Keep in mind for the panthers, they really kicked it up at the end of the season. It seemed to take almost the entire season to roll Maurice’s system correctly and we essentially have the same top-9, except exchange Duclair for Rodrigues. Same goaltending. Same coaches. I think after how they finished the regular season as well as their playoff success, I do expect a better regular season, pending injuries of course. They biggest worries are Ekblad and montour recovering. I wouldn’t be surprised if montour heals up pretty fast, he’s a freakish athlete/specimen so if he does come back quicker than expected and it’s just Ekblad out, I think we improved the D overall and we’ve played well without Ekblad before so I think we can weather the storm. Forsling-Montour has shown to be a good top line for us. Mikkola over M.Staal is a big positive (I give staal credit in the playoffs, talking regular season though), Mahura on the bottom pairing was solid for us. With OEL and kulikov filling out the other two spots till Ekblad comes back, I wouldn’t be crazy worried.
However, I really have no real expectation. I’ll just enjoy the ride and see where it takes us. If Ottawa stays healthy, I think they have a ton if potential. Buffalo continues to improve and if someone like levi steps up in net, they could definitely be a playoff team. I don’t think Detroit will be terrible, Boston will still be solid, and I expect Toronto and tampa to still be the top-2 in the division. So it’s a crapshoot. I won’t make predictions but I don’t think the panthers season is as dire as some think, I don’t think last season should be too much of a reflection of what this season will be. They figured it out at the end and I hope they ride that into this season too.
LOL Really now
