WEEKLY GAME RECAPS

October 15th      vs. Detroit       Win 4-1

The Cats beat the falling Red Wings in an exciting battle. I was proven wrong as the Wings had a ton of speed. Lu had a stellar performance as the fans went home happy on Jagr bobblehead night.

Goals: 1st- FLA 1:10- Trocheck (1); Jokinen (1)      FLA 10:01- Sceviour (1); Marchessault (1); Malgin (1st Career NHL Assist/Point)   DET 13:07- Helm (1); Nyquvist (2)   2nd- None  3rd- FLA 17:38- Barkov (2); Marchessault (2); Jagr (1)  FLA 18:37- Marchessault (2)

The Puck Under the Sun’s Player of the Game- Jonathan Marchessault (LW)- Marchessault had 3 points and was a key factor in the win.

October 18th    @ Tampa Bay         Shootout Loss 3-4

The Bolts struck in the final seconds and ended up winning in the shootout to hand the Cats their first loss of the season.

Goals- 1st- None  2nd-  FLA 2:38- Sceviour (2); MacKenzie (1) SH    TB 6:18- Killorn (3); Kucherov (2)   TB 16:21- Palat (1); Stamkos (2); Drouin (3)  3rd- FLA 5:26- Trocheck (2); Jokinen (2); Smith (1)  FLA 15:52- Matheson (1st Career NHL Goal); McKegg (1st Career NHL Assist); Demers (1)  TB 19:54- Stamkos (2); Hedman (3); Filppula (1)  OT- None

SO- Round 1-   Filppula (TB)  MISS;  Marchessault (FLA) SAVE   (0-0);  Round 2- Kucherov (TB)  SAVE; Barkov (FLA)  SAVE  (0-0); Round 3- Drouin (TB) GOAL; Trocheck (FLA) GOAL (1-1); Round 4- Stamkos (TB) MISS; Jokinen (FLA) SAVE (1-1); Round 5- Hedman (TB) SAVE; Smith (FLA) MISS; Round 6- Point (TB) GOAL; Ekblad (FLA) SAVE

(Lightning win the shootout 2-1 for a final score of Tampa Bay 4, Florida 3)

The Puck Under the Sun’s Player of the Game- Steven Stamkos (C)- TB – He saved the Lightning with a goal from an impossible angle to help tie up the game with 5.5 seconds to go. Their win is all thanks to him.

Panther of the Game- James Reimer (G)

October 20th   vs. Washington            Lost 2-4

This game was pure heartbreak. Caps had a 2-0 lead early on, we came back and tied it and blew it at the end. The attendance wasn’t good either and the refs weren’t the best (missed calls and waving off a goal when the puck was loose cause they lost sight of the puck) so it was a horrible night. On the plus side we finally got a powerplay goal.

Goals- 1st- WSH 8:25  Williams (1); Schmidt (1)    WSH 10:21 Kutznetskov (1); Niskanen (2)  FLA 13:47  Matheson (2); Yandle (1); Barkov (2)     2nd- FLA 14:10- Jagr (750th Career NHL Goal/1st Goal of the 2016-17 Season); Barkov (3); Marchessault (3)  3rd- WSH 7:33 Ovechkin (2); Niskanen (3); Alzner (2)  WSH 18:40- Johansson (1)

The Puck Under the Sun’s Player of the Game: LW Alexander Ovechkin (WSH)- For the 50 goal scorer last year, all it took was a little deflection to give his team the lead and the game winning goal. Honorary Mention: G Braden Holtby (WSH)

Panther of the Game- Jaromir Jagr

RIGHT NOW

5th in the Atlantic, 2nd in the Wildcard; 5 points at 2-1-1

THIS WEEK’S PREVIEW

Oct 22      vs. Colorado       (3-1-0)                 7:00pm

Patrick Roy erupted a storm in the middle of the offseason which there was no hockey talk except way too early season predictions by resigning. Now Jared Bednar a rookie NHL coach leads a young core led by young talented Center Nathan MacKinnon.

Leading Scorers:     COL- MacKinnon (1-4-5); Colborne (3-1-4); Wiercioch (1-3-4) FLA- Barkov (2-3-5); Marchessault (2-3-5); Matheson (2-1-3) 

Oct 25       @ Pittsburgh       (3-1-1)                7:00pm

The Defending Stanley Cup Champions host the Cats without Conn Smythe Trophy Winner and the face of the NHL Sidney Crosby (concussion) but are still a deadly team.

Leading Scorers: FLA- Barkov (2-3-5); Marchessault (2-3-5); Matheson (2-1-3)  PIT- Malkin (2-3-5); Cullen (1-3-4); Hornquvist (2-2-4)

Oct 27      @ Toronto      (1-1-2)               7:30pm

Auston Matthews erupted into the NHL with 4 goals in his debut. He has calmed down a bit but he has proven himself to be a lethal weapon in Toronto’s arsenal. He will face off against Aleksander Barkov a Finnish phenom on Thursday night at the ACC.

Leading Scorers: FLA- Barkov (2-3-5); Marchessault (2-3-5); Matheson (2-1-3) TOR- Matthews (5-1-6); Nylander (1-4-5); Gardiner (0-3-3)

NEWS

Jokinen Injured, Rau Recalled

After taking a high stick to the face, Panthers LW Jussi Jokinen (Teeth/Knee)’s status for Saturday’s game against Colorado is unknown. Just as a precaution, the Panthers have recalled Forward Kyle Rau from Springfield (AHL). Rau played in 9 games in the NHL. Even though he played well, he wasn’t able to get a point. The 2011 3rd rounder had 31 points in 63 games with Portland in the AHL last year.

Bjugstad skating with cast

Nick Bjugstad is skating again. The 3rd line center had 24 goals in 2014-15 but cooled down due to injuries last year. He broke his arm in preseason and was skating with his arm in a cast.