Florida's Time To Shine (A NHL 14 GM Mode Series)

[Number999]

First Game for newly reformed Panthers goes just as planned

Florida Panthers at Dallas Stars
Oct 3, 2013 1 2 3 F FLA (0-0-0) 1 1 3 5 DAL (0-0-0) 1 0 1 2 Three Stars Cody Eakin 1 G | 0 A | 1 P | 5 H | 2 S | -1 Aleksander Barkov 1 G | 0 A | 1 P | 1 H | 3 S | +1 Brian Campbell 1 G | 0 A | 1 P | 3 H | 1 S | 1	Team Stats Comparison FLA DAL Shots on Goal 22 23 Hits 32 22 Faceoffs Won-Lost 2 12 Penalty Minutes 10:00 10:00 Power Plays Converted 0 0 Power Play Opportunities 0 0 Time on Attack 9:02 6:07
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD FLA David Booth Goal, assisted by Ian White and Dmitry Kilikov DAL Erik Cole Goal, assisted by Jamie Benn and Trevor Daley SECOND PERIOD FLA Anthony Mantha Goal, assisted by Scott Gomez and Ron Hainsey THIRD PERIOD FLA Aleksander Barkov Goal, assisted by Hunter Shinkaruk and Darnell Nurse FLA Brian Campbell Goal, assisted by Ryan Smyth FLA Bobby Butler Goal, unassisted DAL Cody Eakin Goal, assisted by Vernon Fiddler
Florida Panthers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Ilya Bryzgalov 23 21 91% 2.00
Dallas Stars - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Kari Lehtonen 22 17 77% 5.00

Game Recap

What a great start to Cyclone's reign as GM of the Panthers! A scoring onslaught against the Dallas Stars, many good signs were shown. Scoring 5 goals? Pretty solid for a team that's incredibly young. Nonetheless, let's break this down better than anyway I can, with the good the bad and the ugly.

The Good:
1. 5 goals no matter against who is an amazing way to start the season, especially on the road.
2. Barkov and Mantha each scored which was huge confidence boosters for the youngsters.
3. Booth played an all-around amazing game on both sides.
4. Bryzgalov looked very solid despite being an emergency starter, allowing both goals only due to cross-creese passes.
5. The Panthers were hitting the Stars early and often, a great mentality for a young team to have.

The Bad:
1. Both goals were cross-creses which hurt Bryzgalov, the defense needs to do a better job.
2. The defensemen had trouble passing in the offensive zone, it was strange, Hainsy and Ed just couldn't connect to each other.
3. Barkov was battered around early in the first two periods but scoring a goal in the 3rd period upped his confidence.

The Ugly:
1. Brian Campbell kept getting trash-talked by Rich Peverly, eventually in the 3rd both went at it and Campbell laid out Peverly on his bum, thus propelling the Panthers to two more goals in the 3rd period.
2. Once again, another fight. Jamie Benn went dirty and took OUT youngster Sean Monahan as a "welcome to the pros" type of welcome, Ryan Smyth did not take kindly to this. Thus laying Benn out without getting a finger laid on him. No matter what you say, the 37-year old still has game.

[Number999]

Just as a little note, I will not be posting a box score for EVERY game, but any ones I find interesting or just as a little update I will post.

[Number999]

Panthers nearly escape from the jaws of life

Florida Panthers at St. Louis Blues
Oct 15, 2013 1 2 3 OT F FLA (1-0-0) 0 1 4 0 5 STL (0-0-0) 2 3 0 1 6 Three Stars Chris Stewart 1 G | 2 A | 3 P | 5 H | 3 S | +2 Brian Campbell 2 G | 0 A | 2 P | 2 H | 5 S | +2 Derek Roy 0 G | 2 A | 2 P | 3 H | 1 S | -1	Team Stats Comparison FLA STL Shots on Goal 26 28 Hits 38 25 Faceoffs Won-Lost 0 27 Penalty Minutes 13:00 7:00 Power Plays Converted 0 2 Power Play Opportunities 1 4 Time on Attack 9:31 6:37
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD STL 9:10 | David Backes Goal, assisted by Chris Stewart and T.J. Oshie STL 14:05 | Chris Stewart Goal, unassietd SECOND PERIOD STL 4:45 | Vladimir Tarasenko Goal, assisted by Chris Stewart STL 8:22 | Kevin Shattenkirk Goal, assisted by Derek Roy STL 14:56 | Alex Pietrangelo Goal, assisted by Vladimir Sobotka FLA 18:09 | Ryan Smith Goal, unassisted THIRD PERIOD FLA 3:48 | Aleksander Barkov Goal, assisted by Darnell Nurse and Dmitry Kulikov FLA 14:59 | Ron Hainsey Goal, assisted by Jonathan Huberdeau and David Booth FLA 16:43 | Brian Campbell Goal, assisted by Mikael Sammuelson FLA 19:52 | Brian Campbell Goal, assisted by Joey Crabbe OVERTIME STL 4:32 | Jordan Leopold Goal, assisted by Derek Roy and Jay Bouwmeester
Florida Panthers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Jacob Markstrom 28 22 79% 5.62
St. Louis Blues - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Jaroslav Halak 26 21 81% 4.66

