Weekly Wraparound 30: Panthers Battle Top Teams, Bobrovsky's Shutout, and a Jumbotron Cameo!
Welcome back to the Weekly Wraparound, your headquarters for all things Panthers. Here, we eagerly anticipate every puck drop and ensure that style takes the spotlight at center ice.
I'm Kassi Coviello, and I'm inviting you to lace up your skates as we rally around the electrifying wins, penalty kill the challenging lows, and break down every exhilarating moment in between!
The Florida Panthers Week In Review: Last 3 Games: 1-2-0
The Panthers went 1-2-0 over their last three games with their second matchup against the Devils and then two games against the Winnipeg Jets. Three great games against some of the league’s top teams. As of November 19th, the Devils rank 5th in the league (3rd in the metropolitan division), and the Jets rank 1st in the league (1st in the central division).
Thursday, November 14th: New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers
The Panthers faced off against the Devils for the second straight game. To recap, in their first meeting, the Devils took a 4-1 victory, snapping the Panthers' seven-game win streak.
Unfortunately, this game didn’t go any better.
The Devils opened the scoring with a backhand goal from Stefan Noesen to take a 1-0 lead. Jesper Boqvist responded a few minutes later with one of the nastiest goals I've seen all year. Boqvist dangled around New Jersey defenseman Dougie Hamilton to score a beautiful goal against his former team. Check it out below!
However, Jesper Bratt scored a power-play goal in the dying seconds of the first period to reclaim the lead. It was a big period for guys named Jesper.
Sam Reinhart opened the scoring in the second period with a beautiful snapshot goal, assisted by Aleksander Barkov. The two continue their strong start to the season and their point streaks.
Shortly after Reinhart tied it up, Dawson Mercer scored a power-play goal to put the Devils back on top 3-2.
Similarly to how the first period ended, Stefan Noesen scored a power-play goal in the waning seconds of the second period, extending the Devils' lead to 4-2 heading into the intermission.
The third period proved difficult for the Panthers, as Jesper Bratt scored two more goals to complete his hat trick, leading the Devils to a 6-2 win.
Bratt had an impressive night, scoring even-strength, power-play, and short-handed goals to secure the hat trick.
The Panthers will take lessons from these two games against the Devils and look ahead to their matchup with the league's current top team, the Winnipeg Jets.
Saturday, November 16th: Winnipeg Jets vs. Florida Panthers
The Panthers look to put their two-game losing streak behind them as they face off against the league’s top team, the Winnipeg Jets, who recently suffered their second loss of the season on Thursday, November 14th, against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The matchup between Sergei Bobrovsky, a 2024 Vezina Trophy finalist and two-time Vezina winner, and Connor Hellebuyck, the 2024 Vezina Trophy winner and two-time Vezina winner, sets the stage for a highly anticipated game—especially for hockey fans who appreciate exceptional goaltending. (As a big fan of goaltending myself, it’s a highly anticipated matchup between my favorite player, Bobrovsky, and Hellebuyck, who I’ve always admired—a true goalie girl’s delight).
This game did not disappoint.
Mackie Samoskevich opened the scoring with a deflected goal off of a shot from Gustav Forsling.
The Panthers’ momentum continued into the second period, where Nate Schmidt scored a rebound goal off a shot by Sam Bennett. Schmidt made a great remark when reflecting on his second-period goal.
“I disconnected for a second. I was watching Bennett as a fan. I stopped skating for a second, thought ‘Wow! Nice play! Oh, I should probably be on there.’ But it felt good, especially at that time of the game.”
Evan Rodrigues extended the lead by finishing a rebound in front of the net, putting the Panthers up 3-0.
Aleksander Barkov added to the lead with a short-handed goal off a 2-on-1 rush with Sam Reinhart, giving the Panthers a 4-0 lead heading into the intermission. The Panthers now lead the NHL in short-handed goals with five. Check out this awesome shorty!
The third period’s only goal came from Dmitry Kulikov off a centering pass from Barkov. Kulikov continues his strong start with this third goal of the season. In his 2023-2024 campaign with the Panthers, Kulikov scored just one goal in 76 games. After the first 18 games this season, he’s already at three goals!
The Panthers fans at Amerant Bank Arena had some fun, starting an “Overrated” chant directed at the Winnipeg Jets after the Panthers went up 5-0. Check out my video of the chant!
Paul Maurice commented on the chant he heard from the Panthers fanbase:
"I kind of like that (the Panthers fans' response), there was some respect in that. They follow the game now, they follow the team and they know Winnipeg is off to a historical start.”
The arena was filled with “BOB-BY” chants along with some “Bobby’s Better” chants. Check out my video of one of the many “BOB-BY” chants!
