Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

The Panthers came in to the home-and-home header versus Southeastern rivals Washington, high on confidence, but left with team morale in tatters.

Having won three straight games and played the best hockey so far of the season, fans and players alike felt that the Caps looked ripe for the picking.

The Capitals were without inspirational sniper Alex Ovechkin and had, up to that point, not done very well without him.

Early in the first game of the back-to-back series, Washington also lost their goal scoring defenseman Mike Greene and all signs of victory seemed to point firmly in Florida’s direction.

However, it was not to be.

The Caps cruised to a 4-1 victory in Sunrise and then came from behind to punish the Cats in a third period licking in Washington.

The Capitals emerged from 3-2 down and turned proceedings on its head by scoring five goals in that third period. The Panthers only managed one and consequently lost the game 4-7.

The second period had looked promising for the Cats as the call-ups from Rochester, of the AHL, gave the Floridians a chance to win with their all-heart performances. Kenndal McArdle, Michal Repik, Victor Oreshkovic, and Jeff Taffe, not only filled the numbers—but also visibly led the Panthers when going forward.

If only more of the regular players and veterans of the Florida roster had decided to show up for this game as well…

Especially the defense and goaltending was dreadful to behold. Unless of course, you were one of the many waving fans in red that urged their team to triumph in that decisive period.

I’m sure they cheerfully acknowledged the Panthers’ inability to keep the Caps at bay in front of the crease, or at the far post, and the subsequently appalling goaltending provided by Scott Clemmensen—when pucks came bouncing his way.

Clemmensen is having a torrid start to his Florida career; posting a hideous 5.13 GAA in his four starts of the season. Not that it’s all Scott’s fault though…

"It was like Murphy’s Law. Anything that could go wrong, went wrong," Clemmensen told the Associated Press after the game. "We weren’t very good down low; there were a lot of open guys around the net. It looked like a fire drill down there. It was total chaos from my perspective."

From my own perspective, in front of the TV (admittedly not the best viewpoint), it looked like the Caps knew very well how to crack Clemmensen wide open.

Yes, the defense did a poor job in helping him out, but a high-quality goaltender should have been able to stop a few of those pucks that went past Scott on this particular night—and the one in Dallas last week when he let five slide by.

Scott continues to look wide open along the ice and down by his legs; the Caps have obviously noted this and scored almost all their goals down low, rather than trying to go top shelf on such a tall frame.

Moreover, his reaction time was sluggish, bordering leisurely, and overall this was just a terrible performance from a goalie standpoint; backup or not.

It is understandable that Clemmensen will be rusty after having been sidelined with the NJ Devils for such a long time—prior to this season. After having stepped in for the injured Brodeur admirably last campaign, he was then demoted and did not feature in any more games.

But, he now needs to get his game on track promptly—if he wants to earn the confidence of his Coach and new fans in Florida.

Moaning about the defense and finding excuses won’t win anyone over here. Only good performances on the ice will do that.

In fact, that doesn’t just go for Clemmensen—that applies to the entire team.

This is a team game, and just as a team wins as a team—they should lose as one as well: No blaming other teammates or pointing fingers. ‘United we stand, united we fall’.

Comments like these, uttered after the game by Clemmensen, do not fall into the above category: "(What) we need to do is work on our coverage down low and behind the net."

OK, fair enough, that’s what the defense needs to do. I’m sure they’re quite aware of that too. But, dear Clemmensen, look at what you individually could have done better and what you could have done to help the overall team effort—instead of focusing on everyone else.

This is the Florida Panthers, not the New Jersey Devils, you will face many more shots and be challenged further around the crease, than what would have ever been the case in Newark.

You need to understand that, accept that you ultimately only have control over yourself and your own actions on the ice, and start focusing on how to adapt and improve your game to meet the particular needs of the Florida Panthers.

Get that, Scott?

