CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -Like Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Florida Panthers have done their waiting. And although it hasn't exactly been 12 years in the chilling confines of Azkaban, a long summer on the shelf has players itching for some action.
"It's been a long time coming," center Vincent Trocheck said. "It's been a long summer, so everybody's champing at the bit… It sucks having to wait around this long, but it is what it is."
Notebook: Panthers Ready for Opening Night; MacDonald's Dream Comes True
It's been more than 180 days since the Panthers last took the ice together in a game where the points mattered. That game came all the way back on April 8, when Florida topped Boston 4-2 to put a bow on a bittersweet 96-point campaign - the third-best finish in franchise history.
For even though they went on a torrid 25-8-2 stretch following the All-Star break, the Panthers fell one point short of the playoffs, making the history books for being just the second team to ever miss the postseason with that many points since the league adopted the shootout in 2005.
After Friday's practice at the Panthers IceDen, defenseman Keith Yandle said it's that one point that really pushed players to work harder and train longer than ever before during the offseason.
"That's a long time," said Yandle, who appeared a bit taken aback when told about the gap in between games. "I think we've got to use that as motivation, too. If you make the playoffs, they'll be a lot less days not playing together. We've got to be ready. We're starting on the road against a good team. We're all bought in. We're excited for tomorrow and ready to get going."
Following practice, the Panthers boarded a plane for Tampa, where they'll open the 2018-19 regular season at Amalie Arena on Saturday night. In recent weeks, the two cross-state rivals became very familiar with each other, closing out the preseason with three straight exhibition games at three different locations around the Sunshine State - Tampa, Orlando and Sunrise.
"It's exciting," winger Nick Bjugstad said. "I woke up a little excited this morning, even though we're not playing tonight. We're ready for it. We obviously feel well prepared with the training camp we've had and all the practices we've had this past week. It'll be a fun first game playing against Tampa…But this summer's been very long.
"You can only play so much shinny hockey and train so much. I feel like you need to experience more games. That's our goal this year. We've got to make the playoffs. That's got to start tomorrow. We just had a meeting with the whole team and we have our impression of what our culture is. Everybody's on the same page. We're ready for it."
As a team hoping to make noise in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning stand as the perfect measuring stick for the Panthers. They won the Atlantic Division last season with a franchise-record 113 points and have qualified for the playoffs in four of the past five seasons. If the Cats want to make a deep postseason, their Stanley Cup run will likely take them through Tampa.
But, after a long season of training, coach Bob Boughner knows his team is up to the challenge.
"Everybody's put in a lot of hard work, and it didn't just start at training camp," Boughner said. "It's the preparation that these guys put in during the summertime, training and keeping themselves in great shape. I know the guys are sick of me talking about X's and O's, they just want to go out and they want to do it."
MACDONALD'S DREAM COMES TRUE
Jacob MacDonald found out the good news right after he stepped off the ice at practice.
After a long career in the minors, one that included 110 games in both the AHL and ECHL, the 25-year-old defenseman was pulled aside by coaches and told that he'd finally be making his long-awaited NHL debut when the Panthers opened the season in Tampa on Saturday.
"It's awesome," Boughner said when asked about giving the news. "It's special. I remember my first game. He'll remember that for the rest of his life. Hopefully he'll have some family come down and watch the game. He deserves it... He's come a long way up the ranks."
MacDonald, who couldn't hide his smile when talking to reporters, said that he'll need more than a just few tickets for the game, as his dad, stepmom, brother, girlfriend and several other friends will all be making the trip to Tampa - even if he hasn't had time to call them yet.
"They don't even know yet," said MacDonald, who scored two goals in the preseason to lead all Panthers defensemen. "I just got off the ice. I'll be calling my dad on the way over to the plane."
Named to the AHL All-Star Classic after leading the league in both goals (20) and points (55) by a defenseman in 75 games with the Binghamton Devils last season, MacDonald joined Florida on a two-year, two-way deal this summer. As it has been throughout his career, the Cornell grad said he doesn't know what to expect in the future, but, as always, he'll be taking it day by day.
"We'll focus on tomorrow when tomorrow comes," he said.
To hear more about MacDonald's wild journey to the NHL, check out his interview in this week's episode of Territory Talk below!
