hard. We limited Ovechkin to 1 shot in regulation I believe. We clearly owned the 3rd period. The Caps had some chances late though. All in all though we played well defensively again. Montoya was definitely 1st star though. When there were breakdowns, he was amazing. The offense was hard to watch though.

But clearly that's not going to be this team's strength this season anyway. Bjugs is playing a lot better than the first couple games. Barky is still in a funk though. He's still playing great defense.

 

[Dread Clawz]

I have watched the Oilers the 2nd most this season behind Panthers. Why?? Because they make me feel better about my team and its like watching a train wreck live. The fans at home add to the drama. In closing, they are worst team in league by a mile with that defense, coaching, and historically bad goaltending over past decade.

They make me feel so good about the Panthers.

That would be me. MR and I do agree on a lot of talent evals in summer and on who to draft. We missed BIG on one fellow, but please forgive us

He's doing pretty good in the AHL this season...keep the faith!

 

[Dread Clawz]

I just think Ekblad has so much confidence. You look at his attitude, you can tell he's not cocky, but you can tell he's confident. He sets goals for himself and he pretty much meets the goal and then some. You add that with his great hockey sense and skill, you got a great hockey player. Not good. Great.

I remember there was talk about him possibly not staying on the team for the whole season, mostly based on the preseason performance he had. I'll admit, I was a little nervous about him with the stats he had, but I'm happy to say I was worried about nothing. I think now we can all agree that it would be an absolute crime to send him back to Barrie. He'll only get better staying in Florida.

IMO what separates Ekblad from his peers is his work ethic and dedication to the game. It really is top level. He is always 100% focused on being the best player he can be, and you can see it in his play. That's why he's the guy I wanted us to draft, his attitude and approach to the game is just what you want to see out of every hockey player.

 

[Crossbar]

Ekblad also is starting a nhl career with Mark Morris as a defensive coach. It's gotta help his confidence and development.

This. Just look at the improved play of Guds and Kuli, this guy seems to know how to handle d-men well. Thank god EkB isn't out there with Jovo too.

 

[Dread Clawz]

This. Just look at the improved play of Guds and Kuli, this guy seems to know how to handle d-men well. Thank god EkB isn't out there with Jovo too.

OMG, can you imagine? That may have been one of the best moves of the offseason. Dale's like, ok we drafted Ekblad? Now we gotta buy out Jovo guys.

 

[ProjectPanthers]

I re-watched a condensed version of the game and I do have a few drinks in me, but I'm starting to feel a bit better about this team.

Our defense has taken leaps and bounds compared to last season. Montoya definitely stood on his head tonight, but he only had to make 3 or 4 really BIG saves, and that's expected of goaltenders almost every night. He played fantastic but the defense only really left him hanging on those few chances. He made key saves when Washington made good plays, but our defense was strong for most of the night. Go check out the Caps board, they're talking about how stingy and difficult our D made it for them to create chances. Others have already mentioned this but the Caps were red-hot offensively going into this game and WE were the ones on the tail-end of a back-to-back. That is nothing to throw aside.

Offensively we stink. Nothing is going our way now, but I think that we'll change. As I said before, we aren't going to burn out the goal lamp or anything, but we definitely will not be scoring 1 goal a game for the rest of the season. We have some new guys in place and a new coaching staff, so things are taking some time to gel. Hopefully we gain some chemistry with the new players because right now Jokinen looks like such an awful signing and the jury is still out on Bolland, but unfortunately he'll never live up to his contract.

The Killer B line being reunited is a great thing because those 3 had a ton of chemistry last year and were on fire. I think it will help Barky find his step offensively. Although some of you have bashed him, Huberdeau has looked a lot better this season. Yes he's still not finishing chances, but no one is right now. The team is obviously in its own head right now. I think he's still going to have a solid bounce back season. He looks stronger out there and is MUCH more noticeable than last year. I think him and Bjugs are learning each other's playing style and hopefully will build off their play tonight going forward.