No one was going to break the stalemate. It was obvious. These opposing forces were never going to find a way to smash the deadlock that had descended upon Sunrise.

The Hurricanes of Carolina huffed and puffed, but could not blow down the Floridian fortification amid the swamps. No less than 21 shots were hurled at the fort and it seemed that the gates would crash any minute under the sheer brute force of this Carolinian aggressor.

But it was not to be.

Nothing could or would rattle the impenetrable Floridian gateminder—who’d exuded poise and perfect composure to refute any and every ravenous shot aimed his at his direction.

Shepherded by this growling Czech, Tomas Vokoun is his name, Florida’s elite force of ‘Panthers’ looked defensively fierce—but lost and bewildered when leaving that comfort zone of the fort behind.

When finally finding their way past a perilous and mined no-man’s-land, the Panthers’ forward scouts also learned that Carolina’s wagon train was held with gritty determination.

Further advances in this area were easily Ward-ed off and futile it seemed.

Field Marshal Cam Ward and his force of punishing blue-line mercenaries, the celebrated ‘Canes’ or ‘Hurricanes’ as they’re known—held these forward arrays at a safe distance and forced the Panthers to shoot from the perimeters.

Some Cats however snuck through and tested the defensive line via flank attacks and circling maneuvers in front of the defensive crease. These assaults increased in the third stage of this Southeastern clash, yet no breakthrough looked imminent.

This conflict more and more started to resemble the slogging trench warfare of World War I; with constant mass frontal attacks and subsequent counter attacks, but it was to no apparent avail and at the end of the day—no ground had been either won or lost.

Abhorrent crimes of slashing and roughing started to accumulate and the penalty boxes soon filled up with criminals of war. Carolina tasted the letter of the law of this punishing institution on eight occasions—whilst Florida felt the belt seven times.

The numerical advantages rollicked back and forth and still neither side was able to make a decisive breakthrough of what was rapidly becoming a looming stalemate.

It was clear that this war of attrition was not going to be broken any time soon…

And yet, when frustration was reaching its zenith, the Panthers found the soft underside of the belly of this invading beast. A Carolinian defector, Cory Stillman, kept jabbing away and finally found that opening he must have known was there all along.

His shot ricochet off the protective shin pads of forward predator Steven Reinprecht and the bullet wriggled through Carolina’s Field Marshal, Cam Ward, to effectively puncture the deadlock and deflate the storm.

Once a hole had penetrated the visitor’s defense, the Cats could careen forward at will and drive the invaders firmly away from the Stateline of Florida.

The Hurricanes had run out of vapor and forward raids by the Panthers firmly scattered the Canes’ hopes of recovering steam. Cory Stillman and Bryan Allen both hit home and firmly settled the score in Florida’s favor.

It was a victory, which together with previously successful incursions into Dallas and St. Louis, gained the Florida Panthers some much needed plunder to add to an otherwise bare war chest.

Word is that the Panthers now have their eyes set on an ambitious foray upon the Capital of Washington…

As preposterous as this may sound, the Floridians may have reason for optimism.

Washington’s charismatic leader, the fiery Russian Alex Ovechkin, is apparently not fit for fight—and unless he makes an astonishing comeback—the Cats may be able to prowl the streets of the Capital in his absence and fetch more loot for the cause.

The Panthers have been unable to graze those alluring fields of green that blossom in northern springtime’s—for many years now.

It is starting to become an obsession to finally break out of the Southeast and reap the bountiful rewards of spring. The felines have been kept quietly at bay in the Floridian swamp lands, but now, they have found that missing bite and look poised to try and fight their way north again.

Follow that compass Cats—and we can defy those very laws of nature that have bound us to the delicate chains of extinction.

There is life in these felines yet and they are now trying to claw their way back.

To continue this streak of triumphs, the Panthers need to continue to soldier on through inescapable setbacks and injuries that beset all warring camps.

