Spener Knight and Ludovic Waeber combined for the 23-save shutout
The Florida Panthers welcomed the Nashville Predators for a pair of preseason games on Monday at Amerant Bank Arena.
In the early afternoon opener, the game was all Florida from start to finish.
You could actually say ‘from start to Finnish’ as Eetu Luostarinen scored a pair of goals, but it was Mackie Samoskevich and Oliver Ekman-Larsson who paced the Panthers with three points apiece, including two tallies for the rookie, as Florida rolled over the Predators 5-0.
Goaltenders Spencer Knight (13 saves) and Ludovic Waeber (10 saves) combined for the shutout, with Waeber coming into the game to relieve Knight at the 9:15 mark of the second period.
Here are some quick observations from the game:
Spencer Knight looked locked in and very sharp. He was moving fluidly through the crease with little wasted movement.
The line of Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Mackie Samoskevich was probably the best of the game for either team. Whether at even strength or on the power play, each of those three played well, though the two Finns did flash more than the rookie. At the end of the day, they all produced and impacted the game positively on both ends of the ice.
Brett Ritchie plays a style of hockey that would fit in well with what the Panthers are trying to with their forwards. He’s big but moves well, and has hands and touch around the net. I would imagine he’s getting a real good look toward turning his PTO into a full season contract.
Mike Reilly looked very good. He’s a big body that uses his size well, but he’s also a strong skater and is good with the puck. He was quick at getting pucks to the net and seemed to have a good grasp on reading when to jump up, when to fill in and when to stay put.
Florida’s top power play featured four forwards (Sasha Barkov, Evan Rodrigues, Grigori Denisenko and Eetu Luostarinen) and one defenseman, Ekman-Larsson. Gus Forsling and Reilly were out there on the second unit.
Speaking of Ekman-Larsson, he looked incredibly comfortable patrolling the Panthers blue line. His offensive skills were apparent and impressive, though there were a couple occasions of him appearing to be a little slow to react on transitions. Overall, lots to like about OEL after one preseason game.
There is a lot to like about John Ludvig’s game. He showed good awareness and was smart with the puck on his stick for the most part. One thing that jumped out about Ludvig was his shot-blocking ability, particularly while killing penalties.
Despite playing on the top line with Barkov and Rodrigues, Grigori Denisenko didn’t leave much of an impression. He made a couple good plays with the puck on his stick, but nothing that flashed or would be considered game changing.