Colorado is struggling and I hope we come out swinging on Tuesday. Another win would be great for the locker room and would help erase whatever happened in the first week and a half of the season.

 

[Blades of Steel]

Hey guys, Caps fan here. I wanted to say i'm incredibly impressed with how well your Defense played and that kid Ekblad is going to be something special, congrats on him. The Caps are the only team to get 27 shots on goal vs you guys, the other teams you played were around 23-24. That's damn good defense at the end of the day, Ovechkin was shut down.

Good game.

 

[BabyBennettov]

They make me feel so good about the Panthers.





He's doing pretty good in the AHL this season...keep the faith!

Who are you talking about ?

That moron KHayes ?

 

[SoupyFIN]

Edit: Also, you're clearly defending Finland if you're making excuses for Jokinen. C'mon.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=90201717&postcount=239

To quote my own words, "I don't think anyone was expecting that Jokinen is some kind of a offensive superstar that's magicly going to transform Florida's offense by himself.".

 

[PanthersHockey1]

At least our defense is something positive to build off. Taking out first period of NJ, we have surrendered only 6 goals in 5 games.

 

[NewEraPanther]

This game should help everyone see we will be competitive this year. Washington was red hot and we held them to one regulation goal.

Personally I love our chances at both Colorado and Phoenix. While our offense has struggled the chances are there and I believe eventually they will be converted into goals. Hub and Bjugs efforts are too consistent not to be converting.


Watch the Cats come back to BBT going 3-0-1 on the road trip and the start of our season looks very promising.

 

[floridada]

I told ya guys.

Pick Reinhart or Bennett and half you guys would be on suicide watch right about now.

Man is that the truth lol

I'm so glad that we picked Ekblad now. Kid is going to be a total stud for us.

 

[PBPantherfan]

That's great and all, but in the shootout you are a sitting duck as a goalie. The shooter has complete control of the situation. The shootout isn't hockey, it's a gimmick. Obviously no player is going to score on every shot. I don't see how the goalie has the advantage.

Goalies are 2x more successful in the shootout than the shooters but you don't think they have some type of advantage? And I never said that the shootout wasn't a gimmick but the numbers over time don't lie. You don't get a 2:1 ratio saves to goals without an advantage.

 

[RainingRats]

I re-watched a condensed version of the game and I do have a few drinks in me, but I'm starting to feel a bit better about this team.

Our defense has taken leaps and bounds compared to last season. Montoya definitely stood on his head tonight, but he only had to make 3 or 4 really BIG saves, and that's expected of goaltenders almost every night. He played fantastic but the defense only really left him hanging on those few chances. He made key saves when Washington made good plays, but our defense was strong for most of the night. Go check out the Caps board, they're talking about how stingy and difficult our D made it for them to create chances. Others have already mentioned this but the Caps were red-hot offensively going into this game and WE were the ones on the tail-end of a back-to-back. That is nothing to throw aside.

Offensively we stink. Nothing is going our way now, but I think that we'll change. As I said before, we aren't going to burn out the goal lamp or anything, but we definitely will not be scoring 1 goal a game for the rest of the season. We have some new guys in place and a new coaching staff, so things are taking some time to gel. Hopefully we gain some chemistry with the new players because right now Jokinen looks like such an awful signing and the jury is still out on Bolland, but unfortunately he'll never live up to his contract.

The Killer B line being reunited is a great thing because those 3 had a ton of chemistry last year and were on fire. I think it will help Barky find his step offensively. Although some of you have bashed him, Huberdeau has looked a lot better this season. Yes he's still not finishing chances, but no one is right now. The team is obviously in its own head right now. I think he's still going to have a solid bounce back season. He looks stronger out there and is MUCH more noticeable than last year. I think him and Bjugs are learning each other's playing style and hopefully will build off their play tonight going forward.

Colorado is struggling and I hope we come out swinging on Tuesday. Another win would be great for the locker room and would help erase whatever happened in the first week and a half of the season.

