Lomberg brings a physical presence to Cats’ fourth line
Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg is a physical, defensive-minded winger, a role that could fit nicely on a fourth line with Noel Acciari and Brett Connolly.
Ryan Lomberg is quick to describe his style of play — and doubles down on his commitment to stay true to that style.
“I’m somebody who’s relentless on the puck,” he said. “I’m going to show up and be physical, be fast every night. I’m definitely not going to stray away from that.”
It’s exactly the type of style that will fit on thePanthers’ fourth forward line, an aggressive, defensive-minded left winger to round out a trio that has a high scorer on the left wing and a bruising center coming off a breakout year.
“They didn’t sign me to be somebody that I’m not,” Lomberg said.
But while Lomberg is on a two-year, $1.475 million contract, it doesn’t mean his spot is secure. He has been rotating with fellow Panthers newcomer Vinnie Hinostroza as the fourth line’s left wing.
Panthers coach Joel Quenneville, nevertheless,
likes Lomberg’s tenacity and ability to help on penalty kills in addition to his five-on-five play.
“He brings some energy,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. “He’s got some good pace to his game. You notice him on the ice. He can kill penalties and gives us some versatility in that area.”
Which brings us back to his value on the fourth line, which already has two spots basically cemented with Noel Acciari at center and Brett Connolly on the right wing.
Acciari is coming off the most productive season of his five-year NHL career. The 29-year-old scored 20 goals and added another seven assists in 66 games. This included a pair of hat tricks in back-to-back games. He had 31 career points in his first four seasons.
“He’s so predictable and had such a good year last year,” Connolly said of Acciari. “I think even last year, whenever guys were struggling and trying to find their game, especially offensive guys, it seemed like whenever they were put with Noel, it made it more simple for the guys.”
As for Connolly, he scored 19 goals last year — fourth most among returning Panthers players behind Jonathan Huberdeau (23), Aleksander Barkov (20) and Acciari. Connolly primarily rotated between Florida’s second and third forward lines last season. But the Panthers’ depth at forward following the acquisitions of Patric Hornqvist, Anthony Duclair and Carter Verhaeghe, as well as the improvement of rookies Owen Tippett and Eetu Luostarinen, has lengthened the talent on Florida’s forward lines.
Acciari and Connolly spent time together at points last season. However, it came as parts of the Panthers’ middle lines. Now, they’ll be anchoring the fourth and final line in what the team hopes will be a showcasing of their scoring ability regardless of the forward line on the ice.
“There’s a lot of options around our lineup,” Connolly said of Florida’s deep forward group. “Q is not afraid to switch it up, so all year guys are going to be pushing each other to be the best they can be to move up and down the lineup. We’re just trying to get as many wins as possible. It’s a short season, and we’re going to need everybody to chip in and help us get to the playoffs.”
BOBROVSKY RETURNS
Sergei Bobrovsky, the Panthers’ $70 million goaltender, joined his teammates on the ice on Wednesday for the first time since training camp began, finally off the NHL’s “Unift to Play” list that caused him to miss the team’s first eight practices and both intrasquad scrimmages.
Bobrovsky, however, will not be in net for Sunday’s season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The 32-year-old goaltender is not on the Panthers’ 23-man roster to start the season, instead being placed on the non-roster/ injured reserve list.
“Obviously, I want to play as much as I can,” Bobrovsky said Wednesday before the Panthers’ Opening Night roster was finalized. “If I go out there, I have to be ready to give the guys the best chance to win the game.”
Whenever Bobrovsky gets on the ice for live game action, the Panthers will be looking for much more than they got from him last season. The 32year-old goaltender and two-time Vezina Trophy award winner went 23-19-6 in 50 games (49 starts) last season, the first of his seven-year contract with Florida. His .900 save percentage ranked 46th among 54 goalies who played in at least 25 games. His 3.23 goals against average ranked 51st.