Notebook: 4th Line Keeps it Simple; Boughner Makes Adjustments

SUNRISE, Fla. -Trailing 2-1 early in the second period of Thursday's home opener against Columbus at BB&T Center, it was a strong sequence from the Panthers bottom-six that head coach Bob Boughner said nearly changed the tide in Florida's tough 5-4 loss the Blue Jackets.
Just over a minute into the second frame, the Panthers' third line came out flying, pinning the Jackets in their defensive zone with a relentless forecheck. Then, after several failed attempts by the opposition to clear the puck, the fourth line came off the bench and kept on hammering, wearing out the Columbus third line until it was finally able to break free after roughly 1:30 of duress.

"It changed the whole momentum of the game," Boughner said after Friday's practice at BB&T Center. "That's what you need out of those lines."
Following that sequence, the Panthers went on to dominate the second period, outshooting the Jackets 22-5 while also scoring three goals to carry a 4-3 lead into the final period of regulation.
"There's times where we're going to try to create momentum a certain way," Panthers fourth-line winger Colton Sceviour said of the bottom-six's philosophy. "We really want to create stuff by spending time in [the other team's] end, and we were able to do that on Thursday. It was huge."
While the entire bottom-six earned kudos from Boughner after the game, it was the play of the fourth line that really shined throughout the night. Despite starting 33.33 percent of their shifts in the offensive zone, the trio held a huge advantage in shots on goal (8-2), scoring chances (6-5) and high-danger scoring chances (3-1) at 5-on-5 play, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
"They play simple," Boughner said of the line. "They do everything off a forecheck, They grind the other team down. Even our skilled lines can take a page out of their book a little bit -- let your skill take over once you get in the o-zone. That's what the line does well."
In the second period, the fourth line also produced a very timely goal, as veteran winger Troy Brouwer positioned himself in front of the net and tipped a long shot past goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to give Florida a 3-2 lead at 8:57 - his first goal as a member of the Panthers.
"Anytime you get to a see team or a new city, you always want to have a good start," said the 33-year-old, who inked a one-year deal with Florida after being bought out by Calgary in early August. "For me, to be able to score a goal last night, especially at home, it gets you off to a good feeling at the beginning of the year."
With Derek MacKenzie out of the lineup while recovering from an upper-body injury, rookie Juho Lammikko made his NHL debut as the fourth line's pivot on Thursday. Seeing time on both the penalty kill and at even strength, the 22-year-old impressed Brouwer during his 9:43 of ice time.
"You could tell he was a little bit nervous to start the game," Brouwer said. "We had a few chats with him, just saying 'You're a great player. Enjoy it. You deserve to be here. Enjoy the moment because there's going to be a lot more of them, so make sure you enjoy the first one.'"
Like Boughner, Brouwer said the success of the line boiled down to one thing: keeping it simple.
"I liked the simplicity of our line, making sure pucks go forward, making sure pucks go in," Brouwer said. "Managing the puck is something that we've talked about as a line and as a team. That's something that we just wanted to be good at last night."

LINEUP CHANGES

The Panthers unveiled two new lines and power play units at Friday's practice.
These line changes primarily involved the team's middle-six, where Mike Hoffman was bumped down from the second line and Denis Malgin was moved up from the third. Boughner said the move wasn't necessarily based on the play of either skater, but rather a desire to shake things up in order to provide a boost to both lines, which have gone scoreless through the team's first two games.
"Something needs to change a little bit," Boughner said. "It's something I did throughout the season last year. When it's the right time, I think a change can be helpful and energize a line here and there. I'm sure at some point we're going to see those guys back together. But I just need a little more straight lines, a little more stops and starts off [the second line] and a little more puck management."
Boughner said the fact that Malgin has already played with Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck on that second line (they saw a total of 188:45 of ice time as a unit last season) made his decision to pull the trigger on the early-season switch with Hoffman that much easier.
"That was the thought, too," Boughner said. "I could have easily switched and put someone on that third line other than Hoff, but I know that Huby, Troch and Malgin did have some success last year for a while. It was a positive meeting today."
After experimenting early, Boughner said he also decided to axe the unique power play unit of five forwards that the team has been deploying since the final game of the preseason. Instead, defenseman Keith Yandle will move back to the top unit, while Huberdeau slides to the second.
With this change, it appears Florida's top power play unit will now consist of Aleksander Barkov, Evgenii Dadonov, Trocheck, Hoffman and Yandle, while the second is likely compromised of Nick Bjugstad, Aaron Ekblad, Jared McCann, Malgin and Huberdeau.
"I thought we were too fancy on our first unit and not urgent enough," Boughner said of the change on special teams. "It has nothing to do with five forwards or D back or anything, just the actual units producing chances."
The Panthers (0-1-1) will look for their first win of the season when they host Vancouver on Saturday night at BB&T Center.