The defense must remain secure and help Vokoun herd the attacks to the flanks and not let any stray shooter find gaps to explore down the gateway. And then, if an opportunity arises, these reserves must be flung into forward action to try and tip the balance of the fight to Florida’s advantage.

The attack must be aggressive and constantly keep the opposition on their back feet. Pry for weakness and then crash—full force—upon their outer defensive crease. Attempt circling maneuvers and fight for every inch on the battleground.

The Panthers lack firepower and must thus rely on pack-attacks and overwhelm the opposition with sheer numbers and willpower.

Special Forces must also start finding the right explosive chemistry to help Florida benefit from numerical advantages that might occur.

There is still much to perfect, but the general battle plan remains intact; run, gun, and score victories—big or small—by committee.

A Panther unaided can be singled-out and subjugated by a determined foe, but a pack of ferocious Panthers—crashing camp at the rays of dawn—can strike a sharp blow to any rival challenge.

It was the moment that Florida fans had been waiting for…

From the first minute of the contest, the Panthers’ players stepped out on the ice in St. Louis and looked doggedly determined to win. And they went on to play their hearts out.

Finally! The Cats found their stride and showed some much improved play against the Blues.

Ultimately the Floridian visitors blanked the home side and scored four at the other end to collect another vital two points.

With the help of those two points, and the two gathered in Dallas, the Panthers moved above the Carolina Hurricanes and out of the basement of the Southeastern Division.

As in that game in Dallas, the previous day, it was the second line of Stillman – Reinprecht – Horton; which impressed the most and got important points on the board.

Cory Stillman got his first goal of the season and added an assist; Nathan Horton also added two tremendously taken assists to the equation.

The big story for Florida was however the solid play of the defense. And not just the defenders—the forwards were also all responsible in their zone and backchecked admirably.

Anything that still slipped through was pounced upon by Tomas Vokoun between the pipes.

Tomas has not had the best of starts to the campaign, but then again; he hasn’t been supported adequately by the guys in front of him either in previous matches.

The St. Louis game showed how good Vokoun can be if only given the right kind of support from his defenders. He looked sharp and was rewarded with a fine shutout to seal the game safe from any potential comeback of the Blues.

This was by far the most complete performance of the season from the Cats.

Not only did they play the entire 60 minutes, but everyone also did their jobs flawlessly and helped each other out when necessary.

I’m sure head coach Peter DeBoer will have said “Now that’s the way to play” to his charges after the match. And sure enough; that’s how we were expecting the Panthers to be playing this year—and hopefully this will mean that the players are finally starting to settle into their respective roles.

Florida does not have the most talented roster out there and must thus play as a united collective and outwork their opponents: Just as they did Saturday in St. Louis.

Worth noting is that the Panthers’ last season started equally bad before turning the corner on a western road trip. And the similarities don’t stop there. Like this current campaign the Cats suffered key injuries prior to that trip and were forced to bring players up from the AHL.

Those minor league players brought with them bundles of energy and work ethics that seemed to rub off on the regulars; sparking some much needed grit and resolve to win.

It was the same storyline this time around. And hopefully these resemblances will also mean that the club has now finally come together and found that inner fortitude to succeed as a team.

With a bit of luck the same bitter ending won’t need to be experienced this time around however…

One of the players that stepped up from the AHL to help Florida win in St. Louis was right winger Victor Oreskovich.

Having quit the game back in 2007, he made a comeback this summer and impressed at the Panthers’ preseason camp. He was eventually signed to a contract and then assigned to Rochester in the AHL.

Having played at Dallas the previous day, Florida’s coach DeBoer felt he needed a rested body for the game against the Blues on Saturday and called-up Oreskovich. Victor then proceeded to impress with plentiful of energy and big checks in his NHL debut.

The 23-year old, 6-foot-2, 225 pounder made his impact felt and was rewarded with premium ice-time from his former Junior coach—Peter DeBoer.

