Forward Owen Tippett recalled from Florida s Taxi Squad by Florida Panthers / @FlaPanthers / FloridaPanthers.com
SUNRISE, Fla. - Florida Panthers General Manager
Bill Zito announced today that the club has loaned forward
Aleksi Heponiemi to the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Heponiemi, 22, appeared in three games with Florida, scoring one goal. He made his National Hockey League debut on Jan. 30 against the Detroit Red Wings scoring his first NHL goal in overtime and became the first Panthers rookie in franchise history to score an overtime goal in his first NHL game.
The 5-foot-10, 155-pound native of Tampere, Finland, was originally selected by Florida in the second round (40th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft.
It was such a relief, last night, to hear Chicago Blackhawks GM and President of Hockey Ops Stan Bowman address the rumors surrounding the health of Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews. Whatever weight you put on things you hear or read on the internet, the amount of rumors that had started to circulate would worry even the biggest skeptic. But to hear from Bowman that there had been no developments to report, and that some of those rumors out there are not true, was a weight off the shoulders of Blackhawks fans everywhere.
• Bowman downplayed the rumors, categorizing Toews’ health as “status quo.” In a conversation with The Daily Herald’s John Dietz, Bowman explained that “It’s not like we have information that we’re not sharing. It’s a situation where it’s just the great unknown when he’ll be feeling ready to play hockey again.”
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It s been exactly one week since Frank Vatrano lifted his arms up into the air victoriously.
Following their 5-4 overtime win over the Blackhawks on Jan. 19, the Panthers were forced to endure an extended hiatus from competitive action after COVID-19 safety protocols in Carolina kicked in and pushed their two-game series against the Hurricanes back to later in the season.
Now finally preparing to get back to work, Vatrano is confident the Panthers (2-0-0) can pick up right where they left off after that big win despite the week-long break as they prepare to kick off a four-game road swing against the Blue Jackets (2-2-2) at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night.
What To Watch For
• It’s been 317 days since the Blackhawks last played in the United Center. While there still won’t be fans in the arena, it will be amazing seeing the Blackhawks back playing a home game. Hopefully the feeling of the pregame anthem and the roar of the fake crowd will be able to suffice as home-ice advantage for Chicago.
• This is the first of eight meetings between the Red Wings and Blackhawks. The last time the long-time rivals were in the same division was the 2013 season, which ended with the Blackhawks eliminating the Red Wings in Game Seven of the Western Conference Semi-Final on their way to the Stanley Cup. Since then, Chicago holds an 8-4-2 record over Detroit in 14 regular season matchups. Chicago has not faced an opponent more than Detroit since the two began competition in 1926.