THW's Panthers News

THW's Panthers News for 03/21/2021

March 21, 2021

The latest Panthers stories from The Hockey Writers.

 

 03/21/2021 edition:

By Joey Ganzi on Mar 19, 2021 09:57 am

On June 23, 2017, the Florida Panthers drafted a young redhead forward by the name of Owen Tippett with their 10th overall pick. He proceeded to play in seven games in his first NHL season that same year, but soon was relegated to the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL for further development. During his two years there, he piled up 75 points (39 goals, 36 assists) through 74 games, averaging more than a point a game. Due to his success, he got another shot to crack the lineup this season after being sent down the previous two seasons. However, he was met with more problems during his second NHL stint.

Early Struggles

While he managed to make it through training camp this past offseason, his early struggles caused him to get sent to the taxi squad multiple times this season. Furthermore, he was also scratched multiple times while he was on the main roster.

Through his first 15 games, he only managed one goal and a pair of assists. This is not a good look for someone who was selected 10th overall as fans began to think he was going to be a first-round bust. However, he managed to turn it around and finally find his game.

Tippett Finds Success

Through his last five games, he’s scored three goals and assisted on one. Two of those goals were on the power play, where his incredible sniping ability can be used at its full potential with loads of real estate near the faceoff dot. With this, he has seven points (four goals, three assists) so far on the 2021 campaign. Furthermore, his speed has been crucial in setting up big plays and giving clean zone entries to his line partners in Eetu Luostarinen and Frank Vatrano.

During a potential playoff run, his recent success comes at a much-needed time. Head coach Joel Quenneville has done an amazing job at helping him find his forte after it looked as if he was a bust.

Is it Enough to Replace Hoffman?

While Florida has found offensive success throughout the lineup with players like Patric Hornqvist, fans and speculators saw Tippett as the replacement for Mike Hoffman, as their playstyles are similar. For two straight seasons with Florida, Hoffman was the leading goal-scorer with 36 in the 2018-19 season and 29 in 2019-20.

While it is yet to be proven quite just yet, a bit further development should give Tippett that extra push he needs to find that type of goal scoring.

What’s Next for “Ginger Snipes”?

With another shot given to the 22-year-old, he managed to find his game and get the ball rolling for the Cats offensively. As previously mentioned, Tippett is currently plugged into the third line with Luostarinen and Vatrano. Furthermore, he is on the second power-play unit, where he has found the back of the net multiple times. If he continues his success, he might find himself blossoming as a top-six sniping winger for the team for years to come. With the recent success of the team, a playoff berth is likely for the Panthers – that’s where Tippett will experience the toughest hockey of his career to push his development. For him to hit that next stride, he’s going to need to get his feet wet in playoff hockey.

In addition, he’s going to learn valuable tips from the players on the active roster such as forward Jonathan Huberdeau and captain Aleksander Barkov and players from the taxi squad like forward Brett Connolly. With those lessons, his development will help him flourish as a strong forward, and hopefully, general manager Bill Zito has a contract waiting for him when he hits that goal.

By Greg Boysen on Mar 19, 2021 08:35 am

The National Hockey League history made on this date spans nearly a century. The names in today’s column read like a who’s who list at the Hockey Hall of Fame. From the early day of the league in the 1920s and 1930s to some recent milestones, March 19 has it all.

Phil Esposito & Jaromir Jagr Get Connected

Esposito scored a hat trick and added an assist, on March 19, 1972, in the Boston Bruins 7-3 win over the Minnesota North Stars. Two of his goals came on the man advantage to set a new single-season NHL record with 27 power-play goals. Goaltender Gerry Cheevers extended his league-record undefeated streak to 30 straight games (23-0-7) with the win.

Six years later, now a member of the New York Rangers, Esposito became just the second player in NHL history to score 1,400 points. He reached this rare milestone with an assist in a 7-7 tie with the North Stars.

Jagr made NHL history wearing a Rangers uniform, on March 19, 2007, by becoming the first player to score at least 25 goals in each of his first 16 seasons. His historic goal came with just 33.8 seconds left in the third period to give New York a 2-1 over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

On March 19, 2015, Jagr passed Esposito on the NHL’s all-time goals list by netting No. 718 in the Florida Panthers’ 3-1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings. Two years later, he became just the fourth player in league history to play in 1,700 games as the Panthers were defeated 4-0 by the Penguins.

Black & White Memories

Cecil “Babe” Dye became just the second player in NHL history to score 200 career goals on March 19, 1927, then added his 201st in overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 win at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Tiny Thompson became just the second rookie goaltender to earn a shutout in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut on March 19, 1929, when he and the Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0. Cooney Weiland scored the game’s lone goal; the first postseason contest played at Boston Garden.

Howie Morenz scored a goal and added three assists on March 19, 1932, to lead the Canadiens to a 6-4 overtime win against the Montreal Maroons. The performance gave him 333 career points, passing Cy Denneny as the NHL’s all-time leading scorer.

One year later, the Blackhawks hosted the Red Wings in the first afternoon game in league history. A crowd of 5,500, including NHL President Frank Calder, watched Detroit earn a 4-2 road win despite a two-goal effort by Mush Marsh.

