Panthers Veterans Can Lead Young Team to Playoffs

As we hit the stretch run in the NHL, and teams are nearing the sixty game mark, there is still one or two playoff spots up for grabs in each conference.  In the East, one of the surprises of this NHL season, the Florida Panthers find themselves close enough to the eight-seed Boston Bruins to smell their fifth ever Playoff birth, and first since winning the Southeast Division in 2011-2012.

The Cats have been led by their young core of Nick Bjugstad, Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Erik Gudbranson and Aleksander Barkov.  However, now with about twenty games left the Panthers need to rely on the veterans they spent all of that money on, those who have been in this position before to lead those young players to the postseason.

Jussi Jokinen, Dave Bolland, Brad Boyes and Tomas Fleischmann are the guys who need to produce offensively down the stretch.  Derek MacKenzie, Shawn Thornton, Scottie Upshall, Tomas Kopecky and captain Willie Mitchell are the role players who, while won’t be relied on so much offensively, are tasked with keeping morale and energy high in the locker room and on the ice.

Looking at the first four guys mentioned, getting some goal scoring from these guys will be vital to the Panthers Playoff hopes. Jokinen has 30 points in 57 games, but only five goals.  Jokinen was originally brought in to be a finisher for Barkov, but has found a home being a setup man for Bjugstad.  Finding his finishing touch at this point will be vital.

Bolland missed significant time with injury early in the year, but when he’s been in the lineup. Though he’s playing with a much maligned contract, he is a good hockey player.  However overpaid he may be he plays all roles for the Panthers, and if you prorated his current pace over a full 82 game season, he’d be at over 35 points for a defensive thrid-line specialist, which isn’t too shabby.

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Recently on The Rat Trick, Ryan Price wrote about how Tomas Fleischmann has regained the form he had during his first two seasons as a Panther.  With 17 points in his last 30 games, “Flash” has gone from healthy scratch back to top-six forward on this team.  This all comes from his work ethic and his willingness to work harder, and not give up when the going got tough.

Last season, Brad Boyes led the Panthers with 21 goals.  Through 56 games this year he has 10, at this point last year he had 15. With goal scoring at a premium for the Panthers, the guy who has scored 33 and 43 goals in a season respectively, and has played in a top-six role all season long needs to step up for the Panthers to make the playoffs.

If a few of these guys improve their play in this, the most vital part of the season, along with continued production from the youth, that last Wild Card spot may very well become a reality for the Florida Panthers.

Trocheck Recalled, Kulikov Returns

Prior to Sunday night’s game in Pittsburgh, the Panthers recalled Vincent Trocheck from AHL affiliate San Antonio.  According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the move comes as a result of C Dave Bolland being banged up in Ottawa on Saturday.

Defense man Dimitry Kulikov returns Sunday as well from his four-game suspension for his low hit on Stars C Tyler Seguin that put him out for 4-8 weeks.  D Shane O’Brien was reassigned to San Antonio to make room.

Captain Willie Mitchell and F Brandon Pirri remain on the Injured reserve. Mitchell is rumored to be close to return.