GameDay 38: Lineups, Betting Odds for Blue Jackets at Panthers
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SUNRISE — Prior to this season, few would say the Florida Panthers arena in Sunrise was a tough place to play, but it has proved to be just that for visitors of late. The Columbus Blue Jackets are going to try to spoil the party on Saturday.
With Friday’s 7-1 win over Dallas, the Panthers improved to a league-best 20-3 record on home ice.
The Panthers are on quite a run, winning seven of eight and their past six at home. Florida has also snagged 15 of the available 16 points since returning from the holiday break.
“I think we take a lot of pride in making this a hard place for teams to come in and try to get points,’’ Sam Bennett said Friday night after getting his second hat trick of the season.
“We have done a heck of a job all year at home. We love playing here, we love playing in front of our fans and we love making it tough on our opponents. So we are going to try to do it all year long.”
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Florida came into Friday with the league’s No. 2 scoring offense on home ice (4.5 goals per night) with only Colorado and Minnesota averaging over four home goals per game.
The Panthers are also one of four teams (Colorado, St. Louis and Dallas) to get more than 80 percent of available home points so far this season.
Florida now has 20 home wins in 23 games, the fewest games required to reach 20 home wins in club history.
The Panthers have won five more home games than the next-closest club (St. Louis).
Only three NHL teams in the past 65 years hit 20 home wins in fewer games, the last being Anaheim in 2013-14. Those Ducks did so in 22 games.
“I think they’ve taken it to another level here this year,’’ coach Andrew Brunette said.
“I think we built a lot of confidence last year, especially at home. They have fun with this crowd. It’s a fun place to play and we play an exciting brand of hockey. I feel the players are feeding off the crowd, the crowd is feeding off the players, and I think we feel good.
“We want to bring an identity that South Florida is going to be a real hard place for teams to come in, and they better be ready to play because we play really well at home. I’m proud of the way we’ve played and we’re continuing to build it here night in, night out, and that’s kind of the game plan.”
The Blue Jackets came to town feeling pretty good about things.
Although Columbus is all but certain to miss the playoffs this season — the Jackets came into Friday nine points back of Boston for the final Wild Card slot — it has been able to pull off some nice wins.
Thursday, the Jackets came into Raleigh with losses in four of five but left Carolina with a resounding 6-0 win as Elvis Merzlikins got his second shutout of the season.
This is the first time Columbus and Florida are playing this season but the reunion days are all but over.
The Blue Jackets have had so much turnover in the past few years, only a handful of players (Zach Werenski, Boone Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand among them) played with Sergei Bobrovsky in central Ohio.
Bobrovsky would usually get the night off after making 29 saves on Friday.
But considering Spencer Knight came off the Covid list Friday, he may just get the start.
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UPDATE: Bobrovsky will start on Saturday night.
“Confidence is growing,’’ Anthony Duclair said. “All four lines, all the D, are stepping up at the right moments. Bob, can’t forget about Bob; he’s making key saves at key moments at the beginning of the game that a couple bounces could go the other way, so it starts with Bob in net, and we build confidence from there out.
“It’s really fun to be playing right now, especially at home.”
— The Panthers made a couple of roster moves following Friday’s practice.
Not only was goalie Evan Fitzpatrick signed to a one-year, two-way deal, but Florida also sent Owen Tippett and Aleksi Heponiemi to AHL Charlotte.
Those two may be in Charlotte’s lineup Saturday night.
— Columbus defenseman Andrew Peeke, who hails from Parkland, will be back in his home arena come Saturday night.
Peeke made his “South Florida debut” in 2019.
FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS LINEUP
23 Carter Verhaeghe // 16 Sasha Barkov // 13 Sam Reinhart
11 Jonathan Huberdeau // 8 Sam Bennett // 10 Anthony Duclair
77 Frank Vatrano // 15 Anton Lundell // 98 Maxim Mamin
94 Ryan Lomberg // 27 Eetu Luostarinen // 70 Patric Hornqvist
52 MacKenzie Weegar // 5 Aaron Ekblad
42 Gus Forsling // 7 Radko Gudas
4 Olli Juolevi // 62 Brandon Montour
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
30 Spencer Knight
Scratched: Lucas Carlsson, Joe Thornton, Mason Marchment
Taxi squad: Evan Fitzpatrick
Injured: Noel Acciari (LTIR), Markus Nutivaara (LTIR)
Covid Protocol: Jonas Johansson
To Charlotte: Aleksi Heponiemi, Owen Tippett
PROJECTED COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS LINEUP
29 Patrik Laine // 38 Boone Jenner // 14 Gustav Nyquist
16 Max Domi // 34 Cole Sillinger // 28 Oliver Bjorkstrand
42 Alexandre Texier // 96 Jack Roslovic // 52 Emil Bemstrom
50 Eric Robinson // 7 Sean Kuraly // 59 Yegor Chinakhov
8 Zach Werenski // 27 Adam Boqvist
44 Vladislav Gavrikov // 2 Andrew Peeke
22 Jake Bean // 46 Dean Kukan
90 Elvis Merzlikins
70 Joonas Korpisalo
Northeastern’s Devon Levi Giving Sabres Reasons For Hope In Goal
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There’s a lot of talk about Buffalo Sabres goaltending, but it’s prospect goalie Devon Levi who is making lots of ears perk up.
The Sabres have had issues in goal this season and they’ve only gotten worse thanks to new injuries to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Malcolm Subban. They joined Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski on the shelf, which has fans looking to the future for the team and in goal.
There was already a lot of attention on Luukkonen and, to a lesser degree, University of Michigan’s Erik Portillo but it’s Levi, a sophomore at Northeastern, who is having the best season of them all and giving fans more hope for a rock-solid future between the pipes.
Levi was acquired in the Sam Reinhart trade to the Florida Panthers, but he was the secondary part of the deal because the Sabres got a first-round pick from Florida as well. We’ll find out what Buffalo gets for that pick in the summer, but Levi has become a player with serious interest with how he played for Canada in the 2021 World Junior Championship and this season in the NCAA.
Levi made a name for himself last year in the World Juniors when he turned in an incredible performance in leading Canada to the silver medal. He went 6-1-0 in the tournament and his only loss came 2-0 to the United States in the gold medal game. He tied United States goalie, and fellow Panthers draft pick, Spencer Knight with three shutouts. He allowed five goals in seven games with a .964 save percentage. It was a stunning run of play and mostly unexpected because the biggest question surrounding Canada ahead of the tournament was goaltending.
Levi had more than enough answers.
“(Levi)’s fast post to post, I like his steady glove; He comes out to smother shots and pucks,” Russ Cohen of Sirius/XM NHL Network said via email. “Levi is smart with the puck. His stickwork is good including steady passes up the ice and safer passes behind the net. (He) makes the right save at the right time and the big save when you need it.
“I think he’s an NHL goaltender. I’m not a goalie expert, but I like his potential as a 1B or backup someday,” Cohen said.
Now in his sophomore season at Northeastern, Levi is one of the top goalies in the nation. Through 21 games at Northeastern he is 15-5-1 with a .953 save percentage and a 1.38 goals-against average and eight shutouts. He leads the NCAA in save percentage, he’s third in wins, and fourth in goals-against average and he’s got the Huskies third in Hockey East and ranked ninth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
For a guy who was taken in the seventh round in 2020, he’s stacking up a résumé and a profile that brings higher expectations.
What comes with raised hopes are big ideas, some of which are popping up now.
After seeing the Carolina Hurricanes sign goalie Jack LaFontaine out of the University of Minnesota on Monday, some fans are hoping the Sabres will sign Portillo or Levi out of college to take the net. Given Kevyn Adams’ wont to develop players properly, it seems highly doubtful that would happen, especially with the Sabres not having playoff hopes this season.
As it is, the Sabres weren’t eager to press Luukkonen into duty at the NHL level in hopes to give him as many games as possible in Rochester. Times, needs, and situations change though. In a normal situation, Levi would be likely looking to sign an entry-level deal after next season. Assumption would be that Portillo would sign after this season.
Is it worth it to Buffalo to throw the plan out the window because of a freakishly bad turn of luck in a season which they’ve won five of their past 28 games (5-18-5)? No way.
That said, with Levi performing the way he is this season it’s easy to think it’s a move they can live with.
Northeastern is scheduled to return to action at Vermont on Tuesday, January 18. The game is broadcast ($) on College Sports Live.
Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, Levi was named a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award. Vote here.
Prospects Perspective: Beniers Leads Top Line
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In a Saturday 4-1 home victory, Beniers contributed two assists on the Wolverines’ second and third goals, putting the game out of reach. Typical of Beniers’ all-zones, all-out play, the Kraken’s top prospect stole the puck from a Penn State skater in the neutral zone, leveraging the defensive play into a three-on-one rush that resulted in the go-ahead-for-good goal.
Putting aside the disappointment of the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship being canceled before even the group round was completed, Seattle 2021 first-round draft choice Matty Beniers (2 nd overall) and his fellow-sophomore linemates sparked No. 3 Michigan to a sweep of 2021 NCAA Division I defending champion University of Massachusetts last weekend. Michigan moved up three spots in the national rankings.
Tweet from @umichhockey: Matty Beniers fires in a sweet pass from Brendan Brisson. Great chase and take away by Kent Johnson. pic.twitter.com/yd6rtAw7IA
Beniers and his linemates, Kent Johnson and Brendan Brisson (both NHL draft choices) kept clicking during Sunday’s 4-2 Michigan win. Beniers notched a goal and an assist to now total 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 22 games. He is the team’s third-leading scorer. Only Johnson (28 points) and Brisson (27) have more.
Notable is alternate captain Beniers’ plus/minus rating of +20, highest on a team with seven first-round draft choices and 13 NHL picks overall. He leads all forwards in blocked shots with 19, tied with two defensemen and only four shots behind defenseman and 2021 overall No. 1 pick Owen Power.
Draft Choices Roundup
The Kraken’s 2021 third-round draft pick, center Ryan Winterton of the Hamilton Bulldogs, is scheduled to play his first Ontario Hockey League game vs. Niagara Tuesday. He is coming back from a season-long rehab to mend a shoulder issue. UPDATE: Ryan has already scored!
Tweet from @OHLHockey: Nice to have you back @ryanwinterton22! 🚨@SeattleKraken prospect Ryan Winterton in his first game of the season has the new-look @BulldogsOHL out and running early with a 1-0 lead over the IceDogs. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/q17py9ayOq
Fourth-round and defenseman Ville Ottavainen has returned to his JVP professional team in Finland’s top league, where he plays top-four minutes. But all JVP games were postponed last week due to COVID-19. Fifth-round pick Jacob Melanson is in a similar situation with the Quebec Major Junior League paused for pandemic-related reasons.
Goalie and sixth-round pick Semyon Vyazavoi continues his outstanding season in Russia’s top junior league, winning 6-2 in his one start last week.
Seventh-round choice Justin Janicke played in last Saturday’s No. 13 Notre Dame victory at Penn State in a Big Ten Conference showdown series. He assisted on a second-period goal that cut a 3-1 lead down to a one-goal margin. It proved pivotal as the Fighting Irish rallied to force the game into overtime and win on a last-second goal in extra time.
The NCAA freshman Janicke’s primary assist came from a quick-release shot from the slot that was saved but generated a rebound knocked in by a linemate.
Developing Pros Roundup
The Kraken’s American Hockey League affiliate Charlotte played a weekend series with Bridgeport (CT) last weekend. Joey Daccord starred in the Sunday 2-1 win, stopping 40 of 41 shots in regulation, then going eight rounds and outlasting NHL-experienced Corey Schneider in the opposing net.
It was the third straight start of the season for Daccord, the longest stretch this season among the goalie rotation (which has included Florida Panthers rising star Spencer Knight).
Tweet from @CheckersHockey: You think @JDac35 is fired up about this win? 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ORVjMji54t
Kole Lind , back from a call-up with the Kraken, scored in the Sunday victory, his seventh for the Checkers. He has added eight assists to total 15 points in 25 games.
NHL-proven Scott Wilson scored the other Charlotte goal, hitting double-digits with 10 goals on the year. Luke Henman notched the primary assist on Wilson’s goal.