Despite your alcohol intake this is a really good post. What I bolded is key for us. We're starting to limit the number of high quality chances. Washington got a decent number of shots on goal but they were mostly from the perimeter and harmless. Our ability to get the puck out of our zone quickly has helped dramatically limit chances against.

Not sure what we can do about the offense. Eventually they will start scoring a bit more but we will probably be bottom 1/3 in the league in offense. I think if we really work on the PP that's our best shot to increase goal scoring. Might need to make a trade too for a winger.

 

[Haj]

Huberdeau has been the best forward of the season thus far.

Improvement on the power play is critical to success since the team is starved for goals.

Although Barkov is still in a funk, its great that his defensive play is still solid. That is a pretty mature characteristic for a 19 year old

 

[Ghoste]

Yeah, Huby is working very hard out there.

I know a lot of you are on Olsen but for me, Soupy hasn't been impressive so far. He's had a few 'wtf' decisions out there so far.

-ghoste

 

[Cats2TheCup]

There were a few people that wanted a trade so we could pick Nylander or Ehlers and get a player who can help now on top of one of those two. I'm glad we went with Ekblad. He's going to be a superstar.

Ekblad has played great. Exceeded expectations. However we are literally last in the league in goals scored with 5 goals in 5 games. Three teams have scored 20 goals in the same amount of time. Getting a guy like Kane or Eberle and Ehlers/Nylander would have been helpful too.

 

[Panthers607]

Disappointing to lose the shoutout but so good to see Ekblad play well.
One goal a game will not cut it obviously... I wonder if DT got something up his sleeve

 

[Dread Clawz]

Yeah, Huby is working very hard out there.

I know a lot of you are on Olsen but for me, Soupy hasn't been impressive so far. He's had a few 'wtf' decisions out there so far.

-ghoste

Olsen had a pretty good game. Soupy is better than the last two years but still not good enough.

 

[IM Clutcm]

Ekblad has played great. Exceeded expectations. However we are literally last in the league in goals scored with 5 goals in 5 games. Three teams have scored 20 goals in the same amount of time. Getting a guy like Kane or Eberle and Ehlers/Nylander would have been helpful too.

But there's no way the Panthers could have gotten either of those guys back as well as a high pick in the first round. Ekblad was the right choice. A first line center and a top pairing defenseman are the two hardest spots on a roster to fill, and the Panthers have filled them in the last two drafts.

 

[jrockett1096]

Huberdeau has been the best forward of the season thus far.

Improvement on the power play is critical to success since the team is starved for goals.

Although Barkov is still in a funk, its great that his defensive play is still solid. That is a pretty mature characteristic for a 19 year old

I would say D. Mac has been the best forward this year which ain't good but has been all over the ice and was a great signing. Huby is working hard and making little plays here and there but him and our other so called "scorers" have to produce actual stats. My concern is getting more from Barkov. He's our no. 1 center and most of the time he's eithrr figure skating or playing a checking line center type game. This has to change ASAP.

 

[LUUUUUIS]

It's funny how people become more optimistic as the sample size increases. I was pretty close to believing that 3 games makes a season.

 

[IM Clutcm]

It's funny how people become more optimistic as the sample size increases. I was pretty close to believing that 3 games makes a season.

So you're saying that it takes more than 3 games to accurately judge a team? Who knew?

 

[Cats2TheCup]

But there's no way the Panthers could have gotten either of those guys back as well as a high pick in the first round. Ekblad was the right choice. A first line center and a top pairing defenseman are the two hardest spots on a roster to fill, and the Panthers have filled them in the last two drafts.

I think that's true and that if we could've, we would've. Next years 1st overall could have easily gotten that return and more. I wonder if MacKinnon would have? Maybe not. Either way I'm very happy with Ekblad's performance and relieved that he isn't a liability. He's at times the best player on the ice. He came as advertised. Him and Barky should be making some sweet music together soon on the power play.