The NHL just SCREWED the Panthers... | Florida Panthers News

The NHL Department of Player Safety just screwed the Panthers. I'll tell you what happened and who is going to be missing a little bit of time. And there's going to be a player that's going to have to step up in this critical Game 5 and possibly another game moving forward to help this team defensively, as well as generate a little bit of offense so that way they can pull out a couple of wins in a player's absence. And head coach Paul Maurice is ready to move forward and hopefully close out this series tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. I will tell you what he has planned for tonight's game, as well as games moving forward, depending on what happens this evening. Guys, thank you for joining me on Panthers Digest. I am Greg Andrews. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button down below to stay up to date with all news, injuries, pre and post game analysis, anything and everything that has to do with your defending Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers. So guys, this was the big news as of yesterday. Ekblad has been suspended for two games because of his elbow that knocked over Hagel in game number four. The one thing that has been talked about with this ruling by the Department of Player Safety is it a little too harsh compared to what they allowed to kind of just slowly, easily get by for Hagel's hit on Barkov, which was a lot more ferocious, where it was clear shoulder to head. It looked to me like Ekblad did get in there. He did put the forearm and like kind of shove him. I wouldn't say it was a direct elbow to the face like you're doing MMA style. No, but he did get in there and shove him to the ground. And it looked like Hagel did hit his head against the ice, but I would say Hagel's hit on Barkov was a lot more ferocious and with intent to knock him out. So, and this is the first, by the way, this is the first suspension in Ekblad's 11 year career when it comes to the Department of Player Safety ruling. So for a first time suspension, I would say it's a little harsh. I can see why they made the ruling two games, because the series has been so physical. They're trying to send a message and say, guys, you're laying up big hits, but you've got to be careful. You know, we don't want, you know, players to succumb to massive big time injuries to miss critical time moving forward. I get it, but still, I think it's a little harsh. I think one game would have been plenty, a little bit too much. Guys, it was a little much for Aaron Ekblad being a first time offender. And again, to me, it wasn't like he took the elbow and came across his face and, you know, knocked him out or something. It was a heavy hit. He came in there, the elbow forearm, I would say more forearm, went under the chin and got his neck right there and kind of pushed him up and got him off his skates going backwards. So hard ruling for the Panthers. That's where I was saying they kind of got screwed on this one. Unfortunately, heading into this game number five and possibly game six, if the Panthers fall tonight, if they close out the series, that's going to be a really hard game for Ekblad to miss if it's game one going up, going off, sorry, going up against a potential matchup with either the Ottawa Senators or the Toronto Maple Leafs. Right now it's looking like it's going to be the Maple Leafs, but again, a really harsh ruling, I would say, you know, I don't think it's really that fair. So as we're looking forward with this, the other thing that has happened here is Nikko Mikula has been fined $5,000, but he will not miss time, thank goodness, because if he was out, that's two big holes in your defense heading into a critical game five tonight that could close out this series against a very talented Tampa Bay Lightning. They're going to be, like I said, desperate. I don't even think desperate is a strong enough word for what we're probably going to see in tonight's game. I think the Panthers are going to come out trying to play the best defense that they can, which they've been doing a phenomenal job of in three out of these first four games of the series. We're going to see what happens. I think the Lightning are going to really come out, you know, they're going to be, they're going to be throwing everything they have at the Panthers in the beginning to get a big, to try to build a big lead and kind of keep the Panthers on their heels and kind of control the tempo of this game the whole time. I think it's going to be incredibly physical, but I would say look for the Panthers to be just as physical, if not more, because they're going to want to close this out as quickly as they can, especially because if they can get rest before the next series and the next, sorry, the next round of the playoffs, that's gonna be so critical to this team having success in the second round. If they can get a little bit more rest than the other team, that's going to be big time. But back to Aaron Eckblad, the one thing I do want to say is in his two games back, he was averaging 21 and a half minutes on the ice. He did help with the penalty kill. Obviously his goal in game number four was critical with 347 left on the clock in that game to tie the game up. And then Seth Jones came in there, knocked one in there that was the ultimate game winner and obviously the empty netter, but I'm not really going to count that