George Richards, FHN Publisher
After the season he has had with the Panthers, it was easy to feel good for Brett Connolly when he scored against Detroit on Tuesday night.
The veteran forward, who signed a four-year deal with the Panthers in 2019, has been through waivers and spent weeks on the taxi squad before injuries brought him back into the lineup.
And, with his history, the Panthers need him right now.
Connolly, whose play in key moments helped Washington win the Stanley Cup in 2018, knocked down a puck and scored in the first period of Florida’s 4-1 win over Detroit on Tuesday.
The look of relief on his face was noticeable from the furthest reaches of BB&T Center and his comments both during intermission and postgame were telling.
It’s one thing for a sportswriter to talk about a player going through a rough season and it is another for the player to pretty much bring it up himself as Connolly did on both occasions Tuesday.
“Yeah, it has been tough but that’s hockey and you just deal with it,” Connolly said. “For whatever reason, it hasn’t been going in but I have proven in the past that I can go on a streak and really get my game going.”
Connolly signed with Florida to help the team win and, for a guy with his past, it can feel like you are very far from doing that when you’re out of the lineup and practicing on your own when the game group finishes up.
But with Sasha Barkov, Patric Hornqvist and, now, Anthony Duclair hurt, Connolly was brought back.
Barkov could return Thursday night against the Red Wings but with Duclair out with a shoulder injury, Connolly could find even more playing time in the coming games.
This is his chance to get back to playing a meaningful role with the Panthers — and he knows it.
“Down the stretch, everyone needs to step up and I think I can help out if I can get it going,” Connolly said. “If I play the way I know I can, I can really help the team. It has been a while since I have gone through a stretch like this in my career.
“With Bill (Zito) coming in and with Q … If you play good you’re in and if you play bad, you’re out. That’s the way it’s going to happen and that’s a big reason why we’re having success. There’s a lot of healthy competition within our lineup.
“It doesn’t matter who you are. If you’re not playing well, you’re not going to play. I know I can put it together it’s just a matter of doing it.”
HONORING BOB
A month before the NHL shut down last season because of Covid-19, Sergei Bobrovsky played in his 500th NHL game against one of his three teams, the Flyers.
The Panthers will honor Bobrovsky for the milestone before Saturday’s game against Columbus — the team he spent seven seasons with before signing with Florida.
END OF DETROIT ROAD
Well, that’s one series down.
Florida and Detroit will meet for the eighth and final time Thursday night with the Panthers attempting to win six of them.
The Panthers went 3-1 against the Wings at Little Caesars Arena and are 2-1 in Sunrise.
KEEPER CALLED UP
To get the taxi squad back up to four, the Panthers recalled defenseman Brady Keeper from AHL Syracuse on Wednesday.
Keeper, a free agent signing by the Panthers out of the University of Maine in 2018, has played in one NHL game since joining Florida.
Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS LINES
FLORIDA FORWARDS
23 Carter Verhaeghe — 55 Noel Acciari — 19 Mason Marchment
11 Jonathan Huberdeau — 21 Alex Wennberg — 10 Brett Connolly
77 Frank Vatrano — 83 Juho Lammikko — 74 Owen Tippett
94 Ryan Lomberg — 27 Eetu Luostarinen
FLORIDA DEFENSEMEN
42 Gus Forsling — 52 MacKenzie Weegar
61 Riley Stillman — 6 Anton Stralman
3 Keith Yandle — 7 Radko Gudas
65 Markus Nutivaara
FLORIDA GOALIES
60 Chris Driedger
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratches: F Vinnie Hinostroza
Taxi squad: D Kevin Connauton, F Aleksi Heponiemi, D Brady Keeper, G Philippe Desrosiers
Injured: D Aaron Ekblad (leg, out for season); F Sasha Barkov (lower body); F Patric Hornqvist (lower body); F Anthony Duclair (shoulder)
Florida power play (28/117 23.9% — 8th in NHL)
Florida penalty kill (89/111 80.2% — 13th in NHL)
PP1: Keith Yandle, Jonathan Huberdeau, Alex Wennberg, Brett Connolly, Carter Verhaeghe
PP2: Gus Forsling, Frank Vatrano, Owen Tippett, Noel Acciari, Mason Marchment
PROJECTED DETROIT RED WINGS LINES
DETROIT FORWARDS
14 Robby Fabbri — 71 Dylan Larkin — 11 Filip Zadina
54 Bobby Ryan — 92 Vladislav Namestinikov — 39 Anthony Mantha
89 Sam Gagner — 27 Michael Rasmussen — 37 Evgeny Svechnikov
73 Adam Erne — 41 Luke Glendening — 43 Darren Helm
DETROIT DEFENSEMEN
65 Dan DeKeyser — 17 Filip Hronek
18 Marc Staal — 24 Jon Merrill
44 Christian Djoos — 22 Patrik Nemeth
DETROIT GOALIES
29 Thomas Greiss
31 Calvin Pickard
Detroit power play (13/108 12% — 29th in NHL)
Detroit penalty kill (77/105 73.3% — 28th in NHL)
PP1: Bobby Ryan, Dylan Larkin, Adam Erne, Filip Zadina, Filip Hronek
PP2: Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Evgeny Svechnikov, Anthony Mantha, Jon Merrill