Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

Having been bit by the injury bug of late, the Florida Panthers are starting to experience some hardship along the winding path of playoff hockey. As the teams get more desperate in that race, the checks get harder and the injuries more prone to occur. Now is when a team’s depth is usually challenged. That has been the case for the Panthers on this latest five game road trip, which will be closed out tonight in Atlanta, Georgia.

Two players that are definitely out of the line-up are: David Booth and Nick Boynton.

David was hit hard a couple of time by Washington’s defenseman Mike Green, in the previous game, and will be out with an upper-body injury. He’ll then be listed day-to-day and might be back for the pivotal Pittsburgh game on Thursday.

Boynton will perhaps also be back in the fold for that game. He was sent home after an alleged breach of discipline, after the NY Rangers fixture. Quite what happened has not been fully revealed, but it seems Nick may have confronted Head Coach Pete DeBoer as to why he was sat out in the second half of the game. Whatever was said, and how it was said, it was enough for DeBoer and GM Jacques Martin to discipline Boynton by sending him home to South Florida. Pete has said the Panthers will meet with Nick tomorrow and “go from there”.

Cory Stillman and Tomas Vokoun however, may be ready to return today, already.

Stillman who has been out since the morning skate at Madison Square Garden on Feb 26th with a bruised foot, looks like he might be ready to return: “If Cory makes as much progress today to (Tuesday) as he did from (Sunday) to today, I’m pretty sure he’ll play. We still have to give him another 24 hours to make sure,” Pete DeBoer said yesterday. With Booth definitely sidelined it seems like a sure thing that Cory will be starting the game tonight.

Vokoun meanwhile is doing better after an ear infection had sidelined him for the previous four games on the road trip. He joined the team yesterday, after driving from Washington to Atlanta. Coach Pete DeBoer said: “I want to see how Tomas feels after the skate today. […] When he wakes up tomorrow morning we’ll make a decision.”

At time of writing, no decision has yet been made, but with Craig Anderson rebounding well against Washington (after the big loss to New Jersey), I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in goal today too. There’s no point in rushing Tomas unless he’s fully fit to play. Craig is a capable back-up goalie who’ll be ready to play if needed.

Whoever is in goal, he’ll have an active night tonight, as he’ll face the hottest player in the NHL at the moment: Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk was named the NHL’s No. 1 star of February; after scoring 13 goals and getting a total of 21 points during that previous month. Atlanta will however be without veteran puck-moving defenseman Niclas Hävelid, who was dealt to the New Jersey Devils yesterday. Rookie defenseman Anssi Salmela went in the other direction.

The Florida Panthers players, staff and fans are in the midst of gearing up for an epic combat in Raleigh this evening. The eighth spot is up for grabs and whoever wins the contest will set themselves in pole position, as we enter a hectic and very thorny stretch of games here in February for the Cats and the other playoff hopefuls.

Neither combatants saw action last night, but there were skirmishes elsewhere with massive implications for the Eastern Conference playoff race. Let’s take a look at the results and standings to see what the repercussions are for Florida.

New York Islanders @ New Jersey Devils 2-4

The Islanders put up a good fight, especially their goaltender MacDonald saved any potential blushes with an impressive performance. However, the Devils proved too good for the New Yorkers and especially Langenbrunner and Parise continued their goalscoring ways with two each; winning the game for New Jersey 4-2.

This shouldn’t have too much bearing on Florida as New Jersey look far too classy to ever get involved in the playoff race, they are more comfortable up-front among the Divisional leaders.

Washington Capitals @ New York Rangers 4-5 SO

The big story here was that Washington defenseman Mike Green continued scoring (2) to tie the record consecutive goals scored for a defenseman in the league. Nonetheless it proved not to be enough for the Caps as the Rangers – for the ninth time this season – prevailed in the shootout. If they ever do make the playoffs they owe a debt of gratitude to goalie Lundqvist who keeps winnings those shootout challenges for his team. Another positive for Rangers was that they finally managed to score some goals(!)

Disappointing for the Cats as we would have hoped a dejected Rangers side would show up here in Sunrise tomorrow and that we then would be able to rise past them in the standings. Yet, by getting another shootout win in New York, it should see their confidence levels markedly increase and it will now be another tough game for the Panthers. No one seriously doubts at this moment in time that Washington won’t win the Southeast Division and qualify for the playoffs, but they can nonetheless not afford to start relaxing quite yet.

Chicago Blackhawks @ Atlanta Thrashers 3-1

The Atlanta Thrashers are of course dead and buried as far as the playoffs are concerned, but they did put up a massive effort against the Hawks and only an stupendous string of saves from Khabibulin could stop them from winning this game. Chicago are not as comfortable away from home, but have now strung together some nice victories on this latest 8 game road trip they’ve been on.

Blackhawks will grace the Bank Atlantic Center ice next Thursday, and looking at this result it will be a tough game for the Panthers. They are young, hungry and aggressive – it will certainly be a good test for Florida to see how well we match-up with the better Western teams. As for Atlanta the best they can wish for at the moment is getting that No.1 draft pick this summer…

Ottawa Senators @ Buffalo Sabres 3-1

The Sabres were let down by their bungling power-play and could not get enough pressure on the Ottawa net to score plural goals and win this game. The Senators meanwhile had a good game as their top-line was in the mood to play. That is not always the case, but when they are – Ottawa win more often than not. Shame for them it happens at a point in the season when it doesn’t really mean that much; the playoffs remains firmly out of the Senators reach.

