NOTEBOOK: Stillman, Vatrano Score Twice in Panthers Final Scrimmage
1/12/21 Post Scrimmage Interviews
SUNRISE, Fla.- The Florida Panthers are making the most out of their extra time.
With the start of their season pushed back a few days, players took the ice for their second and final intrasquad scrimmage of training camp on Tuesday morning at BB&T Center, upping the tempo in preparation for their Opening Night battle against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
Led by a pair of goals from defenseman Riley Stillman, Team Red defeated Team Blue 5-2.
"I thought we did a lot of good things," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said, clearly pleased with the team's effort. "We tried to reinforce good habits. We saw a lot of that demonstrated. When you play at that type of pace, good things are going to happen. We liked what we saw."
After spending Monday's practice working on special teams, today's scrimmage consisted of strictly 5-on-5 play, with penalties leading to penalty shots rather than power plays. In terms of lineups, forward lines were steady throughout, while the defensive pairings were updated often.
Playing on a line with Brett Connolly and Vinnie Hinostroza, Noel Acciari opened the scoring in the first period when he tipped a shot past Chris Driedger to give Team Blue an early 1-0 lead.
"He's so predictable and had such a good year last year," Connolly said of Acciari, who scored a career-high 20 goals during his first season with Florida in 2019-20. "I think even last year, whenever guys were struggling and trying to find their game, especially offensive guys, it seemed like whenever they were put with Noel, it made it more simple for the guys."
Team Red's best scoring chance of the opening frame came with a little less than two minutes left on the clock after a puck sailed over the glass in the defensive zone and assistant coach Derek Mackenzie, who served as an official, blew his whistle to signal a delay-of-game penalty.
On the ensuing penalty shot, Sam Montembeault denied Aleksi Heponiemi's five-hole attempt.
With starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky still on the "unfit to play list," Quenneville said that he was impressed with how both Driedger and Montembeault performed during the scrimmage and added that right now he has a "pretty good idea" of who will be starting against the Blackhawks.
"We'll wait to see how that all plays out," Quenneville said.
Netting his first of two goals, Stillman pulled Team Red into a 1-1 tie after scoring on a penalty shot early in the second period. Skating in all alone on Montembeault, the 22-year-old quickly slammed on the brakes before smoothly slipping the puck around the goalie's outstretched pad.
Later in the middle frame, Stillman was able to show off the defensive side of his game as well. With Connolly heading down the ice on a partial breakaway, Stillman used his long reach to get just a piece of the puck with his stick and send it out of harm's way to defuse the scoring threat.
Spending most of the game with veteran Anton Stralman - a pairing we saw quite a bit of during Stillman's rookie season in 2019-20 - Quenneville said that he was "very noticeable" on the ice.
"Stiller had a big day today," Quenneville said. "I look around at who was the top guy on the ice, and today you have to put Stiller in that mix. A couple big goals and nice moves as well. Defensively, I thought he had good movement. I thought him and Straly were a good pair."
Breaking the tie in the third period, Frank Vatrano took a pass from Keith Yandle and banged home a shot past Montembeault from the blue paint to send Team Red ahead 2-1. Soon after, Driedger made his biggest save of the game, robbing Connolly of a goal from all alone in front.
With time ticking down in regulation, Anthony Duclair created a bit of drama when he followed his own rebound and lifted a shot over Driedger's glove to make it 2-2 with 5:07 left on the clock.
"There's a lot of options around our lineup," Connolly said of Florida's deep forward group. "Q is not afraid to switch it up, so all year guys are going to be pushing each other to be the best they can be to move up and down the lineup. We're just trying to get as many wins as possible. It's a short season, and we're going to need everybody to chip in and help us get to the playoffs."
Once the game got to overtime, Eetu Luostarinen showed off some serious skill when he teed up Radko Gudas for a one-timer with an incredibly nifty no-look pass from the slot. Left all alone just outside the left circle, Gudas then blasted the puck straight past Philippe Desrosiers, who replaced Montembeault in the extra frame, to lift Team Red an exciting 3-2 win over Team Blue.
One of several rookies that have looked good in camp, Luostarinen, who competed in eight NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, notched three points in last week's scrimmage.
"Luosty has had a really good training camp," Quenneville said of the 22-year-old. "I thought he looked really good today. Both sides of the puck, he's got a really good feel for the game. He can make plays, and defensively I think he's always been aware, being a safety guy that senses danger. I think in tight he sees and makes a lot of little plays. I like his patience with the puck."
Despite the game-winning goal being scored, the Panthers opted to finish the rest of overtime.
Lighting the lamp again, Stillman added to Team Red's advantage when he cut toward the net and sent a shot past Desrosiers to make it 4-2. Bringing his teammates to their feet - or should I say skates? - Patric Hornqvist yelled at him to "save that stick" following his two-goal showing.
Closing out overtime, Vatrano scored again, finishing off a tic-tac-toe sequence with Jonathan Huberdeau and Gudas to cap off a wild period of 3-on-3 and secure a 5-2 win for Team Red.
Overall, Quenneville liked the balance and execution he saw throughout the scrimmage.
"I thought the goalies were really good, really solid," Quenneville said. "I thought the D were sharp as well. There was a lot of quality chances against them as well, but the guys were moving. I thought there was more of a purpose when they did have the puck. Defensively, I thought we were stronger in all three zones. I think that there's some skill across the board on all lines where we should be able to make plays."
DECISIONS TO BE MADE
With their final scrimmage in the books, the Panthers have lot of decisions to make.
As it stands now, there are 30 players still in camp - not including Bobrovsky, Markus Nutivaara and Juho Lammikko who are both on the "unfit to play" list, and newcomer Noah Juulsen, who hasn't joined the team yet after being claimed off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
That means that, at some point in the near future, they'll have to start trimming things down as they begin to start carefully crafting both their 23-man roster and potential 4-6 player taxi squad.
Looking ahead, the Panthers will practice again on Wednesday before enjoying a day off on Thursday. After that, they'll practice for two straight days before hosting Chicago on Sunday.
Even though it's not a lot of time, there's still spots on the roster to be won.
"We'll get some exposure even more so over the next few days going into the opener," Quenneville said. "Nothing's etched in stone as far as who's playing with who yet."
PRISKIE LIVING THE DREAM
As a kid growing up in Pembroke Pines, Chase Priskie spent a lot of time at Panthers games.
His parents, mom Lisa and dad Jeff, were season ticket holders early on and took him to his first game at the franchise's old barn, the Miami Arena, when he was a few days shy of a month old.
Raised on hockey, he grew to love the sport and began learning to skate at Pines Ice Arena at an early age. From there, he went on to play hockey competitively at local rinks - including the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs - while studying the finer points of the game as a Jr. Panther.
"After the first skate we had, I just kind of stayed on the ice and looked around," Priskie said of returning to Sunrise. "I've seen hundreds of games in this building. It's a very special place for me. I spent a lot of time with my late father here. It just kind of gives me shivers talking about it."
Not satisfied simply visiting his old stomping grounds, Priskie wants to push for playing time.
Picked up from the Carolina Hurricanes at last year's NHL trade deadline, the 24-year-old has all the makings of a solid puck-moving defenseman. From manning the point on the power play to breaking up opposing passing attempts in the defensive zone, he can do a bit of everything.
Yet to make his NHL debut, he tallied eight goals and 27 assists in 57 AHL games in 2019-20.
"I'm excited to be part of the organization," said Priskie, who hopes to inspire the next generation of South Florida hockey players. "I'm excited to kind of get my name on the map and show that I can be an everyday defenseman and help this organization establish a new winning culture."
STARTING SCRIMMAGE LINES
TEAM RED
Forwards
Jonathan Huberdeau - Alex Wennberg - Patric Hornqvist
Frank Vatrano - Eetu Luostarinen - Owen Tippett
Mason Marchment - Aleksi Heponiemi - Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Riley Stillman - Anton Stralman
Gustav Forsling - Radko Gudas
Keith Yandle (rotating)
Goalies
Chris Driedger
TEAM BLUE
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Anthony Duclair
Vinnie Hinostroza - Noel Acciari - Brett Connolly
Grigori Denisenko - Cole Schwindt - Scott Wilson
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Kevin Connauton - Brady Keeper
Chase Priskie (rotating)
Goalies
Sam Montembeault
Philippe Desrosiers
