There will be a big silver lining if the Florida Panthers fall to the New York Islanders
The Florida Panthers’ season could quickly end Wednesday if they drop Game 3 of the qualifying round to the New York Islanders. An early exit, however, could have its benefits for the Panthers, who were perhaps lucky to even have a chance to make the Stanley Cup playoffs after the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly ended the regular season in March.
One of the eight teams knocked out in the qualifying round will land the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft after the NHL was forced to modify its draft lottery to account for the expanded postseason. At the first phase of the lottery in June, the NHL assigned odds — ranging from 1 percent to 6 percent — for eight placeholder teams, listed as “Qualifier Team A” through “Qualifier Team H.” If any of those eight placeholders won any of the top three, the NHL decided it would hold a second lottery consisting of the eight teams to lose in the qualifying round to award the pick Monday.
“Qualifier Team E” was the lucky team on lottery day earlier this summer. “It” had just a 2.5 percent chance to win the No. 1 pick, yet it did. The eight teams to get bounced quickest from their Canadian hub city will have an equal 12.5 percent chance at the No. 1 pick and likely top prospect Alexis Lafreniere.
When the regular season ended in March, the Panthers were on the outside of the playoff picture. They were granted second life when the league decided to expand the playoffs to give teams like Florida, who weren’t yet eliminated, a chance to get into the traditional 16-team bracket. Now they will either make a miraculous run into the Cup playoffs for the first time since 2016 or they will have a real chance to pick No. 1 overall for the first time since 2014, when they took defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
If the Panthers wind up with the No. 1 pick, it will be the third time in franchise history Florida picked No. 1. It would also be the third time since 2011 the Panthers picked in the top five. Florida also took center Aleksander Barkov with the No. 2 pick in 2015 and All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau with the No. 3 pick in 2011.
Lafreniere, 18, is regarded as one of the best prospects to come along in years. The 6-foot-1, 192-pound left wing was the MVP of the 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships after scoring four goals, handing out six assists and leading Canada to its 18th world championship.
Lucas Wallmark returns for Panthers
For the third straight game, the Panthers reshuffled their lineup Wednesday, this time because Lucas Wallmark returned from a two-game injury absence.
The center, who missed the first two games of this best-of-5 series at Scotiabank Arena for an undisclosed injury, slotted in as the second-line center in his return to the lineup, flanked by wingers Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov. With Dadonov’s move from the first line, center Noel Acciari took his place as the right wing next to center Aleksander Barkov and All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau on Florida’s top line.
In a must-win situation, the Panthers overhauled their bottom two lines, too. Forward Erik Haula, who had been the second-line center, slid down to the fourth line and was flanked by left wing Dryden Hunt and winger Brett Connolly. On the fourth line, forward Dominic Toninato played left wing, forward Brian Boyle played center and converted defenseman Mark Pysyk played right wing.
Hunt and Toninato were new additions to the active roster after both were scratched for Game 2 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Florida scratched wingers Colton Sceviour and Frank Vatrano, plus right wing Owen Tippett, and centers Eetu Luostarinen and Aleksi Saarela.
On defense, the Panthers scratched defensemen Mike Matheson, Brady Keeper and Chase Priskie, as well as goaltenders Samuel Montembeault and Philippe Desrosiers.
Florida Panthers sign defenseman prospect
As the postseason continues in Canada, Florida is still looking ahead to next season. On Wednesday, the Panthers added more help on defense, signing undrafted 23-year-old defenseman Henry Bowlby to a two-year, entry-level contract.
As a junior for the Harvard Crimson last season, Bowlby scored eight goals and handed out eight assists. The Minnesota native scored 21 goals and dished out 24 assists in three seasons at Harvard. He also earned the ECAC Hockey Commissioner’s Award for having the highest GPA on the team for the academic year.
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 10:40 AM.
