Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

After that despondent NY Islanders game, Head Coach Pete DeBoer tried to downplay the loss – claiming the side played with heart, but overcomplicated things and tried to get too nifty. Whilst the latter is true, the former is more likely a comment that should be seen as a “coach’s answer” – one intended to keep the players confident and not risk tamper with team morale. You have to admire DeBoer for this, as anyone else might find it difficult to keep their cool after such a frustrating display. I certainly did!

Fact is, that it wasn’t a good enough performance and it was clearly seen on the scoresheet; the Islanders fully deserved their 3-1 victory and goalie Yann Denis was, despite the high number of Florida shots, rarely tested. So, a better game against the Leafs is needed to get back to winning ways. Good is that one bad game doesn’t determine a season, as frustrating as they may be, and there is plenty of time to recover from any dire spell encountered along the way.

The trick is to minimize any poor run of form and obviously have more committed, hard working games – than the slacker kind. Players are only human and will sometimes relax or simply have a bad spell. The season is ridiculously long in the National Hockey League and it will happen to everyone. Just look at Detroit – who recently had 5 straight losses!

It’s how you rebound from adversity – that is important.

Now, losing to the NY Islanders is more the stick in the wheel – kind of difficulty – than the flat tire Ottawa type. But, we are in an increasingly difficult part of the season; when wins don’t come easy or without considerable effort, so it does feel like we have a rebound game on our hands in Toronto.

The Maple Leafs helped us by beating Pittsburgh in their last contest, but that makes it two straight now and Toronto will be a thorny opposition for the Panthers tonight. There is no room for underestimation or lassitude if we want to win. However, committed hard work and determination should go a long way in seeing off the challenge.

Toronto are a vulnerable team, with all the speculation surrounding the club. If the Panthers can have a good start to the match – the Leafs may very well wilt as the tie progresses.

So; a good start, the right attitude and more straightforward north-south style of game will be key for Florida in this contest. And while the Islanders may not be the kind of opposition that inspires player to give their all – a matchup with Toronto (the heart of Hockey) usually does. Therefore it seems that the Cats should be able to rebound in this fixture and continue its winning/playoff/tilting ways.

David Booth meanwhile is doubtful for this game, still suffering from a bout with the flu. If he doesn’t play Kamil Kreps will fill his spot on the first line as left winger; next to Horton and with Zednik on the opposite wing. Brett McLean, who got the initial chance to fill in for Booth in the last contest, will again be moved down to the fourth line. With Kreps moved up, McLean will center that energy line with Stewart and Tarnasky on the wings. Otherwise no changes to the starting line-up are to be expected.

Thanks to the Ducks in Anaheim, Florida remain a mere 3 points behind Buffalo in 7th spot (Ducks beat Sabres 3-2 yesterday and ex-Panther Steve Montador got two assists in the match), while Carolina are only one ahead of us. Again we have games in hand on all opposing playoff contenders, which obviously is good, but only counts for anything if Florida wins them…

Leading up to tonight game the Eastern Conference Standings are as follows:

Similar Articles:

• The Playoff Race Tightens Up – Eastern Conference
• Looking Up and Beyond the Horizon
• No Room to Err

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