Whilst three players were reassigned to Rochester after the St. Louis game; Jeff Taffe, Keaton Ellerby, and Michal Repik, Oreskovich will stay with the Panthers for the time being.

Victor and Kenndal McArdle are the players to remain with the parent team in place of the injured wingers David Booth and Radek Dvorak. And so far both have wooed the coaches and fans with their uncompromising style of play—giving the Cats a much needed shot in the arm with an abundance of energy.

Hopefully the Panthers will now return to South Florida with their confidence restored as we head into a week of Divisional clashes.

First up are the Hurricanes on Wednesday at the Bank Atlantic Center, the Canes have now lost nine straight games, before the Capitals serve up a tough head-to-head confrontation on Friday and Saturday.

If the Cats hope to continue and climb the standings they must win a couple of these fixtures. Obviously this won’t be easy, but when a team is on the roll they can be mighty hard to stop for the opposition.

Hopefully the Panthers can continue to gain further momentum this coming week. The western trip gave us back some hope and confidence—now “all” we need is—consistency!

For Panthers fans it was nice to finally note another ‘W’ to the column and to see the forwards explode in a rare offensive Floridian fireworks display.

Well, maybe it was more a couple of individuals that burst the Cats back into life: Steven Reinprecht with his first period natural hat trick and Rostislav Olesz who scored Florida’s fifth goal of the match and the subsequent winning shootout tally.

Steven Reinprecht has been arguably the best summer pick-up by the Panthers so far.

Not known as a scorer, Steven has nonetheless stepped up and led Florida forward in this department. In the last six games he has now scored all of his eight tallies of the season.

It started innocently enough, when Reinprecht scored an empty netter against Philadelphia on October the 16th. Since then he has kept his goal streak going. And then yesterday—he virtually took the match by the scruff of its neck and propelled Florida forward by scoring the game’s three initial goals, all in the first period of play in Dallas.

Steven has been given the task of centering the second line this season and at the moment he’s finding some good chemistry with Cory Stillman and Nathan Horton on the wings.

Many fans, including myself, doubted that Reinprecht had the offensive capabilities of a second line centerman when he was brought in from Phoenix in June earlier this year.

With his performances in the last 6 games however, he has manage to shut us all up and wish we could clone him instead—and thus have twelve Steven’s on the team.

Reinprecht is a consummate pro who does the little things well.

Known previously as a solid checking center, he is now showing that he knows where the net is as well and is willing to step into that area above the crease to swoop up any loose pucks—and then put them firmly behind the goaltender between the pipes.

I hope the other Florida Panthers’ forwards are taking note: that’s how you get goals in the NHL!

Another forward that has been finding his feet this season is Rostislav Olesz.

Rosti had a poor season last year and had much of that campaign derailed by injury. Nevertheless, the Czech has managed to come back healthy and eager to show his metal this season and it is starting to reap some early successes.

In the opening games he was one of the best Florida forwards; trying and working hard but perhaps not being rewarded on the score sheet.

Hopefully he will now turn that corner after the Dallas game; where he became the Cats’ eventual game winner with a well placed goal in third period and then the eventual shootout winner as well.

Following David Booth’s injury against Philadelphia, Olesz has been given the chance to play on the first line with his friend and fellow countryman Michael Frolik on the opposite wing.

Centered by Stephen Weiss, they started to find some good chemistry as the game progressed in Dallas and began to exert a lot of pressure on the Stars in the third period.

Overall, this was a very good performance by the Panthers’ forward compartment.

The defenders meanwhile were decent and helped in the offensive endeavors. Jordan Leopold also scored a goal from a stunning Reinprecht cross-ice feed in the second period.

Defensively there were some question marks however—on both sides.

Especially the goaltending was shaky in the opening two periods before the backup netminder’s had shed the apparent rust off their respective shoulders.

