Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

So the Florida Panthers won the game in Philly yesterday… *yawn*… What is it about these Cats anyway? What is their problem? How come they lose the most important games and then win the one’s no one expects them to have a chance of winning?

I mean, it’s great that they beat the Flyers and finally got two points on the board, but where was this defensive display when we really needed it? Against Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Carolina – these were the games we needed to win!

Again the Panthers show that there is a plentitude of resiliency in this team, yet somehow, they don’t seem to have the mental strength or wherewithal to close out games that really matter. It really is a mindboggling paradox, isn’t it?

Being best when it matters, or rather, the lack of that quality in Florida’s case; is what makes or breaks a team and their chance of success. Wednesday in Buffalo the Panthers broke – for the fifth time in a decisive crunch game – since the trade deadline. And that’s just not good enough!

That could equally be said about constantly rebounding from adversity too, winning in Philadelphia is great – but it won’t magically catapult us in to the playoffs.

Florida seem to always be a step behind the action and react to events unfolding, rather than being proactive and forcing the hand of lady luck, this is true for the timid Cats both on the ice and off it. Resiliency is a great trait to have in a hockey team, but what about consistency? Unless it’s consistently losing, as was the case for a long time (waaaay too long!) here in South Florida, it is actually quite necessary for success in any kind of league format.

And so it comes as no real surprise that we continue to trail the top eight with seven games to go on the regular season.

Meanwhile, as the Cats grounded the Flyers, the Canadiens took care of business against our fellow West Floridians. That means Montreal remain two points ahead of the Panthers in the standings; with one game in hand.

Considering that the Habs are rediscovering that long lost work ethic and the stars are starting to star; the future looks bleak indeed for the Cats. I reckon Florida need to win six of the seven remaining games – whilst praying for a French Canadian slip-up somewhere along the stretch.

That kind of feat is not only improbable, but low and behold, it will require a consistency level that the Panthers so far have not shown themselves capable of this season. So whilst beating the Flyers is always nice, especially in their own building, you’ll have to excuse this punter for being skeptical of Florida’s distant playoff hopes.

I think we had a great chance, but spurned it – over and over – and that the final straw, when we summarize the season, came in Buffalo. Yet, I hope I’m wrong. I just don’t think so…
What is your opinion:

Is it still realistic to hope for a playoff in South Florida?

And so, a couple of notes from last night’s game:

Craig Anderson was back in goal, and as usually is the case when called upon; he did a good job. Yet, the 40 saves he made were, with the exception of one or two, not of top-notch-quality. So it isn’t really reason enough to get all carried away just yet. The Florida Panthers website and coach Peter DeBoer will of course make a big deal of the number of saves, but they both have ulterior motives for that.

The Panthers franchise will grip at any straw of playoff hope and emerging heroes; as they are in the business of building hype and selling tickets. Meanwhile, Peter DeBoer’s recent criticism of Tomas Vokoun has put the Head Coach himself under the microscope: Is he really the man for the job? Can you treat a seasoned professional the same way you would a developing junior?

I remain skeptical to that last question, whilst still positive about the first, but fact is that Vokoun needed a break and Anderson fully deserved the chance to show his metal – at this time of the season.

All teams need to rotate their goaltenders to some extent, and it was long overdue that Tomas got a break from the heavy duty which it is to be guarding the Panthers’ net. After all, no other team in the NHL let the opposing teams shoot as much – and as unhindered – as the Cats do. Although; yesterday the defenders and forwards did actually step up to relieve the goalie by making manifold game-saving blocks.

Craig Anderson finally got another chance between the pipes against the Flyers and did well when facing 42 shots.

Brett McLean and his fourth line combinations continued to produce the goods. If only we had four lines working as hard as this line does every night… No matter who’s playing here, they always seem to do a good shift. The same can’t be said about the inconsistent top two lines. Some nights they have it in bunches and other nights they virtually disappear from the action altogether.

I’ve been critical of Brett McLean at times, especially in the beginning of season and at the turn of the New Year. But, to his credit, he has kept battling through adversity and is now starting to come up big down the stretch. Yesterday he scored in his second consecutive game and got the match-winner in the third period. It seems Brett thrives in the gritty run-in hockey style of play and is feeling more at home in the current playoff climate.

Shame that that isn’t the case with many others on the roster….

Trio in focus. Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton and Brett McLean come to Vokoun's rescue and clear the puck vs. the Carolina Hurricanes. This trio has been stellar of late, unfortunately that can't be said about the rest of the team.

Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton just love playing together, don’t they! Bench Boynton and Ballard suddenly looks like a ghost of his former self. Pair them together and magical – hard hitting and productive – aggressive hockey ensues. It’s easy to see why Keith enjoys the company of Nick too. Just take the incident in the first period in Philly, when Ballard made a spectacular and clean hip-check on the hot-blooded Scott Hartnell of the Flyers.