Game Recap

Well, what a comeback but such a shame that the Panthers could not cap it all off. Going down 0-5 is not ideal, specially really makes you wonder if Markstrom can be a NHL goalie and if this team can last, but somehow someway this team fought all the back in the 3rd period only to lose in OT on a 5 on 3 (yes, the Panthers got two penalties) on by tripping on Ian White and the other for unsportsmanlike conduct to Scott Gomez. Sigh, the best way you can take away from this is that the Panthers fought back and were able to grab a point from this game. Serious questions now have to be asked though about if the defense is stable as well as if Markstrom should be getting 50/50 time with Bryzgalov.

[Number999]

Season #1 Roster

Florida Panthers Roster
#	CENTERS	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
11	Jonathan Huberdeau (82)	20	6'1"	177	Left	Canada
91	Scott Gomez (80)	33	5'11"	198	Left	Canada
20	Sean Monahan (64)	18	6'2"	193	Left	Canada
38	Aleksander Barkov (60)	18	6'2"	205	Left	Finland
#	LEFT WINGS	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
15	Brendan Morrow (83)	34	6'0"	209	Left	Canada
8	David Booth (81)	28	6'1"	216	Left	America
94	Ryan Smyth (80)	37	6'2"	192	Left	Canada
12	Anthony Mantha (62)	19	6'3"	178	Left	Canada
9	Hunter Shinkaruk (60)	18	5'10"	160	Left	Canada
#	RIGHT WINGS	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
37	Mikael Samuelsson (79)	36	6'2"	213	Right	Sweden
10	Joey Crabb (78)	30	6'1"	191	Right	America
60	Bobby Butler (78)	26	6'0"	185	Right	America
#	DEFENSE	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
51	Brian Campbell (84)	34	6'0"	189	Left	Canada
14	Ian White (84)	29	5'10"	191	Right	Canada
13	Ron Hainsey (84)	32	6'3"	210	Left	America
7	Dmitry Kulikov (84)	22	6'1"	205	Left	Russia
55	Ed Jovanovski (80)	37	6'3"	221	Left	Canada
25	Darnell Nurse (60)	18	6'5"	180	Left	Canada
#	GOALIES	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
31	Ilya Bryzgalov (84)	33	6'3"	213	Left	Russia
35	Jacob Markstrom (80)	23	6'6"	195	Left	Sweden

Just a little update on the roster, the little circles after the players names are the players overalls. So yea.

[Number999]

Panthers first home game with Cyclone at GM spot

Pittsburgh Penguins at Florida Panthers
Oct 11, 2013 1 2 3 F PIT (2-1-0) 1 4 1 6 FLA (3-0-1) 2 0 0 2 Three Stars Jussi Jokinen 2 G | 2 A | 2 P | 0 H | 6 S | +4 Beau Bennett 2 G | 1 A | 3 P | 1 H | 4 S | +3 Paul Martin 0 G | 4 A | 4 P | 0 H | 0 S | +1	Team Stats Comparison PIT FLA Shots on Goal 28 20 Hits 13 39 Faceoffs Won-Lost 21 6 Penalty Minutes 7:00 7:00 Power Plays Converted 1 0 Power Play Opportunities 1 1 Time on Attack 5:24 9:50
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD PIT 5:20 | Beau Bennett Goal, assisted by Jussi Jokinen and Paul Martin FLA 16:35 | Joey Crabb Goal, assisted by David Booth and Ian White FLA 18:28 | Ed Jovanovski Goal, assisted by Jonathan Huberdeau and Ron Hainsey SECOND PERIOD PIT 2:10 | Jussi Jokinen Goal, assisted by Paul Martin and Beau Bennett PIT 11:43 | James Neal Goal, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Paul Martin PIT 16:46 | Jussi Jokinen Goal, unassisted PIT 19:11 | Sidney Crosby Goal, assisted by Chris Kunitz and Paul Martin THIRD PERIOD PIT 7:17 | Beau Bennnett Goal, assisted by Jussi Jokinen and Rob Scuderi
Pittsburgh Penguins - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Jacob Markstrom 28 22 79% 6.00
Florida Panthers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Tomas Vokoun 20 18 90% 2.01