Former Panther Alex Auld was between the pipes for the Stars, whilst Scott Clemmensen got his third start of the season for Florida. Both had evening’s they’d probably rather forget, but in the end Clemmensen had the last laugh as he blanked Dallas in the ensuing shootout.

On the whole this was another tentative step forward for the Florida Panthers and the win and offensive scoring will be straws of optimism to cling to.

Next up is St. Louis tonight on the mini back-to-back road trip for the Cats.

Having won just one of their first five games at the Scottrade Center, Florida will be hoping to further pile the Blues upon the home team tonight.

Hopefully yesterday’s victory in Dallas can inject some much needed confidence into the fragile Panthers and lift them toward another win.

Another triumph on the road would immediately propel Florida back into the reckoning and could be the proverbial turning of a corner—that South Florida fans are desperately hoping for.

The effort was good. The finishing product was not.

Lady luck did not smile on the Panthers as they struggled with shots hitting the posts wide and pucks trickling agonizingly past Tomas Vokoun at the other end.

The final indignity then came when an outwardly seeming harmless play by the Senators finds the puck unwittingly hitting Bryan McCabe and is redirected in over the Florida goal line.

It would appear that the South Floridians are getting no breaks whatsoever right now on the ice. And somehow that often seems to be the case when a team hits rock bottom, as the Florida Panthers have done of late.

Overall, this performance was a step forward for the Cats however.

They outshot an opponent (!), and didn’t take unnecessary penalties (only one—which Ottawa unfortunately capitalized on). And, believe it or not, a defender finally found the back of the net on the powerplay, courtesy of a Bryan McCabe slapper.

Despite these obvious improvements the Florida Panthers still find scoring as barren as water in a desert, whilst also gifting their opponents with ‘easy’ goals on the other end of the ice.

And it’s not just down to one thing either; this apparent inability to score. It’s the amalgamation of all things combined that is lethal…

The poor powerplay and penalty kill is just the beginning. Then we have the forwards that don’t shoot enough or get into the dirty areas of the ice sufficiently. The defenders that fail to pass the puck to the blade of the forwards and that don’t sweep up the netminders’ rebounds adequately.

All this, and more, adds up to a whole lot of trouble for the Cats.

The Ottawa Senators took advantage of any gifts that Florida gave them in the game and could retrieve two points as their reward, in a 4-3 win.

The Panthers are digging deep—but must go deeper yet—to turn things around.

As positive and upbeat as a fan tries to stay despite these setbacks; it is hard to see any turnaround of fortunes in sight.

To try and stage one might just require GM Randy Sexton to initiate a trade or two. Bring in some fresh legs and minds to this pale-looking-team.

Right now one gets the feeling that the players and staff are butting their heads against the wall in a futile manner that isn’t reaping any points on the board. Time for a change of tactics one might wonder…?

It is hard to pinpoint exactly where things are going haywire.

The players that were here last year and were then a pivotal part of that team should be accustomed to Coach Peter DeBoer’s tactics, and yet, they are without exception underperforming: failing to reach the play they showed themselves capable of last season.

The saving grace has actually been some of the new guys in the lineup: Jordan Leopold, Dennis Seidenberg, Steven Reinprecht and Dmitry Kulikov. If anybody, these are the players that should be struggling to adapt—or so one would have though anyway.

This peculiarity and the fact that the Panthers appear strikingly disorganized and indifferent at times; is what probably boggles the fans’ collective mind the most.

Not sure what to make out of all this.

Except of course, that there is still plenty of room for improvement after last night’s game against the Senators—despite it perhaps being the best consecutive 60 minutes played thus far this season.

There are several notches up the ladder that the players can reach if they work even harder in practice and games. And maybe then, lady luck will smile on South Florida again.

The Florida Panthers suffered two injuries in Philadelphia as a grimy Flyers team knocked out both Radek Dvorak and David Booth from the game.

Radek left the game with a lower body injury early in the second period. That injury didn’t look like a dirty hit, but the one that came later that same period definitely did have that appearance.

