The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers look to get again to their profitable methods. After profitable seven straight video games, they’ve misplaced their final two to the New Jersey Devils, permitting ten targets mixed in these video games. Regardless of that, they lead the Atlantic Division with a file of 11-5-1 and 23 factors.
Their subsequent opponent on Saturday and Tuesday isn’t any cakewalk. They must discover a option to take down the very best group within the NHL, and head coach Paul Maurice’s former group, the Winnipeg Jets. They’re at the moment off to a historic begin with a 15-2-0 file via 17 video games. They’re the primary group in NHL historical past to start out 15-1-0. Historical past can be not on the Cats’ facet both as they’ve misplaced 4 straight towards them during the last two seasons.
Offensive Firepower Is Robust on Each Ends
The Jet’s offense has been flying excessive very like a fighter jet. They at the moment lead the league in general targets with 74, energy play effectiveness at a 38% conversion price, aim differential with a plus-36, and targets per sport with an insane common of 4.35 targets per sport. Forwards Nikolaj Ehlers (9 targets, 11 assists), Mark Scheifele (9 targets, 12 assists), and Kyle Connor, (11 targets and assists) all have above 20 factors. Moreover, Connor’s aim whole is tied for the seventh-best within the league. Additionally, heart Adam Lowry is fifth within the league in plus/minus with a plus-13 ranking. Their offense has been flying excessive for his or her squad.
However that doesn’t imply the Panthers are a pushover. Florida is tied for the seventh-best goals-for-average within the league with a mean of three.53 targets per sport. They’re additionally tied for sixth in targets scored general with 60 and have the eighth-best energy play with a 23.1% success price. “Sam’s Membership” has been open for enterprise as of late as Sam Bennett (9 targets) and Sam Reinhart (13 targets) are the highest two forwards on the Cats in aim scoring. Reinhart’s aim whole is at the moment the very best within the NHL. They’ve additionally collected factors from their stars in Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk with a mixed 25 factors (six targets, 19 assists).
Protection Reveals Attention-grabbing Tales for Each Groups
The Jets have an attention-grabbing enigma in the case of their protection. They at the moment lead all groups in goals-against common (GAA) with 2.24 a sport allowed. However their pictures allowed and their penalty kill tells a distinct story. They’re within the prime half of the NHL at permitting pictures at 14th with 29.4 pictures per sport and their penalty kill is fifteenth throughout the league with an 80.5% kill price. Moreover, they rank fifteenth in anticipated targets towards per sport (xGAA) with 2.39 a sport. Nonetheless, that doesn’t discredit the defensive core of the group as all however one defenseman has a constructive plus/minus with Neal Pionk main the way in which at a plus-11 ranking.
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The Panthers’ protection below Maurice has proven how robust it may be however the stats as of late don’t again that up. Their penalty kill is sharp at tenth greatest within the league with an 82.4% kill price. However they fall flat in different departments. They’re tied for the ninth-worst GAA within the league with 3.29 a sport and whole targets allowed with 56. In pictures allowed per sport, they’re not unhealthy with 28.4 allowed per sport. That makes for the Twelfth-best within the NHL. Their xGAA tells the identical story with solely 2.37 anticipated per match, making it the Thirteenth-best within the league. The protection is led by defenseman Gustav Forsling, who leads the group in plus/minus with a plus-10 ranking.
Goaltending Might be an All-Star Matchup
The Jets’ beginning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is exhibiting followers why he gained the Vezina Trophy final season. He at the moment leads the league in GAA with 1.92, save share (SV%) with .934, wins with 12, and shutouts with three. His backup, Eric Comrie has additionally managed to get the job executed with three wins in 4 begins.
The Cats’ rock in internet in Sergei Bobrovsky has performed nicely over the course of the season and was an enormous a part of profitable the Panthers their first Stanley Cup. However, his stats are barely inflated. He’s third within the league in wins with eight on the 12 months, however he has a 3.14 GAA and a .889 SV%. His backup within the younger Spencer Knight is exhibiting indicators of returning to type as he has three wins on the season.
Can the Cats Take Down the Jets?
Florida has proven for the previous couple of seasons they’ll go toe-to-toe with the league’s greatest and are available out on prime. Nonetheless, it finally is determined by what they discovered from their final two losses. If they’ll clamp down defensively and pepper the web with high quality pictures, they’ll get again to their profitable methods.
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They’re the defending Stanley Cup champions for a purpose and one of the best ways to indicate why is to take down the very best within the NHL this season to date.
