Quenneville keeps weighing lineup decisions after Panthers’ disappointing playoff opener
Even after reshuffling the Florida Panthers’ entire offensive lineup ahead of Game 1 of the qualifying series Saturday, Joel Quenneville might not be done tinkering.
The Panthers weren’t on the ice Sunday, but the coach said he and his staff are considering some more lineup changes ahead of Game 2 against the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
“You always talk about what’s going to give you your best lineup or what you think might give you your best chance of winning, so we talk about it. We’re continuing to talk about it, as well,” Quenneville said. “We’ll see how we go into practice tomorrow or in the game, as well. We’re looking at some ideas.”
A day after dropping Game 1 to the Islanders at Scotiabank Arena, Florida headed to the OVO Athletic Center for an off-ice workout at the Toronto Raptors’ practice facility. It gave the Panthers a day to recover after their first meaningful game since March, and gave the coaches a chance to step back and assess what went wrong in Florida’s postseason opener.
All throughout their postseason training camp last month in Coral Springs, the Panthers used the lineup they were playing at the end of the regular season with a first line of center Aleksander Barkov and wingers Frank Vatrano and Evgenii Dadonov. After a shutout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game Wednesday, Quenneville decided to change everything for the start of the expanded postseason.
He reunited Barkov and All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau on the top line with Dadonov, and the change led to a reshuffling all through the lineup. On the second line, winger Mike Hoffman played the left side, forward Erik Haula is played center and Noel Acciari, usually the fourth-line center, played right wing. On the third line, Vatrano played left wing, forward Dominic Toninato played center and winger Brett Connolly played the right side. The third line had winger Colton Sceviour on the left side, forward Brian Boyle at center and converted defenseman Mark Pysyk at right wing.
The overhauled lineup accounted for one goal and 28 shots. Florida didn’t score until the third period and the defensive-minded Islanders outshot the Panthers in two of the three periods.
One possible change on offense could be the return of Lucas Wallmark. The center, who had been playing on Florida’s third line, was a surprise scratch Saturday, missing the 2-1 loss for an undisclosed injury.
“This time of the year, sometimes you’ve got guys that are very close to playing or ready to,” Quenneville said. “He’s close to joining us, but we’ll reevaluate the lineup going into the next game.”
So far, Quenneville has not made any changes to his defense, sticking with the three pairings he used to end the regular season. Sergei Bobrovsky was happy with the way his defense played Saturday, limiting New York to 28 shots, too.
“Guys worked hard defensively,” the goaltender said. “For the most part, they allowed me to see the puck and cleared. They did good box outs and managed the puck well in the defensive zone, so I think guys felt a lot better, but we need to take it to another level.”
Could we see Chris Driedger?
Florida has one more day to regroup Monday before it faces a grueling, season-defining back-to-back Tuesday and Wednesday. Islanders coach Barry Trotz has already said backup goaltender Thomas Greiss could replace Semyon Varlamov in Game 3. Quenneville, however, isn’t ready to float any such ideas.
“I don’t think you want to look any further than our next game,” Quenneville said. “I never look ahead.”
As good as rookie goaltender Chris Driedger was in the regular season with his sparkling 7-2-1 record, don’t expect to see the rookie goaltender if Bobrovsky can repeat his Saturday performance in Game 2.
The two-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped 26 of the 28 shots he face, with one goal coming after a failed clear and the other coming on a New York power play. Bobrovsky’s teammates raved about his performance Saturday and Quenneville was still raving about it Sunday.
“I thought Driedgs did a great job for us this year, but I was very happy with Bob yesterday,” Quenneville said. “I think we’ll visit that opportunity at the end of the second game, but Bob — very pleased with him. He was outstanding in the game for us.”
