Sunny Florida.
Oranges, beaches and two hockey teams. And Jacket Dads along for the trip.
We picked up a point, but by all accounts everyone wanted something better. The Jackets played well and with plenty of energy and heart…their Dad’s are traveling with them. There’s nothing like putting on a show for Dad. But in the end, the Bolts won the shoot-out. And now, we meet the Panthers.
Frank Rekas and I had a talk. He and his fellow writers, “The Rat Pack” follow the Panthers on The Rat Trick. Here’s a bit of our cross-checking…
1. So, we don’t meet that often. Do you notice a different style of play from teams in another conference?
Since I’m from Chicago, I am used to and prefer watching Western conference teams and style of play. I think that there’s more physicality in the West and that there are so many unknown stars in that conference, it’s always great for me to have a Western Conference team come here to Florida. A lot of teams in the East still seem to “trap” and quite honestly that makes my skin crawl.
2. How’s the Hockey Love in Florida? Is there enough to go around with the Lightning and Panthers?
I can’t speak too much for Tampa, matter of fact I’ve never seen a game there. However here in South Florida, there are a number of passionate fans, but the bottom line is twofold. Most everyone who lives here is from someplace else. I’m from Chicago so naturally I’m still a devoted Blackhawks fan and I make no apologies for that. However, the problem is that unless the Panthers are winning, the casual fan doesn’t come out to support the team. I love hockey and I appreciate the sport. As bad as things have been in the past I will support hockey here. Knowing that there is new ownership and a new management team, the future of hockey will get better. As a fan I still want a winner, and as I’ve always said, I hate losing more than I like winning. There is a solid sports nucleus for support, there just needs to be progress, and with the new regime, it’s coming.
3. Kristian Huselius is a staple on the power play…Is your angst with him having to do with unrealized potential as a Panther or some other issue…
My angst with Krissy is this. He’s soft. By that I mean he’s the definition of “Soft European”. He has a ton of talent and for a while had one of the best wrist shots of many young players. What I saw here in Florida and what seemingly seems to rear it’s ugly head more often than not is that he is unwilling to play hard. Avoiding traffic, avoiding hits, and skating as though it’s a ballet performance. He’s be very happy i think if every game was a skills competition and din’t involve any physicality.
4. How do your enforcers match up with ours? Any “dances” you’re looking forward to?
We aren’t all that physical at this point. Our resident tough guy is Darcy Hordichuk who while has slightly more talent than your average enforcer, doesn’t get too much playing time. I imagine that there could be a dance with Jared Boll or Derek Dorsett which makes sense. Other than that, our style would not be confused with physical.
5. Which Blue Jackets are you watching? What do you think they bring to the game (in general and tonight) ?
Rick Nash always intrigues me, especially since we traded with you guys so you could take him, and we ended up with Jay Bouwmeester who has moved on. We’d probably be alot different with Nash in our lineup as a power type forward is really needed here. I’ve always had an eye on Antoine Vermette as well. I like his speed and i think he’s a hard working kid. You won’t make this game easy for us.
6. We seem to have the same issues…power play, blowing leads…what do you expect from the game tonight? What surprises and standards are you looking for?
This has to be a bounce back game for Florida. I would hope that they don’t take this game lightly being a non conference opponent. Points for us as well as you are huge. i can’t say that there’s going to be a lot of “action”, but for some reason I’m thinking it could be high scoring. Maybe even a little riverboat style.
Check out Frank’s blog, The Rat Trick for his questions, my answers and of course, his take on the Panthers and Blue Jackets…I’m assuming he’ll have a fair amount of wishful thinking as well, when the boys in Union Blue are in his house. Good Luck to your boys, my friend…this game is ours! http://therattrick.com/