Mike Richards of the Flyers, known as a hard-hitting but not necessarily a dirty player, left his shoulder in and appeared to lift his skates from the ice when he slammed in to Booth’s head; flinging David around in mid-air and knocking him cold to the ice.

Booth didn’t see the hit coming until it was too late. The play was upheld for several minutes as trainers and doctors flooded the ice to help the wounded player. Blood was seen underneath his head as he lay motionless, face down, on the ice.

David looked unconscious for several minutes but had regained consciousness by the time he was lifted upon a stretcher and wheeled off and out of the arena to the sound of a standing ovation from the home crowd at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Latest news is that Booth has been taken to the Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia. We can only hope the injury won’t be as nasty as the hit looked like.

Latest news is that David is “alert and moving”. Florida’s General Manager Randy Sexton said that ”they are doing a whole host of tests just to make sure everything is OK”.

Randy Sexton also commented about the injury, saying amongst other things that “those types of hits have no place in the game” and that he’s “sure the league will do a full review”.

The verdict on Richards’ hit and subsequent suspension could come as soon as tomorrow. He was ejected from the game because the referee’s adjudged the hit to be done with “intent to injure”.

Mike Richards has stated after the game: “I was not trying to hurt him but separate him from the puck. He turned, everything happened so quickly”.

Hits and checks have an important role in the game and we should not look to limit this in hockey. However, dirty hits to the head cannot be tolerated. The NHL must make a statement here and take a long hard look at this instance.

The loss of David Booth will constitute a major loss for the Florida Panthers.

But for now we can only hope it is not too severe and that he won’t suffer any permanent damage.

Other Panthers that felt the malicious side of the Flyers team was Dominic Moore that was hit in the face in the first period and 18-year old defenseman rookie Dmitry Kulikov who got banged up in the corner. Apart from these hits however, most Philly checks were legal and the Panthers simply didn’t have it in them to answer back.

What this game highlights for the Cats is the need to have a real fighter on the team.

Someone who will make opponents pay for such reckless play as was seen tonight. Maybe if someone had stepped up in the first period and made an example, Mike would have thought twice about injuring Florida’s starlet winger who scored the visitors only goal.

The Panthers were too tame and, after the hit to Booth, they looked uninterested with the game as the Flyers flew away with a 5-1 win.

And who can blame them. The dirty knock to David reminds us all that there are more important things in life than winning or losing a hockey game.

In fact, there are 82 of them in the regular season alone and Florida sure could have needed Booth for the remaining 73…

The natural response to the eventual defeat that the Cats suffered yesterday at Pittsburgh is one of incredulity. The Panthers played so well for 40 minutes and then in the third period it all falls apart…

Yes, we all know that picture all too well. How often has not a Panthers fan seen that happen over the years?

Yet, as natural as that thought process may be, we must also lift our heads to see past that concluding disappointment and see the strides forward that were actually made in this game.

Who among us actually thought the Cats would get anything from this game at all?

With a red-hot Pittsburgh team, that was continuing to tear apart opposing teams in the early part of the season, one might be excused for fearing the worst: that Florida might be ripped to the bone and be left embarrassed—as against Buffalo on Wednesday.

But that did not happen.

Rather, the Panthers found their collective growl and did to the Penguins what the Sabres did to us in that recent first period. Obviously we weren’t going to get five goals like Buffalo did, but two important goals nonetheless. Both scored by Steven Reinprecht.

Reinprecht has found his footing in Florida and is now starting to contribute well to the team. With a three goal scoring streak going, he added a brace of nitty-gritty goals to his tally. Both were created by Steven crashing the crease and mopping up loose pucks to stick away.

In other words: just the kind of goals the Cats need to start scoring to be successful.

Indeed, whatever the coaches and players had been practicing, talking about, and doing to get focused for this game—it worked a charm. The Panthers of yesterday was a different team from what we saw on Wednesday or almost any other game of the season.