The incensed and cowardly Hartnell attacked Ballard, who was down on the ice, and started pounding him. Guess who lead the cavalry and came charging in to his blood brother’s rescue — well, it was Nick of course!

Boynton looked like he would move mountains in his effort to free Ballard from underneath Scott’s pusillanimous assault. Nick took four minutes of penalties as he macheted his way through the Flyers’ ranks, but that is more a sign of the horrendous refereeing in this match than a chip off Boynton’s shoulders, and he made sure Keith could get up from underneath the melee and continue the game unscathed.

Ballard and Boynton where, by a mile, the best and strongest Floridian defensive pairing on the night – as they often are. Keith continued his punishing hits on the Flyers forwards and both got assists on stinging point shots that they took – when joining the rush and attacking the opposing net. The fact that Boynton has not been playing much since his run-in with Peter DeBoer, is probably a big reason behind why the Cats have been so timid of late.

It is, unfortunately, however you twist it and turn it, a sign of very poor coaching.

Hopefully DeBoer has learned his lesson and will keep Boynton in for the remainder of games and won’t continue to make the same dire man-management decisions regarding Tomas Vokoun too. In fact, if DeBoer is so desperate to find scapegoats – maybe he should take a long hard look in the mirror – and realize – once and for all; that this is not the juniors and you can’t treat seasoned veterans like they are novices to the game.

You have to be impressed by the hard skating, high level of work rate and commitment shown by both teams yesterday, in the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. Florida travelled to this crucial playoff-race game without two of its best and most influential players; Horton and McCabe, and yet continued to battle to the very end – to claim a point of the spoils.

This was playoff hockey as both teams put everything on the line in this riveting contest. Pittsburgh dominated the first and third periods. Sandwiched in-between was an outstanding second three-nothing period by the Panthers. Overall the visitors were badly outshot; 21-to-50, yet they carried a 3-1 lead going in to the third. And at this time it was the Penguins that were lucky to get back in to the game as they got a couple of fortunate bounces to tie the game at 3.

The officials also did the best they could to help the home team by taking 6 iffy penalty calls on the Panthers, while turning a blind eye on all Pittsburgh transgressions but two. I guess that’s what you get when you have rabid fans cheering for the home side – and that famous seventh man in the stands made a big difference on this night. From a Florida perspective we can only hope things even out in the long run, as they always have a tendency to do, and that the crowd in Sunrise will rise to the challenge and lend a helping hand to Cats the when taking on cross-state rivals Tampa Bay on Saturday.

The ref's liked what they saw in Pittsburgh and awarded the home team plenty of iffy man-advantages. Here a Penguin gets a penalty call in the previous game in Sunrise.

The home side started the match in a furious tempo and left the first period with a one-nothing lead (Evgeni Malkin scoring a nice backhanded goal in to the top shelf, from just outside of the crease, 18:31 in to the contest). Perhaps it lulled the Penguins’ stars in to a false sense of security and the Panthers were quick to take advantage in the second period.

Nick Boynton, back in the line-up after five games on the sidelines, shot an uncharacteristically well-placed wristshot-sledgehammer in to Marc-Andre Fleury’s top hand – right corner – to equalize the score. Nick wasn’t satisfied yet however and wanted more. Fed by Cory Stillman behind the net, Boynton loaded another shot from the point. Fleury saved this slapshot, but Kamil Kreps was in front of the goal, digging up the rebound and squeezing it in.

Although it was Brett McLean that was given the task to step in for the injured Nathan Horton, in his first line center position, it was Kreps that stole the show with his aggressive, gritty performance – earning him plenty of ice-time in reward.

Kamil Kreps was on the fly against the Penguins, scoring a goal and putting in an aggressive all-round performance that earned him some extra icetime. Here in the home game a week ago.

Keith Ballard then stepped up at the end of the second period and deflected home a cross-crease shot/pass from Ville Peltonen, to make it 3-1. But, like Boynton said in the interval “the game’s not over yet” and the Penguins came out with a fire in their belly for the third period. Jordan Staal capped an impressive overall performance by volleying home the 2-3 goal; only 2:20 in to the third phase of the contest.

The Pens kept up their unrelenting pressure on an outstanding Tomas Vokoun in the Panther goal and soon got the deserved equalizer; courtesy of Captain Sidney Crosby and a lucky bounce that had the puck deflecting off the post and then hitting Vokoun’s sprawling legs – deflecting back in to the Florida net.