Sergei Bobrovsky earned his first shutout of the season, making 27 saves against the best team in the NHL. This marks his 45th career shutout and his 12th with the Panthers.
The Panthers will face the Jets again, this time on their home turf, Tuesday night.
Tuesday, November 19th: Florida Panthers vs. Winnipeg Jets
Coming off a strong 5-0 win on Saturday, the Panthers look to take on the Winnipeg Jets for Round 2—this time in Winnipeg. The Jets entered the game on a two-game losing streak after suffering only one loss all season before their trip to Florida. With that, the Jets were eager to generate offense and get back into the win column after being shut out.
Kyle Connor opened the scoring, giving the Jets a 1-0 lead. Mark Scheifele added to the lead with a wrist shot, putting the Jets up 2-0 heading into the first intermission.
Scheifele continued his strong game with a power-play goal to extend their lead to 3-0. However, A.J. Greer responded late in the period with a crucial goal for the Panthers, cutting the deficit to 3-1 and keeping hope alive for a comeback.
Sam Reinhart continues his point streak and adds to the Panthers’ lead with a power-play goal assisted by Tkachuk and Barkov, who also continues his point streak. Reinhart’s goal brought the Panthers within one, making it 3-2. However, Mark Scheifele struck again, completing his hat trick and restoring the Jets' two-goal lead at 4-2.
Matthew Tkachuk refused to let the Panthers go quietly, scoring a power-play goal assisted by Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe to make it 4-3. The comeback felt within reach.
The Panthers made a valiant effort to tie the game, pulling Sergei Bobrovsky for a 6-on-4 advantage during a late power play. Unfortunately, Morgan Barron capitalized on an empty net with a bank shot to extend the Jets' lead to 5-3. With just over a minute and a half remaining, the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky again for another 6-on-4 chance, but Barron struck once more, securing a 6-3 victory for the Jets.
A.J. Greer spoke on the loss to the Jets.
“We're definitely not happy with the result. You like to see the fight again and the resiliency in the third period. It’s just not good enough, though.”
Aleksander Barkov had an exceptional night in the faceoff circle, winning 16 of 18 draws for an impressive 88.9% win rate. This season, he’s averaging a stellar 64.6% in faceoff wins. Considering Barkov consistently faces the toughest matchups, these numbers are even more remarkable.
Game Day Pics: Saturday, November 16th vs. Winnipeg Jets
Had an amazing time with friends and fellow Panthers fans at the game! It was incredible to witness five goals and a Bobrovsky shutout. Here's a fantastic video of the moment we made it onto the jumbotron! Huge thanks to everyone who snapped a pic and texted me to say they saw me on the big screen!
Pantherfest 2024: Dmitry Kulikov
On Sunday, November 10th, I was able to attend Pantherfest, and the photo station pics finally came in! Here’s my picture with Dmitry Kulikov.
More Action this Week: Check Out The Upcoming Schedule
Catch the Panthers in action this week with the following games:
Thursday, November 21st, against the Chicago Blackhawks
Saturday, November 23rd, against the Colorado Avalanche
Monday, November 25th, against the Washington Capitals
Around the NHL: What’s New This Week
Boston Bruin’s Head Coach, Jim Montgomery, was fired on Tuesday, November 19th, and Joe Sacco was named interim head coach. This decision follows Boston’s 8-9-3 start to the season. (For perspective, Edmonton fired their head coach last November—something for Boston fans to consider during this time.)
Oliver Ekman-Larsson reached the 1,000-game milestone and was presented with a crystal and silver stick to mark the occasion. He becomes the 398th player in NHL history to achieve this feat.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made history by recording his 300th NHL win, becoming the fastest goalie in league history to reach the mark and the 40th goalie overall to do so.
Erik Johnson celebrated a significant milestone, playing in his 1,000th NHL game. He was honored with special gifts to commemorate the achievement. Now a member of the Flyers, the ceremony fittingly took place during a game against the Avalanche, where Johnson played 717 of his 1,000 games.
Alex Ovechkin continues his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record. He recorded a hat trick on Sunday, November 17th, and followed it up with two goals on Monday before sustaining a lower leg injury. Ovechkin has been placed on injured reserve and is listed as week-to-week.
As of November 19th, here are your league leaders:
Goals: 15
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Power Play Goals: 6
Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens
Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
Shorthanded Goals: 3
Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
Points: 34
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Goals Allowed Against: 2.07
Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild
Save Percentage: .927
Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs
I’m adding some new team stats to track powerplay and penalty kill leaders, reviewing the Top 3 teams.
Power Play Percentage
Winnipeg Jets: 35.70%
Vegas Golden Knights: 34%
Detroit Red Wings: 32%
Penalty Kill Percentage
Nashville Predators: 90.80%
New York Rangers: 88.90%
Washington Capitals: 87.70%