The Florida Panthers are a day away from returning to action against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. It will be the Cats first road game of the season.
Columbus is currently sporting a 2-2-2 record and in second place in the Central Division, but keep in mind, they have played four more games than the undefeated Panthers and Dallas Stars, and three more games than the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Stars matched the Cats 2-0 record with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. In the other game divisional game yesterday, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 with rookie import Pius Suter notching a hat trick.
ICYMI, in weekend roster news, defensemen Riley Stillman and Brady Keeper were sent to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. These moves provide the roster flexibility to activate Markus Nutivaara and Juho Lammikko, who could both be in the lineup on Tuesday. Two players would need to slide down to the Taxi Squad for Nutivaara and Lammikko to be added to the NHL roster.
The Crunch have an exhibition game versus the Utica Comets schedule for Saturday. The two teams will open the AHL regular season against each other on February 6.
College Cats
Ty Smilanic scored a first period power-play goal in Quinnipiac’s 4-2 loss to Clarkson. The freshman forward finished the game with three shots on goal and an even rating. Smilanic is second in the nation in goals with eleven, one behind Arizona State’s Matthew Kopperud.
Ty says TYSM on the feed from Tufto! #BobcatNation pic.twitter.com/Yhu9a2igbV
— Quinnipiac Men’s Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) January 10, 2021
Junior defenseman Cole Krygier finished with an even rating in Michigan State’s 2-0 win over Ohio State. Krygier has scored two goals in 16 games for the Spartans this season.
Freshman defenseman Mike Benning finished with a -1 rating in Denver’s 5-2 loss to Nebraska-Omaha. Benning has 8 points (1G/7A) in 13 games for the Pioneers this season.