Florida lost its season opener in Minnesota 2-0 despite outshooting the Wild 41-21
Less than 48 hours after putting up 41 shots on goal in Minnesota and leaving town with nothing to show for it, the Florida Panthers will be back in action for a late-afternoon matchup with the Winnipeg Jets.
Despite the unfavorable 2-0 final score, Florida actually played a solid game on Opening Night.
All four of the Panthers forward lines generated opportunities and had several shifts of sustained offensive pressure while the team as a whole played sound in their own end.
Were there mistakes here and there? Of course.
But the Panthers did not look like a team that had turned over half its roster. They played off each other well, particularly in the defensive zone, and communication never appeared to be an issue.
Speaking after Friday’s practice in Winnipeg, Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice expressed a similar sentiment.
“We had the feeling when we left the bench (in Minnesota) it was pretty clear from what we’d watched that we were a real good defensive team last night,” he said. “We played hard, I think we generated enough, for sure. I think there’s more we can do with that, but I would take that game replicated over and over.”
One interesting change we may see from game one to game two is rookie forward Mackie Samoskevich being promoted to the second line with Matthew Tkachuk and Eetu Luostarinen.
Maurice moved the 20-year-old up from his initial spot with Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart during the third period of Thursday’s loss to Minnesota and kept him there for Friday’s practice in Winnipeg.
“It’s his offensive style,” Maurice said of Samoskevich when asked about the move. “I think he’s got some really nifty plays that he can make.”
Here are Florida’s expected lines and pairings for Saturday in Winnipeg based off Friday’s practice:
Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Evan Rodrigues
Mackie Samoskevich – Eetu Luostarinen – Matthew Tkachuk
Nick Cousins – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Stenlund – Steven Lorenz
Gus Forsling – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura – Uvis Balinskis
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
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