They worked so hard that many players seemed to have in progress began blowing fuses in the third period. Some sloppy play and bad decision became the result. It gave the Penguins a way back into the match and they grabbed it with both flippers.

Sidney Crosby showed why he’s regarded so highly by claiming both goals that drew Pittsburgh level late in the third period. The Panthers meanwhile showed why they still need to hone their special teams: the first goal was a powerplay tally and the second a shorthanded one.

The game thus went to the dreaded shootout and there Sidney once again made himself the home crowd’s darling with a nice deke and penalty score. It was the only one and hence the Penguins took the additional point.

One could argue that it was a fair result considering how dominant the Penguins were in the third and thus showed they had the cutting edge when it really mattered.

But, on the other hand, one could equally argue that for the first 40 minutes of the game the Panthers had been the better team and should have had a bigger lead than the two goals they had when entering the third.

Indeed, Panthers Caoch Peter DeBoer made that last point after the game, saying:
"We couldn’t get a third goal. We had opportunities, I thought maybe four or five tonight; some 2-on-1s, some chances around the net, but we have to find a way to get more goals."

Especially left winger David Booth was a constant thorn in the Penguins’ side, getting himself in 1-on-1 situations and into the scoring areas over and over again. Shame only he couldn’t find the target any of those times…

Booth seems to be in that place right now were nothing goes in no matter how hard he tries. But, sooner or later that vacuum will be released and hopefully David will then burst on to the scoring charts the way we want to see.

Other special mentioning’s go to Tomas Vokoun who was stellar in goal. One brilliant save after another in that third period; he single-handedly kept our hopes of winning the game alive.

The defenders as a collective also deserve plenty of praise. They did very well moving the puck to the forwards in the opening 40 minutes, as well as pinching-in to help the offense whenever possible.

The forwards also had their collectively best game of the year, possibly competing with the Philadelphia contest, working tirelessly and fore-checking hard. Only poor Rostislav Olesz looked out of shape in this game and was unfortunately involved in both Penguins’ goals.

His demotion to the fourth line, despite being perhaps the Cats’ best player to that point in time, obviously didn’t go down too well with him.

Rosti seems to have a fragile confidence and his downgrading apparently knocked it around a bit.

With the blip that the demotion of Olesz caused, Coach DeBoer’s line-juggling otherwise seemed to pay-off pretty well.

Nathan Horton took his relegation to the second line maturely and battled hard throughout the game. Dominic Moore looked lively centering the third and Michael Frolik worked hard on the top line.

Overall this was a good team performance from Florida. They picked up an unexpected point in Pittsburgh and can now go to Philadelphia with some renewed confidence.

It just goes to show that all is not lost yet, it is early in the season, and the Cats are finding some inner pluckiness and fortitude to try and guide them past these early trials.

With Less than two minutes on the clock, versus the Sabres, goalie Scott Clemmensen had already been put to the sword twice and was now reeled back-in, by Coach Peter DeBoer, for the early hook.

Tomas Vokoun fared little better in that first period, in fact, he fared a little worse…

Three more goals from a Buffalo team vigorously crashing the net, one of which was a Vokoun own goal (!), and the Florida hosts looked decidedly more like kittens than the more ferocious Panther.

And yes, the stats lie. Not the scoreline mind you. But rather the other stats that would make the uninitiated think that Florida may have dominated this game.

That couldn’t be further from the shocking truth: The Panthers didn’t show up for this game and was dismantled from the very first drop of the puck.

The only reason the Cats could perhaps fool the avid stat-tracker is that Sabres cooled off considerably after that 5-1 first period drubbing. They looked like they were out for a routine practice session and threw the Panthers a late bone of conciliation.

And so the game fizzled out in a 5-2 comprehensive victory for the visitors.

