The Florida Panthers are on a break. And due to that break they decided yesterday to loan young spark plugs Josh Brown, Jayce Hawryluk and Ian McCoshen to the Springfield Thunderbirds for the duration.
Springfield will play three games, all on the road, before the Panthers return to action after the NHL All-Star Game.
Tonight, the T-Birds will face the Hartford Wolf Pack and then they will play a Friday-Saturday back-to-back against the Syracuse Crunch and Providence Bruins.
The Thunderbirds are currently in fourth place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the P-Bruins, so this is an important week for the club, who will gladly welcome the infusion of talent.
Florida got a little bit of help on the NHL scoreboard last night, but not as much as they would’ve liked as the Carolina Hurricanes managed to collect a point in an overtime loss to the Calgary Flames and the New York Islanders did the same in a shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Better one than two, I suppose…
In Atlantic Division action, the Detroit Red Wings moved closer to the Cats with a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, while the Ottawa Senators dropped a 3-2 decision on home ice to the Arizona Coyotes.