Rookie goaltender Bill Durnan tied Thompson’s single-season record with his 38th win on March 19, 1944, as the Canadiens beat the Rangers 6-1. The win clinched the 1943-44 regular-season championship for Montreal as they finish a record 25 points ahead of the second-place Red Wings.

Ted Kennedy became the third player in Toronto Maple Leafs franchise history to score 200 goals, on March 19, 1953, in a 4-1 road win at the Canadiens.

Hitting 1,000

Bobby Clarke scored a goal for his 1,000th career point on March 19, 1981, as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Bruins 5-3. Rookie Tim Kerr scored his first career hat trick and added an assist in the victory.

Defenseman Larry Robinson became the fourth player in Canadiens’ history to play in 1,000 NHL games, on March 19, 1986, in a 6-4 loss at the Winnipeg Jets.

Bernie Federko became the first player in St. Louis Blues’ team history to score 1,000 career points on March 19, 1988, with an assist in a 5-3 loss to the Hartford Whalers.

Brian Propp scored two goals to give him 1,000 career NHL points on March 19, 1994, to help lead the Whalers to a 5-3 win over the Flyers.

Calle Johansson scored a goal and added an assist playing in his 1,000th NHL game on March 19, 2001, as the Washington Capitals lost 6-3 to the Rangers. He became just the third Swedish-born player, along with Borje Salming and Ulf Samuelsson, to play 1,000 games.

Hall of Fame Worthy Moments

Goaltender Johnny Bower set a Maple Leafs record with his 33rd win of the season, on March 19, 1960, with a 1-0 shutout at the Blackhawks. He broke the previous record shared by fellow Hall of Famers Turk Broda and Harry Lumley.

Jean Beliveau picked up two assists, on March 19, 1966, during Canadiens’ 6-2 win over the Rangers to give him 900 points in 804 regular-season games.

Gordie Howe scored a goal and added two assists, on March 19, 1969, during the Red Wings’ 4-4 tie with the Oakland Seals. The three-point night gave him 96 on the season, breaking his own record for most points by a right wing he set in 1952-53.

On that same night, Bobby Orr became the second defenseman in NHL history to have a 20-goal season when he scored in the Bruins’ 3-2 win at the Penguins. He tied the single-season record set by Flash Hollett in 1944-45.

Ed Giacomin became the first NHL netminder to record two assists in the same game on March 19, 1972, when the Rangers beat the Maple Leafs 5-3.

In Detroit on this night, rookie Marcel Dionne scored the first hat trick of his career to lead the Red Wings to a 7-6 victory over the Canadiens.

Wayne Gretzky had a goal and an assist to give him 500 career points in 234 games on March 19, 1982, as the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames skated to a 3-3 tie.

On March 19, 1991, Brett Hull joined Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as the only players to have an 80-goal season when he scored during the Blues’ 2-1 win against the Capitals.

Defenseman Larry Murphy scored his 900th career NHL point on March 19, 1994, in the Penguins’ 5-4 win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Exactly six years later, as a member of the Red Wings, he played in his 1,550th NHL game. This put him ahead of Alex Delvecchio for second place on the NHL’s all-time games-played list.

Eric Lindros had his first four-goal game on March 19, 1997, and added an assist as the Flyers picked up a 6-3 road win at the Maple Leafs. This was the ninth hat trick of his career.

A year later, Teemu Selanne scored his 258th career goal in his 400th NHL game, as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Flyers tied 3-3. These were the fifth-most goals scored by a player in his first 400 games.

Odds & Ends

Nick Libett became the fifth player to score 200 goals as a member of the Red Wings, on March 19, 1978, in a 6-4 loss at the Colorado Rockies.

On March 19, 1981, the Buffalo Sabres scored an NHL-record nine goals in the second period of their 14-4 blowout of the Maple Leafs. Andre Savard led the way with three goals and three assists, while Gilbert Perreault chipped in with his 12th career hat trick and an assist.

Rick Tocchet scored twice and added two assists on March 19, 1989, in the Flyers’ 8-6 win over the visiting Maple Leafs. This extended his goal-scoring streak to a team-record nine straight games.

Kevin Stevens picked up an assist on March 19, 1992, during the 6-3 Penguins win versus the Quebec Nordiques. This gave him 111 points, setting a new NHL single-season record for U.S.-born players breaking the old mark set by his former teammate Joe Mullen. Also, Tom Barrasso became the 36th goaltender in league history to win 200 games.

Bernie Nicholls scored twice and added three assists, including the 600th assist of his career, on March 19, 1994, to lead the New Jersey Devils to an 8-6 win at the Bruins.

Joel Quenneville and the Blackhawks beat the Blues 4-0 on March 19, 2014, to become just the third head coach to win 700 career games. He joined Scotty Bowman and Al Arbour in the exclusive 700-win club. Quenneville won the first 307 games of his career with the Blues, which are the most victories by a head coach in team history.

Roberto Luongo made 28 saves on March 19, 2018, as the Panthers beat the Canadiens 2-0 in Montreal. This was the 76th shutout of his career, tying both Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito for the ninth-most in NHL history.

Happy Birthday to You

Appropriately, there are 19 current and former NHL players born on this date. The most notable of the March 19 birthday boys are Larry Patey (68), Vladimir Konstantinov (54), Janne Laukkanen (51), Louie DeBrusk (50), Tyler Bozak (35) and Anders Nilsson (31).

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