Game Recap

After Bryzgalov was able to beat the Flyers and Lightning on the road, Cyclone felt that it would be a good idea to have Markstrom start in front of the teams hometown fans as the first game at the stadium since Victor Cyclone has taken over manager. The result? Embarrassment, the game was disgraceful and Markstrom may have very well played his last game as a Florida Panther, overreaction? Maybe, but 12 goals in 2 games when the offense has given you plenty of help you should not be conceding that much, no matter what the team you face. Markstrom couldn't even go a whole period without giving up a goal. The real question for the Panthers is whether or not they can find a prospect goalie to replace Markstrom while Bryzgalov holds the fort.

[memphisonfire]

Yeesh off to a great start and then that...6-2 is never good lol and looking at your roster it looks like you're going to be hurting at the wings if any of your vets go down...but it could be a good thing/bad thing cuz it would give your prospects ice time.

[Number999]

Markstrom demoted, Bryzgalov named starter as goalie controversy brews

Well, that didn't take very long. Markstrom after having just 2 starts under his belt has lost his starting goalie spot with the Florida Panthers, being replaced by Bryzgalov. Many analysts around the world are criticizing Cyclone's tactics saying that this is not the way to bring along a prospect goalie and will only end up hurting his confidence. Regardless, you can't deny the facts. When the Panthers start Bryzgalov they are 3-0, when Markstrom starts they are 0-1-1. It should be interesting how the rest of the season carries on for the Panthers.

[Number999]

Panthers nearly choke game away, come away victorious

Los Angeles Kings at Florida Panthers
Oct 13, 2013 1 2 3 OT F LAK (2-3-0) 0 1 4 0 5 FLA (3-1-1) 1 2 2 1 6 Three Stars Dmitry Kulikov 2 G | 2 A | 4 P | 1 H | 5 S | +1 Aleksander Barkov 3 G | 0 A | 3 P | 1 H | 5 S | +2 Jonathan Huberdeau 1 G | 1 A | 2 P | 2 H | 5 S | +2	Team Stats Comparison LAK FLA Shots on Goal 29 42 Hits 24 22 Faceoffs Won-Lost 17 16 Penalty Minutes 24:00 26:00 Power Plays Converted 0 1 Power Play Opportunities 2 2 Time on Attack 6:10 8:46
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD FLA 7:30 | Aleksander Barkov, assisted by Ed Jovanovski SECOND PERIOD FLA 3:46 | Aleksander Barkov, assisted by Dmitry Kuilkov and Ilya Bryzgalov FLA 15:21 | Aleksander Barkov, assisted by Dmitry Kulikov, and Ryan Smyth LAK 16:14 | Dustin Brown, assisted by Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell THIRD PERIOD FLA 3:43 | Dmitry Kulikov, assisted by Jonathan Huberdeau and Brenden Morrow LAK 8:07 | Dustin Brown, assisted by Justin Williams and Drew Doughty LAK 10:42 | Jeff Carter, assisted by Mike Richards LAK 12:32 | Anze Kopitar, assisted by Justin Williams and Drew Doughty LAK 16:43 | Jeff Carter, unassisted FLA 19:47 | Dmitry Kulikov, assisted by Ryan Smyth and Brian Campbell OVERTIME FLA 2:08 | Jonathan Huberdeau, assisted by Ron Hainsey
Los Angeles Kings - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Jonathan Quick 42 36 86% 5.82
Florida Panthers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Ilya Bryzgalov 29 24 83% 4.89

Game Recap

Phew, that was close. A 3rd quarter collapse by the Panthers just about nearly cost the Panthers not just 1 point but 2. Luckily though with 13 seconds to spare on a powerplay opportunity Kulikov was able to slot it home and saved the Panthers. Then of course in OT Huberdeau was able to save the day. The question is concerning though, is it the Panthers defense or the goalies? Bryzgalov was unstoppable the first two periods but that third.. regardless, clearly as seen in the boxscore Barkov is a factor and it isn't a joke he can play with the big boys of the NHL. Even going as far as fighting Mike Richards and beating the crap out of him. The kid is hard-nosed, and hopefully can keep up a good season.