MINOR LEAGUE
2021-22 Kraken AHL Report - SKATERS Through Jan. 10, 2022 HENMAN, Luke C 6-0 / 168 04/29/00 Charlotte Checkers 16 2 4 5 9 LIND, Kole RW 6-1 / 179 10/16/98 Charlotte Checkers 25 7 8 15 60 MCCORMICK, Max LW 5-11 / 187 05/01/92 Charlotte Checkers 15 6 4 10 24 SHEAHAN, Riley C 6-2 / 215 12/07/91 Charlotte Checkers 4 1 1 2 0 TRUE, Alexander C 6-5 / 201 07/17/97 Charlotte Checkers 22 7 11 18 18 TWARYNSKI, Carsen LW 6-2 / 198 11/24/97 Charlotte Checkers 29 2 8 10 8 CARRICK, Connor RD 5-11 / 194 04/13/94 Charlotte Checkers 29 3 9 12 39 FLEURY, Cale RD 6-1 / 212 11/19/98 Charlotte Checkers 29 4 7 11 18 OLOFSSON, Gustav LD 6-3 / 201 12/01/94 Charlotte Checkers 29 1 4 5 22 Player Pos. Ht/Wt DOB 2021-22 Team GP G A Pts. PIM
2021-22 Kraken AHL Report - GOALIES Through Jan. 10, 2022 BIBEAU, Antoine G 6-3 / 214 05/01/94 Charlotte Checkers 5 2-1-1 .884 2.51 DACCORD, Joey G 6-2 / 196 08/19/96 Charlotte Checkers 12 6-5-1 .922 2.22 Player Pos. Ht/Wt DOB 2021-22 Team GP W-L SV% GAA
2021-22 Kraken ECHL Report - SKATERS Through Jan. 10, 2022 HENMAN, Luke C 6-0 / 168 04/29/00 Allen Americans 3 4 2 6 0 Player Pos. Ht/Wt DOB 2021-22 Team GP G A Pts. PIM
2021-22 Kraken ECHL Report - GOALIES Through Jan. 10, 2022 BIBEAU, Antoine G 6-3 / 214 05/01/94 Allen Americans 8 6-1-0 .926 2.67 Player Pos. Ht/Wt DOB 2021-22 Team GP W-L SV% GAA
AMATEUR
2021-22 Kraken Prospect Report - MAJOR JUNIOR Through Jan. 10, 2022 EVANS, Ryker LD 5-11 / 181 12/13/01 Regina (WHL) 31 5 25 30 44 MELANSON, Jacob W 5-11 / 201 04/22/03 Acadia-Bathurst (QMJHL) 28 16 7 23 44 WINTERTON, Ryan C 6-2 / 190 09/04/03 Hamilton (OHL) - - - - - Player Pos. Ht/Wt DOB 2021-22 Team GP G A Pts. PIM
2021-22 Kraken Prospect Report - COLLEGE Through Jan. 10, 2022 BENIERS, Matty C 6-1 / 175 11/05/02 Michigan (Big 10) 22 12 14 26 10 JANICKE, Justin W 6-0 / 181 06/30/03 Notre Dame (Big 10) 15 0 3 3 25 Player Pos. Ht/Wt DOB 2021-22 Team GP G A Pts. PIM
2021-22 Kraken Prospect Report - EUROPE Through Jan. 10, 2022 OTTAVAINEN, Ville RD 6-4 / 201 08/12/02 JYP (Liiga) 30 4 5 9 26 Player Pos. Ht/Wt DOB 2021-22 Team GP G A Pts. PIM
GameDay 36: Lines, Betting Odds for Canucks at Panthers
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SUNRISE — Due to a number of positive Covid tests as well as stricter rules in Canada, the Vancouver Canucks will play their first game since New Year’s Day on Tuesday when they visit the Florida Panthers — although what their lineup will look like is still a bit of a mystery.
Just being able to get back on the ice and play a meaningful game is exciting to a Vancouver team that has got some pep in their step since Bruce Boudreau took over behind the bench.
Boudreau, who left his television gig to take over the Canucks, has helped oversee a resurgence in Vancouver as the Canucks have won seven of eight since Travis Green was fired on Dec. 5.
The Canucks have gone from last place in the Pacific Division to within shouting distance of Calgary for third place.
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Vancouver headed to South Florida four points back of Los Angeles for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The former coach of the Capitals, Ducks and Wild — who, as a member of the real-life Johnstown Jets, appeared in Slap Shot — currently has the hottest team in the west.