one in there, but he has been such a critical player, Aaron, Aaron Eckblad, even in the, I'm not going to count game three for him because his numbers weren't that great. Yes, he had a decent amount of time on the ice. Again, that was 20 minutes and 20 seconds in game number three and then 22 minutes and 11 seconds in game number four, but he was critical on the penalty kill. He did contribute a lot with that big body of his that he likes to throw around as well as his four checking capabilities are second to none. And I think he was just starting to find his stride again in that game four. And now we have another setback because of suspension, but he will be back again. Think of this as rest for him. And he's going to start fitting in pretty quickly. I think in this, after this two game suspension, but unfortunate. Yes. But look for the Panthers to try to pick things up right where they left off and be physical and take it to the lightning, even though the lightning are really going to bring 110% tonight because they have nothing to lose. Obviously. Yes. I know the series close out, but they literally have nothing to lose tonight. They're going to throw everything that they have at the Panthers and they're gonna be physical, but the Panthers need to be physical back, especially against Nikita Kucherov. He had a big game number three, but the biggest thing I want to say is the Panthers have thrown him off his game by being as physical with him as anybody else on the ice. His contributions have been there, but not substantial as they were in the regular season. So as we look forward, I wanted to say something here about their penalty kill. The Florida Panthers have done so well in this series because of their ability to kill off the penalties, especially that big, big five minute penalty in game number four. That was so critical. When Nikola was kicked out, they had that five minute stretch. They had to kill it off and they killed that thing off, man. It was huge in that game for the Panthers to pull out the win and I know it was back and forth. Two goals in 11 seconds for the Lightning. Two goals in 11 seconds for the Panthers, but that's the way the series has been. Sporadic at times, physical, obviously, and I think it's gonna be the same thing this evening. And again, the penalty kill for the Panthers has still been outstanding at 93.3 percent. I said this the other day in the last episode, it has been so critical to their success as well as their ability to block shots and they have to do the same thing tonight, but they need to try to keep themselves out of the penalty box because I really think the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to have something drawn up where their big boys, those big names, those first liners are going to get out there and try to contribute any way, shape or form they can. They're going to be physical. They're going to be forward checking. They're going to be, they're going to try to pull every trick out of the bag to score on the Panthers and I think Vasilevsky is going to be standing on his head tonight. The Panthers just got to keep throwing pucks at the net and hope they go in maybe deflections, whatever it is, because that's how you knock Vasilevsky off his game. Getting in front of the net, really disrupt his view, try to get your stick on the puck and deflect that thing into the back of the twine. That's how you're going to beat Vasilevsky and the Panthers have done a superb job of that in this series. So the guy that's going to be the difference maker, Seth Jones, and he's been that difference maker since he was traded for, he has been nothing short of absolutely spectacular on defense for the Panthers. And the best thing about Seth Jones, that we got him for a steel guys. He has five years left on his contract. The Panthers are getting him for $7 million a year because of the fact that this, the Blackhawks are picking up $12 million of his salary. That is a steal for a guy who's as talented as Seth Jones is. And we have him for five more years. He's only going to get better guys, only going to get better. The crazy thing about his numbers, the regular season in 21 games with the Panthers, he averaged almost 25 minutes time on us. That's insane. That's insane. 25 minutes, sorry, 24 minutes and 55 seconds was his time on average in 2021 games. He had two goals, seven assists in those 21 games. Now this is the kicker. So in game number four, he had 26 minutes and 16 seconds on ice, big time on the penalty kill. He spent three minutes and 19 seconds overall on the penalty kill. And a lot of it was during that five minute stretch for that five minute penalty. That's how crucial he is for the success for this team defensively. It rides on Seth Jones' shoulders, I think tonight and in the following game with Ekblad being out. Obviously, I think Mikula is going to be a big contributor there and we'll go over the lines in just a minute. So in the playoffs alone, Seth Jones is averaging 25 minutes and 29 seconds time on ice. He is second in block shots with seven in this series. His plus minus is plus three, one goal and one assist in the series. He has been nothing short of incredible. I love the fact that he is on this team. He deserves to be on a winning team right now and has the hopeful potential to win a Stanley Cup, which I think the Panthers are fully capable of doing. If they're going to really find their stride, everybody's