NOTEBOOK: Adjusting on the Fly; Hornqvist Making an Impact

In today's Baptist Health Practice Notebook, the Panthers are adjusting their schedule once again, a wild 14-on-14 scrimmage kicks off practice, and newcomer Patric Hornqvist is already making a big impact.
SUNRISE, Fla. --To quote Dante Hicks in the movie Clerks, "I'm not even supposed to be here today!"
Initially scheduled to spend Thursday facing off against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, the Florida Panthers instead found themselves in an all too familiar place this morning - practicing at BB&T Center.

After already having their season-opening series against the Dallas Stars postponed earlier this month, the Panthers, through no fault of their own, have once again been forced to adjust their schedule on the fly after having their games on Jan. 21 and 23 at Carolina shelved due to the NHL's COVID-19 protocols.
As of right now, the Panthers will not play another game until Jan. 26 at the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"It's been a little bit unfortunate in some of the ways, but I've got to commend the guys for rolling with the punches here, so to say, and then just dealing with what's next," coach Joel Quenneville said after this morning's practice. "It's basically what we've been dealing with since the game the other night."
Fresh off a two-game sweep over the Chicago Blackhawks to open their season, the Panthers will be doing whatever they can over the next few days to try and not let that momentum slip through their fingers. After all, by the time they've played their third game, most other clubs will be on their sixth.
That being said, you can only practice so much before hitting a point of diminishing returns. So, looking to keep things fresh, and given the fact his team has only had two games sprinkled over three weeks of on-ice sessions, Quenneville decided to shake things up a bit for his players to kick off today's workload.
Taking a page out of the pond-hockey playbook, practice began with some wild 14-on-14 action.

"We wanted to change the format, being a little flexible as far the monotony of practicing, practicing, practicing after training camp," Quenneville said. "It's kind of a fun drill you always keep in your pocket and try to throw out there at the right time when you feel it's a day to have a little bit of fun. Come to work and get a little bit of work on your individual skills after practicing. It can have a little bit of both."
Highlighting the uniqueness of the drill, the first goal of the scrimmage was scored by none other than taxi squad goalie Phillippe Desrosiers. Playing as a forward despite being decked out in his usual bulky gear, he somehow managed to lift the puck into the back of the net with his paddle to open the scoring.
"He kept the puck for the goal he scored," Quenneville grinned. Overall, players like Aaron Ekblad felt that it was nice to have a reprieve from the usual routine.
"We know we have to keep up that morale up," the Panthers defenseman said. "Obviously, we have to adapt and change in these situations in this ongoing pandemic. It's always going to be difficult, especially when you're taking 4-5 days off, but we know throughout practice here we have to create game-like situations and be ready for Columbus on Tuesday or anything else that might be thrown at us."
Looking at the road ahead, Quenneville said the plan is to hold a normal practice on Friday followed by an instrasquad scrimmage on Saturday (the regular kind, not 14-on-14). After that, players will be given the day off on Sunday to recharge a bit before practicing and then flying out to Columbus on Monday.
Off to a 2-0-0 start, the Panthers are simply going with the flow.
"We can't really control it, so why spend energy on it?" forward Patric Hornqvist said of the ever-changing schedule. "That's my approach to life. If you can't control it, don't worry about it. Just focus on the next day and hopefully we can play against Columbus next game."

HORNQVIST MAKING AN IMPACT

Speaking of Hornqvist, the veteran forward has been making a splash since joining the Panthers.
Finding the back of the net in both games against the Blackhawks, the 34-year-old forward currently leads the team in goals (3) and is tied with Jonathan Huberdeau for the most points (4). Of those goals, two have come on the power play, where he's carved out a big role for himself on top of the blue paint.
Following this morning's practice, Hornqvist spent extra time working on tipping pucks in front.
"He's brought some real good enthusiasm in the gym, on the ice, the push, the incentivizing different guys, holding different guys accountable, pushing the young kids in the right fashion," Quenneville said of Hornqvist. "He has the experience of knowing what it takes to win, competing from starting to finish."

As a kid growing up near Detroit in Windsor, Ontario, Ekblad said it was a "right of passage" for coaches to tell players to be more like Red Wings legend Tomas Holmström, who was one of the best forwards around the crease during his time in the league. Looking at Hornqvist, he sees the same type of player.
"Look at what he does, he stands in front of the net and he scores goals," Ekblad said. "It's the same kind of thing with Hornqvist. I think, collectively as a team, especially the D, during a game we know he's out here and we want to get the puck in front of the net because we know he'll do good things with it."
A two-time Stanley Cup champion (2016, 2017) with Pittsburgh, Hornqvist is in his first season with the Panthers after coming over in a trade during the offseason. Making a quick transition, he traveled down to South Florida right after the move was made and began training with a large group of teammates - a mixture of both veterans and rookies -- for about two months before training camp opened on Jan. 4.
Clearly, getting that head start was invaluable.
"It's been easy so far," said Hornqvist, who has scored at least 17 goals in each of his last seven seasons in the NHL. "I think the adjustment was pretty clear when I came here. [Panthers general manager Bill Zito] and I had a talk the first day and he let me know the expectation of me and the team. It's hard when you have 6, 7, 8 new players, but I think we've all been here for a long time now. It helps when we get those two months of skating before camp and get to know everyone."
In addition to his contributions on the ice, Hornqvist has also established himself as one of the team's leaders in a very short amount of time. Wearing an "A" on his jersey at home this season, you can spy his leadership qualities from all the way up in the press box as he's always seen talking to his teammates.
Whether it's on or off the ice, Hornqvist's impact is being felt.
"I've never seen a guy with that much energy," Ekblad, a fellow alternate captain, said of Hornqvist. "It's inspiring and motivational... He's never afraid to push other guys. It's a great learning experience in leadership for me."

THURSDAY'S PRACTICE LINES

There was no line work done this morning.
Check back after Friday's practice for updates.