Ottawa win one for the books and Panthers fans will be delighted. This means we are merely two points behind the Sabres with two games in hand! Also, it must be mentioned, the loss of top-scorer Vanek for several weeks will be a very tough blow to Buffalo’s hopes of making the post-season. But then again that is the risk you take as a club if you are too dependent on one or a couple of players to perform. Maybe Ottawa should take some notes here…

San Jose Sharks @ Pittsburgh Penguins 1-2 SO

After affirming their Stanley Cup credentials against Boston (5-2), the Sharks came up empty handed against a more desperate Penguins side. It was a goalie match-up that went all the way to a shootout; were Crosby scored the winner on Sharks goaltender Boucher. Both netminders had spectacular games between the pipes, but it was Fleury that claimed the bragging rights at the end of the tiebreaker.

Not good for Florida as the Sharks again let us down badly. They have now in short time lost both against Carolina and Pittsburgh and San Jose have certainly not been helping us in the playoff-scramble one bit. (Maybe it is there revenge on us for beating them earlier in the season…) Anyway, Pittsburgh win and put themselves within a point of the Panthers, but with more games played. The Penguins may prove to be a difficult team to shake off; which makes it all the more important to beat Carolina and catch up with Buffalo tonight.

Montréal Canadiens @ Edmonton Oilers 2-7

Montreal’s woeful trip to the Northwestern parts of Canada continued with another hammering; this time against Edmonton. In truth the Oilers just had one of those days were all the pucks bounced their way and the Canadiens couldn’t get any breaks whatsoever (especially not the poor goaltender Price). Nonetheless a disturbing loss if you are a Montreal fan – hoping for centennial celebrations at the end of this year. The Oilers meanwhile put themselves back in to the playoff contention in the West with this win.

Losing seven straight games on the road is not the way to get yourself in to the playoffs, and indeed, Montreal may now be on the way of not only getting embroiled in the playoff race – but also slide down to the wrong side of the standings if nothing changes dramatically and soon. This is good news for the Panthers as it means we have another team locked in sight that we can catch up with – and pass – down the stretch.

“We had to play a big 20 minutes in the third” said Peter DeBoer in a post-match comment. And boy, did they ever! A goal every four minutes later and Panthers had given Atlanta a thrashing they won’t forget easily; 5-1 in the period and 8-4 overall. Key was once again the Peltonen – Campbell – Dvorak line that among themselves collected 8 points over the course of the game. Michael Frolik chipped in among others with the franchises mere second home penalty conversion ever and Florida has five straight games of four goals or more. Long last it seems the forwards are producing, not only in defense, but also in the offense.

The superlatives naturally hailed down upon the shiny Cats after the game, they now head for some well deserved game-day rest over the next five days. A finger of warning may be however be warranted. Over the course of 60 minutes it wasn’t a great game by the Floridians; despite what the scoreboard might indicate, it was a tight game before those last 20 minutes settled affairs on a rather explicit note. Atlanta were well in the game, despite going down somewhat unfortunately 1-3 in the first period, but came back fighting in the second tying the game at 3 – when that landslide third hit the Thrashers dead in the tracks.

It is in itself a good sign of course that Florida could again come out in a third period and run the opposing team ragged, especially considering the grueling schedule the Cats have been adhering to lately. They seem to have that mental and physical reserve which they can throw in to battle when needed the most.

What a difference that is from previous Panthers! And what hope that generates amongst us fans… We are only one point behind Carolina and Buffalo and even the Devils might be mastered if this rich vein of form continues.

That will probably be the difficult part, especially these next few games. A five day break is no doubt well deserved and pleasant for the players and their families, but last time the Panthers came back from a little holiday – following a similarly impressive winning streak – they lost the next four games against weak opposition. Hopefully that lesson has been fully digested and we’ll be the experience richer this time around. And with Philadelphia coming flying in to the Bank Atlantic Center next, there will be a stern opposition waiting the Cats for sure. Preparation is everything.

In today’s matinee game the Panthers showed a lax attitude for 40 minutes and while they could get away with that on this day, due to that immense third period showing, they can ill afford such luxuries against other teams. Somewhat surprisingly that is especially true for Florida against “weaker” teams, perhaps because there are no teams that bad that the Cats can walk all over them with a 90% attitude and effort. As already expressed here, lessons must be learned and this is an important one. If we can’t beat the teams below us in the table we won’t make the post-league contest this year either and that’s a fact. Common NHL knowledge is that clubs in or around the playoff race will only get tougher to beat as the season progresses and the battle intensifies.

In this context it was especially satisfying to see Coach DeBoer prowl the dressing room entering the third, and giving the players a reality check and wake up call. It worked as we all saw, but the players need to step up their games in these kinds of contests. In an 82 game league – consistency is key – to make the playoffs. And consistency personified amid the Panther ranks, is undeniably the Peltonen/Campbell/Dvorak line; hardly surprising then that they essentially won us this game and two very important points.

The game was designated “kids day” at the Bank Atlantic Center and the old-fashioned 8-4 scoreline is sure to attract and inspire a few new Panther cubs. Overall it had us all dancing like rats on the table, dreaming dreams of grandeur and reinforcing that sense of long lost hope – that once again is establishing brittle roots here in South Floridian soil. Now we need to pick up this winning streak, where we left off today, come Friday and spread those roots ever deeper in to the hearts and minds of the Floridian consciousness.

And suddenly five days seems like an eternity, doesn’t it?