going to be healthy. If they can just avoid getting suspensions, getting these big time penalties, things like that, if they could just avoid it. So his teammates have nothing but love for this guy. I love some of these quotes. This is Alexander Barkov. Unbelievable for us. Great defenseman. We already knew it before he came here. In practice, he's incredible. What he does, how much he helps us. It's awesome. It's awesome. Huge goal from him. I already said he has a wicked slap shot, guys. He's actually really great at controlling the puck as well. If you watch him on the ice when he's controlling it, he has good maneuverability when the puck is on his stick, guys. He controls it well. He makes solid passes too. Smart player on the ice. He has been such a massive pickup for this team. He makes the team so much better. And with Ekblad back, excuse me, and if they find that nice chemistry, they're going to be probably one of the best lines defensively in the league in the coming years. Paul Maurice on him. His range and ability to get to the middle of the ice to the boards and then back on the ice. He can move the puck. He can skate. His range is, along with Nikola, the size. I mean, dude, the guy is a stud. He's a stud. It's awesome. He fits what the Panthers are cooking up, guys. He is such an integral part of this team now. And he's only been on the team 21 regular season games and now going to be his fifth playoff game with the team tonight. And there's five more years of this dude being on the team. He's not going anywhere. He's not going anywhere. I love this. And these are his numbers on the year, guys. Look at this. In just 63 games, nine goals, 27 assists, 129 shots, 26 takeaways. Excuse me, I'm just excited about this. He's a big guy. 96 hits, 109 shots on the season. But in the playoffs, like I said, he's been so great on the penalty kill. And that is why this team has had such great success in this series. And he's only going to get better. Again, 6'4", big body, similar to Ekblad. These two guys, I think they're gonna be one of the best defensive duos in the league for years to come. We're gonna go back a little bit here. Excuse me, sorry about that, guys. So this, this is the lineup from this morning. From the skate around this a.m. Looks familiar. Okay? So Belinskas and Schmidt are on that third line defensively. You're gonna see a lot, a lot of Jones on the ice. I don't think it's just gonna be Jones and Forsling. I think we're gonna see a Jones-Mikula possibly pairing up there at times. I think it might happen here and there because those two big bodies, even though Forsling's amazing four-checking abilities, he is great with that poke check when he's getting back on defense, guys. In the corners, he scrums. Same thing with Jones. I mean, their defense is great. Kulikov, I mean, their whole defensive crew is incredible and they're deep. But I think we might see that Jones-Mikula matchup because those big bodies are gonna be key to knocking around the Tampa Bay guys on those first and second lines. I think we might see that happen tonight. So in terms of the forwards and centers, guys, Verhage, Barkov, Reinhart, we've seen that line before. Rodriguez, Bennett, Kachuk, nothing changes from the last game. Lustrini, Lindell, Marchand, same thing. Greer, Sturm, and Boquist. Pretty, pretty standard from what we saw in the last game, except the thing that we are missing, obviously, is Aaron Eckblatt. So tonight will be very interesting to see what is gonna happen. I think the Panthers end up pulling this one out. They've been great on the road, as long as they can be great on the penalty kill again and not make stupid mistakes in neutral ice or even in their defensive third. They cannot afford to turn that puck over, especially if they are in their defensive third, trying to move the puck up or something and go across the ice, that thing gets intercepted. They've been beat pretty easily in times when that turnover happens in neutral ice. The Lightning are fast, and that is what they took advantage of in game number three. I don't think that's gonna happen tonight. I think the team is gonna be really careful here. I think Paul Maurice has a good game plan defensively. He's gonna say, you know, hey guys, if we have that first goal, we gotta make sure we stay on our toes defensively. We gotta make sure we're putting those pucks in the corners. We gotta waste time. When we have opportunities offensively, let's do it, but let's not get greedy with the puck. Let's not try to get those long passes. We don't need to do stretch passes down the ice, guys. We gotta stick to what we know. We gotta stick to our game. We're down a man, technically, with Eckblatt being out. Ultimately, though, I think at the end of the day, the Panthers will persevere. They'll pull out the win tonight, and the Panthers will move on to the second round. Who they will face, well, that remains to be seen. The Maple Leafs lost last night to Ottawa, so that series is now 3-2. It's gonna be very interesting to see what happens there. I think Tampa's gonna pull it out, and that's what we're gonna see in the next round, but hey, this is the playoffs, guys, in the NHL. Anything can happen. So, exciting time tonight, guys. Again, puck drop, 7.30. Get ready for it. It's gonna be an absolutely exciting game. Keep your eyes glued to your TV. You're not gonna want to miss this one, all right? Go Cats!