With first 2 games postponed, practice plans will be changing
The Florida Panthers’ 2021 schedule is changing before the puck has been dropped for the first time. Their first two games of the season against the Dallas Stars, originally set for Thursday and Friday at the BB&T Center, have been postponed after a COVID-19 outbreak in the Stars organization. According to the NHL, six Dallas players and two staff members tested positive.
So what does that mean for the Panthers’ practice schedule with Opening Night pushed back three days?
“It changes,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said.
No plan is set in stone yet, but Quenneville floated the possibility of the Panthers having a second formal scrimmage prior to their new season opener Jan. 17 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Also, with seven more days of practice instead of the expected four, an off day will likely be worked into the schedule as well.
“Options are still there,” Quenneville said, “and changing on the fly is something that you’re accustomed to.”
It’s just the latest example of how things can change quickly this season as the league continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Quenneville said the team will keep contingency plans for practices as the season continues.
“Flexibility, being nimble and adjusting to the regular changing and scheduling,” Quenneville said. “Whether it’s meetings to the inside, outside, what room, who’s going out there for practices, [splitting into] two groups. I’d say it’s something we’ve got to look at. It’s different. We’ve had a little bit of the bubble taste with the extra guys around [during training camp] as well. It’s a different type of setup. I think that it’s just about adapting and then being cooperative as best you can and compliant and expect change.”
HORNQVIST PRACTICES
Forward Patric Hornqvist, the two-time Stanley Cup champion and 12-year NHL veteran the Panthers traded for in September, was on the ice Saturday for the first time since training camp began. He was deemed “unfit to play” — the catch-all phrase the NHL is using for players unavailable for practice — for the Panthers’ first four practices of training camp.
“He looked good,” Quenneville said. “... The one thing that he provided our team going into camp [was] he had a lot of enthusiasm and leadership qualities. Right from the get-go, his attitude was nice to see.”
Hornqvist, 33, is expected to provide a heavy presence on one of the Panthers’ middle two forward lines. He spent the bulk of his first practice alternating with Owen Tippett at right wing on the Panthers’ second forward line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Alex Wennberg.
The Panthers’ five forward lines during the five-on-five portion of practice, which included a lot of shakeups from what Quenneville has put out there throughout the first four days:
• Aleksander Barkov centering Carter Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair as the top line.
• Wennberg centering Huberdeau and Tippett/ Hornqvist on the second line.
• Eetu Luostarinen centering Frank Vatrano and Brett Connolly on the third line.
• Noel Acciari centering Ryan Lomberg and Mason Marchment/ Tippett on the fourth line.
• Aleksi Heponiemi centering Grigori Denisenko and Vinnie Hinostroza rounding out the groupings, with Cole Schwindt and Scott Wilson getting reps with this group as well.
THIS AND THAT
• The Panthers on Saturday trimmed six players from their training camp roster, putting the group at 33 players with a week left.
Five — forwards Henry Bowlby and Serron Noel as well as defensemen Jake Massie, John Ludvig and Max Gildon — are expected to report to the Syracuse Crunch (the joint Lightning-Panthers AHL team for this season, with Florida’s AHL affiliate opting out for this season).
Goaltender Scott Darling was also released from his professional tryout. That leaves the Panthers with their expected three goaltenderss: Sergei Bobrovsky, Chris Dreidger and Sam Montembeault. Brobrovsky, however, still has not practiced with the team while listed as “unfit to play.”
• In addition to Bobrovsky, forward Juho Lammikko and defenseman Markus Nutivaara are still “unfit to play.”
• The Panthers’ top two defense pairings from last season — Aaron Ekblad with MacKenzie Weegar and Anton Stralman with Riley Stillman — appear to be staying together at least to start 2021. Keith Yandle and Radko Gudas look like the frontrunners to be the third defensive pairing, with Chase Priskie and Brady Keeper in contention for the seventh defenseman spot on the roster.