The Panthers are no slouches themselves.
Florida has won five of six coming out of the extended holiday break with four consecutive wins on home ice.
In Sunrise, the Panthers have been the best home team in the league at 18-3-0.
Brock Boeser, who met the Canucks in Florida due to Covid protocols, skated with his team on Monday. Vancouver moves on to Tampa Bay on Thursday.
“We’re facing some of the best teams in hockey, especially these first two games,” Boeser said. “It’s a big test for our group, but it’s a test we need, I think. We’ve been playing such good hockey, you want to play the best and beat the best.”
— Brunette said that Sergei Bobrovsky would start against the Canucks on Tuesday.
— Vancouver and Florida are both in the final year of having its salary cap taxed due to Roberto Luongo’s retirement in 2019. Florida is getting tagged for $1.1 million; Vancouver just north of $3 million.
— Both Sam Bennett (suspension) and Sam Reinhart (Covid) will play for the Panthers on Tuesday.
Mason Marchment took part in the morning skate but will take the night off.
— Juho Lammikko, traded to the Canucks from Florida prior to the start of the regular season, has a goal and three points in 27 games this season.
Olli Juolevi, the fifth overall pick of the 2016 draft by Vancouver, appears to be back in the lineup against his former team. He was benched for the third period Thursday in Dallas and scratched Saturday.
FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK
VANCOUVER CANUCKS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS LINEUP
23 Carter Verhaeghe // 16 Sasha Barkov // 13 Sam Reinhart
11 Jonathan Huberdeau // 8 Sam Bennett // 10 Anthony Duclair
77 Frank Vatrano // 15 Anton Lundell // 98 Maxim Mamin
94 Ryan Lomberg // 27 Eetu Luostarinen // 20 Aleksi Heponiemi
52 MacKenzie Weegar // 5 Aaron Ekblad
42 Gus Forsling // 7 Radko Gudas
4 Olli Juolevi // 62 Brandon Montour
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
35 Jonas Johansson
Scratched: Lucas Carlsson, Joe Thornton, Owen Tippett
Taxi squad: None
Injured: Noel Acciari (LTIR), Markus Nutivaara (LTIR)
Covid Protocol: Mason Marchment, Spencer Knight, Patric Hornqvist
PROJECTED VANCOUVER CANUCKS LINEUP
92 Vasily Podkolzin // 9 J.T. Miller // 6 Brock Boeser
70 Tanner Pearson // 40 Elias Pettersson // 21 Nils Hoglander
18 Jason Dickinson // 53 Bo Horvat // 8 Conor Garland
15 Matthew Highmore // 91 Juho Lammikko // 64 Tyler Motte
23 Oliver Ekman-Larsson // 57 Tyler Myers
43 Quinn Hughes // 2 Luke Schenn
44 Kyle Burroughs // 5 Tucker Poolman
35 Thatcher Demko
41 Jaroslav Halak
Florida Panthers Sign Evan Fitzpatrick
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The Florida Panthers have signed Evan Fitzpatrick to a one-year, two-way contract to give the team some additional goaltending depth. Fitzpatrick had been playing in the minor leagues on an AHL contract but will have that voided now to get an NHL deal. That allows the Panthers to bring him up to the taxi squad, which they have immediately done as they deal with absences at the NHL level.
Fitzpatrick, 23, was a second-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in 2016 but failed to receive a qualifying offer from them when his entry-level contract expired in 2021. That made him an unrestricted free agent and looking for a job, which he found with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The young netminder signed a two-year AHL contract in August and had split this season between Charlotte and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL, seeing much more time in the low minors than the AHL.
Now, he’ll basically become a practice goaltender for the Panthers, who have recently been forced to navigate absences from Spencer Knight and Jonas Johansson due to COVID protocols. With Fitzpatrick in place, the team will at least always have a professional goaltender to go in as a backup, should the team run into any more last-minute absences.
While the release does not include the financial details, it is very likely that Fitzpatrick will carry a cap hit of just $750K at the NHL level–a cap hit that is completely buried while the waiver-exempt goaltender is on the taxi squad or in the minor leagues. Technically this will leave Fitzpatrick as a restricted free agent at the end of the season, though he would once again be a candidate to go unqualified.