For entertainment value, last night’s shootout loss to the Lightning was right up there for me. The Jackets looked better than they had in a while- but still suffered from a few lapses which led to Steven Stamkos getting loose and wreaking havoc.
Steve Mason was supposed to get the start last night, but had some lingering soreness which led to Mathieu Garon getting the start. If Mase is feeling better this evening, he will be the starter. As for the defense, I wonder if Anton Stralman will get back in the lineup- guys like Methot and Hejda didn’t look great out there last night, their passes were all over the rink, and they were unable to enter the zone while carrying the puck. Strals must be chomping at the bit to get back in, and he actually does posses the talent to carry the puck.
The Panthers are an interesting team, they are never in the news and don’t have an all star on their roster outside of mandatory pick Evgeny Dadanov, who will only participate in the rookie portion of the all star weekend. That said, they have some intriguing players. Stephen Weiss is a proven point producer, and wingers David Booth and Michael Frolik can put the puck in the net. On defense, they have Dennis Wideman– a player I really like, I feel he got a raw deal in Boston and was shipped to Florida in the Nathan Horton deal.
The boys are going to want to put on a show for their fathers, part of me wants to see the guys who have been scratched get in there so they can play in front of Dad, but the rest of me wants to see the best lineup on the ice. We’ll have to wait and see.