Not what the fans that had turned up had expected exactly. Not least after that impressive win over the Flyers on Friday; which ignited a little hope with the beleaguered hockey fans of South Florida.

The comment of my better half really sums up what many-a-fan was thinking when watching the game: “I waited anxiously for four days, and this is what we get!?”

It truly was a disgraceful performance from the Panthers.

As a fan, it is hard not to get overly emotional after such an appalling first period effort from the Cats. Yes, we’ve seen this before, but even though the Panthers haven’t been one of the better teams since its early heyday; they have nonetheless been a team hard to break down for most opponents in recent years.

Not so – this time around – it seems.

Beaten 4-0 by Chicago, 7-2 by Carolina and now 5-2 versus Buffalo… And had the latter not let up on the gas after the first period, it might as well have ended 15-3…

Ok, enough wallowing in misery. I amply did that last night; hence my sore head this morning.

All the same, the Panthers are now 2 wins and 5 losses into the season and look as fragile as a crackled Ming-dynasty vase.

It is clear that a determined opponent can dismantle this Florida team at will.

The two wins were both against teams (Chicago and Philadelphia) that had bad nights in those respective games. They were both rusty coming to those contests and the Cats could eventually scratch out the victories: but not without a lot of effort mind you.

So, what is lacking in this Florida team?

Well, Richard Zednik for one, Karlis Skrastins for another; and that’s not even mentioning Jay Bouwmeester…

Richard Zednik may have been an enigmatic skater at times and distressingly irregular; but when he scored, it was goals that went against the flow of the game. It was not merely beautiful goals, but momentum changing goals that could, and often did, flip a game on its head.

There is no Zednik on this year’s roster. No one to unlock an opposing team that has the Cats cornered on the ropes; gasping for air.

There has of yet not emerged a Karlis Skrastins on the team either. An ironman defender that sacrifices his body at every occasion and that always plays his heart out. And in so doing; inspires others to follow suit.

Jay Bouwmeester was of course irreplaceable. His puck-moving ability was a continuous source of “get out of jail for free cards” in seasons past.

In addition, he regularly closed down the opposing star players, clocked up minutes like no one else and was key on specialty teams. I miss Bo.

Nonetheless, he is gone and so we must do without him. It was not a choice of the organization; if the individual doesn’t want to stay – there is little else to do about it. The losses of Zednik and Skrastins on the other hand were deliberate moves of the organization.

“Scoring by committee” has become the mantra and a flashy winger like Zednik doesn’t fit into such a narrow box. He must utilize his wings to be effective. Thus, it was no surprise he left either.

As for Skrastins; it was a numbers game.

He wanted a two-year contract whilst the Panthers were only willing to dish out one-year deals. That was a real shame. Shortsightedness was allowed to guide the organization and hence we should probably have been expecting a 2 wins for 5 losses fallout…

Also, as I’ve earlier detailed in the “Life after Jay-Bo” article, the Panthers desperately lack size and grit in the defensive zone.

The risk of such a tactical line-up is that the Cats can easily become hemmed-in, within their own defensive zone and be thrown back against the boards for sustained periods of time.

We have thus far seen this scenario been played out, again and again, in the early going.

This is a wake-up call and the management must respond!

Get the players fired up; not just for one game in a blue moon, but for each and every contest. Also, GM Randy Sexton must start considering his trade options, and if possible, bring in a tall, strong, stay-at-home defenseman to help out poor Bryan Allen in that task.

That would be a good start. Then in the future we could perhaps look for offensive help as well. Scoring by this current committee is obviously not enough.

A goal scoring winger and a big No.1 center-forward would be the choice in a perfect world. But that’s not likely to happen anytime soon with salary restrictions and a distinctive lack of trade bait within the organization.

These are gloomy days for Panther’s fans: once again.

But the poor start is yet reversible.

If the team starts clicking from the first drop of the puck, and if management realizes that further reinforcements are needed, if success is required; this kitten can still grow into a menacing Panther.