Tomas wasn’t to blame for that goal, but nonetheless redeemed it by making a fantastic highlight-reel save, only moments later; when flinging himself through the air to make an incredible save on an open net chance. It was an arms-outstretched save that would have made any soccer goalie proud. Vokie now locked up his goal, threw away the keys and finished the game with no less than 47 saves to his name.

Tomas saw a lot of action in front of his net in Pittsburgh and was forced to make 47 stops. Here Campbell and Crosby are chasing the puck in front of Vokoun, with Skrastins trailing, in the previous match-up at the B.A.C.

The high amount of shots produced by Pittsburgh in this game (50!), and the previous one against the Panthers at the Bank Atlantic Center, is a direct result of new coach Dan Bylsma and his attack mined hockey-philosophy, as defender Sergei Gonchar described after the game: “We are spending a lot of time in their offensive zone. […] We made a goal for ourselves to shoot the puck as much as we can. We take shots and those shots are creating lots of scoring chances.”

It payed off in the third period as the game was tied at three, and in the ensuing shootout the Penguins proved far superior; scoring on two of three attempts (Letang and Malkin scored, Crosby missed), while the Cats tamely missed both their chances (Zednik and Weiss). Especially with Horton out of the line-up, Florida simply misses the skilled flair-players to be able to compete in a shootout scenario.

Hence, the Panthers should be pleased they came away with a point from a very difficult away game, but yes, one does get greedy and want both – as Florida coach Pete DeBoer admitted after this thriller of a game: "It’s a big point this time of the year, but we had the opportunity to get two and you get greedy this time of the year."

Yet, there is another opportunity waiting just around the corner – from which to take two points…

Next up is a visit to Buffalo for another crucial playoff-race game. Keith Ballard, I think it was, said it well when saying something to the effect of: “Each and every ‘next game’ is the biggest game of the season, this time of year.” So it seems when a mere point can throw a team up or tumbling down in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Sabres lost yesterday 2-5 against the Philadelphia Flyers, who on a different note look set for that 4th spot in the Conference, and the home side will consequently view the match against the Panthers as a must win game. Hence, if we manage to beat Buffalo (in regulation time) they may very well fall out of the playoff race; which not only means two vital points for the Cats, but also one less opponent to worry about down the stretch.

Sure the Sabres could still recover, as there are plenty of games left to be played, but their confidence would surely be severely ruptured by losing on home ice against Florida at this crucial part of the season. Not to mention that they are already three points behind the pack and would thus risk being five points to the rear of a playoff spot.

Nevertheless, Thursday’s game does loom large ahead with additional importance for both clubs. It’s just a shame that local TV, FSN Florida, won’t be showing the game….

David Booth came alive on Saturday and scored his second hattrick of the season; helping Florida to a much needed 5-3 home success over the St. Louis Blues. Due to the teams around us in the playoff race continually winning their respective games, the match against the Blues suddenly had become a must-win contest. And what do you know; despite that victory we again face a similar situation and will need to leave Pittsburgh with at least a point – if we are not to drop out of the top eight of the Eastern Conference!

The Panthers will face a Pittsburgh side that is finally starting to look like the team that won the Eastern Playoff last year and gave Detroit a run for their money in the Stanley Cup Final. The despondent, emotionally uninvolved Penguins have gone and with new Coach Dan Bylsma it is a reinvigorated side that looks playoff bound. And as they return from a record winning trip, six consecutive victories, the Pens will be a formidable foe for the Cats tonight.

Many battles for the puck in round #3 of the Penguins vs. Cats match-up, will be expected tonight.

Life doesn’t get any easier at this time of year, in that hectic playoff race, either. The teams around us not only strengthened their squads at the trade deadline (except Montreal, but most noticeably in New York with the Rangers), but have also have found their own winning concepts and are hitting a confident stride.

Meanwhile in Montreal, the centennial celebrations took a sour turn as Head Coach Guy Carbonneaux got the sack. General Manager Bob Gainey thinks he can do a better job and has taken over the reins. This may come as a shock to most of us, but you have to admire Bob’s arrogant sense of self-belief, don’t you…

The Panthers on the other hand are coming off a very difficult February schedule and need to get out of the .500 mire quickly and start hitting higher notes if they want to stay in the thick of things. Winning one and then losing one is not good enough (yet, that doesn’t mean I think Pete DeBoer should get the sack, so Jacques, just because they do that in Montreal – doesn’t mean you can do the same… ok?)

Having had a long road trip in the February-March divide, Florida returned to Sunrise for two games; the first one a 1-4 defeat to the Penguins and the other a 5-3 win against St. Louis. Now follows a short road trip where we face two rivals in the form of Pittsburgh tonight (again) and then Buffalo on Thursday. These two games could decide the Panthers season. With race being so tight, it is these match-ups between playoff rivals that become crucial.

