FORT LAUDERDALE – The Cats are gearing up to play another team with playoff aspirations.
After dropping a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena – their first game since All-Star break – the Florida Panthers will have a chance to get back on track against Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Despite occupying second place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 31-15-4, the Panthers are far from content with their place in the standings and want to keep their foot on the gas.
“We need the two points,” forward Ryan Lomberg said after Wednesday’s practice at the Baptist Health IcePlex. “It’s not the time to be dropping two in a row.”
With 51 points (22-19-7) and a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games, the Capitals sit seven points outside of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
As many in Florida know, anything is possible in the second half of the season in the NHL.
“They’re in a similar spot to where we were last year, kind of on the outside looking in, so they’re going to come desperate and we got to be able to take care of business,” said Lomberg.
The schedule also won’t get any easier for the Cats as they will finish their three-game homestand Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche, who are tied for the third-most points (68 points) in the NHL.
“This is the most exciting part of the year and looking forward to playoffs and getting our game ready,” said forward Carter Verhaeghe.
CARTER VS THE CAPS
He might be one of the NHL’s most underrated players, but Verhaeghe is certainly becoming more known in the DMV.
In his last 10 games (regular and postseason) against the Capitals, Verhaeghe has produced 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) and has +12 plus/minus rating.
“I think I just like to shoot the puck when I play,” said Verhaeghe, who ranks second on the Panthers with 25 goals this season. “Sometimes against certain teams they go in a little bit more, but there’s nothing really to it. They’re a really good team and tough to play against.” To watch the Cats take on the Caps in Sunrise tomorrow, click HERE for tickets.
HIT ME UP
Players around the NHL woke up to new hit totals this morning.
In an ongoing effort to provide the most accurate data possible, the NHL has officially completed a “comprehensive audit” of hits in every game this season on Wednesday.
Moving forward, all reporting of hits will keep to this new standard.
“You want a certain amount of physicality, but [hits] are a tell to puck possession as well,” head coach Paul Maurice said when asked how he judges the impact of hits. “We want certain hits finished and it has more to do with where the puck is than anything else and if we can influence where the puck goes and how it’s moved by physicality. There’s certain players that aren’t built to finish every check and some that are, so we encourage them to be true to their build.”
Taking a look at the new numbers, more than a few Panthers saw a large increase to their hits total this season. Sam Bennett jumped from 61 to 85, Ryan Lomberg shot up from 77 to 101 and Niko Mikkola, who remains the team’s hits leader, saw an increase of 90 to 114.
To view all the new totals, visit NHL.com/Stats.
WEDNESDAY’S PRACTICE LINES
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Steven Lorentz – Will Lockwood
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
