George Richards, FHN Publisher
Two days after goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made his 2021 practice debut with the Florida Panthers, his former Columbus teammate Markus Nutivaara did so as well.
As was the case with Bobrovsky, Nutivaara was on the Panthers’ ‘unfit to play’ list.
Florida kept both players off their opening night roster with Nutivaara being the only Panthers player to be mentioned on the NHL’s first COVID-19 protocol list on Wednesday.
Nutivaara was not on the list provided by the league the following day.
For this being his first practice since the Panthers opened training camp on Jan. 3, Nutivaara was understandably a little winded after working with the main game group on Friday.
The Panthers open their 2021 season Sunday against the winless Chicago Blackhawks.
“I was so excited to come back and it has been a long time for me,” said Nutivaara, who was acquired by the Panthers in a trade with Columbus back in October.
“It was good to see the guys again. … This was a hard day for me. I’m tired, ready for a nap right now to be sure. But it was fun to be on the ice again. I need to get my lungs back, that’s for sure, and sharpen my game. All around, I have to get ready.”
Coach Joel Quenneville didn’t hold back on Nutivaara despite the fact that he had not done any skating over the past few weeks.
Although before the season it was expected he would start with Anton Stralman on the second defensive pairing, Riley Stillman has taken that spot at least to start the season.
“I liked him and I don’t know much about him,” Quenneville said. “I commend him on getting through practice and I thought he did a lot of good things.
“I look forward to him getting comfortable and up to speed. He’s got a good attitude as well. I think he’s going to help us and I look forward to seeing him, look forward to him being part of the decisions. I don’t expect to see him in the first Chicago game or in the second.”
On Friday, newcomer Gustav Forsling was working with Radko Gudas on Florida’s third pairing while Nutivaara was with rookie Brady Keeper on the fourth.
Keith Yandle, once again, was not with the main group but was working with what appear to be Sunday’s healthy scratches.
The active NHL Iron Man streak of 866 consecutive games is expected to end this weekend.
With Nutivaara on the ice, the Panthers are vert deep at the defensive position.
Noah Juulsen, who was claimed off waivers from Montreal earlier in the week, has yet to practice with the Panthers as he is working through what is believed to be not only quarantine issues as he comes in from Quebec but he also needs a U.S. work visa.
“You never know what’s going to happen this season so I am glad we’re ready, we’re deep and we’re excited to get going,” Gudas said of Florida’s depth.
Driedger gets the start?
On Friday, Bobrovsky and Chris Dreidger handled much of practice with Sam Montembeault briefly joining the second group with Philippe Desrosiers to get some extra work in net.
When asked whether that meant Quenneville would start Driedger on Sunday, he said he would announce his plans on Saturday but told me when asked “you’re on the right track.”
Quenneville also said he was under the impression that Bobrovsky could make his first start of the season against the Blackhawks on Tuesday even though he is on the team’s non-roster/injured list.
If Dreidger starts Sunday, it would be his first start for Florida since he made 26 saves in a 2-1 win at St. Louis on March 9.
Driedger was scheduled to start March 12 at Dallas, but the NHL paused its season that day.
During the summer restart, Dreidger was Bobrovsky’s backup but did not see any action in Toronto — either in the exhibition game against Tampa Bay or the four-game series against the Islanders.