On the one hand you could say that winning against Atlanta or Pittsburgh equally will only give you two points for the effort, but on the other hand – when defeating a playoff rival you are not only gaining two points – but also taking two points away from the opposition. Hence, these games essentially become four point contests.

So, if Florida wins both these games we’ll only get four points for the effort, but we’ll also be taking away vital points from Pittsburgh and Buffalo. And at the end of the season this may very well be the decider. Furthermore, if we win these games we’ll finally be breaking out of that .500 jog and getting the necessary sprint in the Panthers legs; to make the post-season.

However, if we lose these two games we’ll be in a very tough spot indeed; we’ll quickly find ourselves on the outside looking in. It won’t be impossible, but certainly very difficult to squeeze back in. Then again, we win one and lose one – and we’ll be back in current limbo at the end of the week too.

The Floridian Injury Bug

This task ahead of the Cats is a momentous one and it doesn’t get any easier when two key players go down with injury in the Blues game and can’t accompany the team on this crucial trip.

Bryan McCabe was hit by a puck in the face and fractured his orbital bone and underwent surgery on Monday. Despite this injury McCabe played some 20+ minutes in the game after the accident, which goes a long way in showing the immense character of the man. He’s the leader on the team and the crucial veteran presence we’d love to have for these two upcoming match-ups.

There is no news as of yet how long the injury will keep Bryan out of the line-up, except that he’ll miss the next two games.

Bryan McCabe is an inspirational veteran in defense and quarterback in the power-play. He'll be out with injury for the crucial two game road trip.

The good news is that we have a very good defender that’s ready to jump in on McCabe’s spot; Nick Boynton. After his disciplinary problems, he’s been a healthy scratch of late, but before that Nick’s been a very solid defenseman on the Panthers team. McCabe will of course be missed on the power-play that he usually quarterbacks, but it will probably give new signing Steve Eminger a bit more of a chance to show what he can do in those situations.

Nathan Horton, who after a slow start in his new position as a centerman has really worked hard as of late, will now also be out through injury.

Apparently Nathan suffered a severed tendon on his left ring finger in the St. Louis game and had an operation to repair the injury. Reports say he’ll be out between 2 to 4 weeks; which could pretty much be the rest of the pre-playoff stretch, in a worst case scenario. But as coach Peter DeBoer said: “I’d think at this time of year it’s closer to two weeks, but it depends on complications.”

Nathan Horton will miss 2 to 4 weeks after surgery and his points (38 so far) will be sorely missed by the Panthers down the stretch.

Horton will be sorely missed. He is third on the team with 38 points and has been centering the first line for most of the season. He also scored against St. Louis and looked like he was in good form. Anthony Stewart will be the player entering the line-up in his place, after having been a healthy scratch in the previous match, but it will be Brett McLean that’ll be moving up to center the line with Booth and Zednik on the wings. If McLean doesn’t work out in that position, coach Pete DeBoer could always try Kamil Kreps or Gregory Campbell in that spot, but it is expected that Brett will be given the chance first anyway.

Penguins vs. Cats, Round #3

The first two games between Pittsburgh and Florida have both been rather lopsided match-ups; although the first one was arguably more of a beating than the second one…

Back on January the 3rd, the Panthers travelled to the steel city on the heels of a disappointing loss to the NY Islanders. They left Pittsburgh with an inspiring 5-0 win and started the impressive January run that put the Cats in a favorable position now in midst of the March madness of playoff-race hockey.

Pittsburgh at that time looked like a punch-drunk fighter reeling on the ropes. It may very well have started the countdown on former Head Coach Michael Therrien’s job. He made some badly masked comments upon Sidney Crosby’s leadership ability prior to the game and things just got worse from that moment on for the Penguins. However, they managed to somehow stay in contention and with a new face behind the bench – they are now one of the hottest teams in the NHL once again.

With the appointment of Dan Bylsma as Head Coach, Pittsburgh travelled to South Florida the day after the trade deadline, and with new wingers Chris Kunitz and veteran Bill Guerin on either side of Crosby, they ran riot in the third period in Sunrise. It was 1-1 going in to that third, but then the Floridian wall fell in and the Penguins merrily tip-toed around on the ice and won the game, 4-1 (see below post for details).

Now the third round in this contest is set to follow tonight – with another game in Pittsburgh.

Hopefully the visitors-advantage will continue in to this game, but unfortunately the Cats probably can’t hope for any more gifts from the Penguins this year. It will be a tough game for sure and we’ll probably need some luck to get away with a couple of points; but with hard work and determination it is definitely possible.

Either way, this will essentially be playoff hockey – already – and a game to look forward to with equal measures of hope and anxiety for Panther fans.

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: