Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

It’s about time the Panthers started to capitalize on a very favorable schedule. All through February up to the deadline they had a terrible schedule; being pitted against all the top teams – while those teams were still motivated to win their games. Yet, it is ironic that when the tide finally turned, so did Florida’s on-ice fortunes – they took a nosedive in the wrong direction…

Since the trade deadline the Cats have been in action 5 times, of which 3 games were against direct playoff rivals, and they only managed to pick up 4 out of a possible 10 points. That’s not only below .500, but worse is that in those three crunch playoff-type-games, Florida picked up 1 out of a possible 6 points. And since losing to direct rivals has a dual effect, not only do we lose two points – but the rivals gain two points, it’s actually more like losing 10 decisive playoff points.

The game versus Tampa Bay on Saturday was actually a step forward in the right direction. There is no doubt that Florida deserved to win that game on effort alone and the team played some 50 solid minutes of hockey before being hit with a double sucker punch in the last seven. And as we know from experience the Panthers need to avoid a shootout at all costs, and when that was unavoidable; so was the defeat.

Of course there can be no sugarcoating; a last gasp collapse as against the Bolts is both inexcusable, but also more importantly, a terrible blow to our collective playoff hopes. It is now the second time in a row that the Cats have collapsed when two goals up entering the third (also against Pittsburgh) and then wound up losing the ensuing shootout.

This ill must be cured and so does the ailing power-play. The Panthers need to start moving more; feet, mind, stick and puck to have any success. Screen the goalie and drive the pucks on goal for deflections or rebounds; it’s really not that hard – it’s just takes a lot of effort!

Getting Bryan McCabe back to the line-up will surely help a lot in this respect and he’s penned in for a performance against the Caps tonight. Question is who’ll be the healthy scratch amongst the back six?

My guess is Nick Boynton, despite him being our – quite possibly – best defender since his return to the line-up three games ago. Having Rostislav Olesz back amid the forwards is also a healthy sign and it was good seeing him being physical against the Lightning on Saturday after such a long time off from hockey due to his hernia surgery. With some more games under his belt, he should be able to help contribute on the top lines if needed. Meanwhile, Nathan Horton won’t be back on this current home stand and it remains uncertain when he’ll be up to playing again.

So, looking ahead at this current home-stand, we face Washington tonight, Toronto on Thursday, Columbus on Saturday and then that vital game versus Carolina next Monday. Then follows a three game road trip to Buffalo, Philadelphia and Dallas – before returning home.

With the playoff race being as tight as it is, I think it’s a fair assessment that the Panthers should need to collect at least 7 point from this current five game home-stand. That means we would need to win 3 out of the next 4 games. That certainly doesn’t seem impossible, but if we lose tonight that will obviously be all the more difficult. Hence, tonight’s game is a very important one for Florida!

Good news is that it’s not only the Cats that have been stumbling of late. Despite only picking up a point over the weekend we still didn’t lose pace with our playoff rivals; although both the Rangers and Penguins picked up W’s on Monday. Washington meanwhile seems to be in a day-to-day based form, losing yesterday in Atlanta, 1-5, after winning their previous three games.

In that fixture, the stellar offensive defenseman Mike Green was out with the flu, Jose Theodore in goal had a torrid game and was hooked after letting in four goals. Rookie netminder Simeon Varlamov got the chance for the remainder of the game and made four saves and let one in. He’s expected to get the nod today in South Florida.

Superstar Alex Ovechkin meanwhile was in search of his 50th goal of the season, but was outshone by Atlanta’s goalie Kari Lehtonen – who made 49 saves – of which 10 were on shots from Ovechkin. Alex was so furious after the game he refused to talk to reporters.

The win was all the more extraordinary for the Thrashers as they did it without their captain Ilya Kovalchuk, who missed his second straight game with an undisclosed upper body injury. Atlanta got a franchise high six consecutive victories with this latest triumph and now make sure a pumped up Capitals team will be coming to South Florida in search of revenge… Gee, thanks Thrashers!

Yet, having beaten the Caps 6-2 on their own home ice in the previous meeting, that was always going to be the case anyway.

The Panthers need only worry about themselves and their own effort. If they play to full ability, with heaps of desperation for measure, there is no reason to believe they can’t beat the Capital team again. It will however, require 60 minutes of hockey and hard work – not 40, 50, 55 or even 59 – 60! – get that Cats?

Prevailing in the playoff race is all about grit, hard work and determination – and the Panthers desperately need to clench those jaws and go for the jugular; to get back in from the chasing pack. Ninth is not good enough, not this year!

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.

It was scenes of undulating jubilation on the faces of the Florida players as they clinched the winner and no one was happier than the guy at the bottom of the pile; Bryan McCabe.

A thrilling game came to an exhilarating end for the ex-Maple Leaf McCabe, who quieted the boo boys with an overall excellent display and the game winning goal in OT. Skating swiftly down the ice he joined the goalmouth-rush, was fed the puck from Nathan Horton and made no mistake; a vicious slapshot that trickled by the Toronto keeper Vesa Toskala and gave the Panthers two invaluable points and the eighth spot in the Conference.

It started as the last game ended. The Florida players were not on top of their game and rather the Maple Leafs stepped up theirs. Former Panther Nicklas Hagman got the first goal, a highlight reel slalom run from the right hand corner. He sidestepped challenges from Horton, Cullimore, Bouwmeester and the pokecheck from Anderson, before slotting the puck home in an open net. No matter what team you were rooting for – it had to be admitted – that that was a very very pretty goal!

Gregory Campbell made it a consecutive goal scoring night as he attacked the goalmouth, and on a Peltonen pass from behind the net he connected to tie the game at one. Unfortunately for the Cats they let up another goal just before the period buzzer, this time from Alexei Ponikarovsky who found some space beneath Craig Anderson’s stacked pads.

Craig Anderson was called upon today to make a rare appearance after David Booth’s flu apparently had spread also to No.1 goalie Tomas Vokoun. Poor Tomas looked absolutely miserable on the bench and was no doubt praying Anderson wouldn’t get injured, so at the very least he wouldn’t have to play competitive Hockey in his state, sitting in a freezing stadium was no doubt bad enough. Craig on the other hand had not played for quite some while and looked a bit rusty at times early on in the contest, but later in the match he’d be the one that kept Panthers in the game when it looked like they were down and out.

It was tough luck to let in a goal so late in the first period, but it was undoubtedly a well deserved lead that the Maple Leafs took with them to the dressing room. The unfortunate (in this case) consequence of late scorings is usually that it affects the mental balance of the game and more often than not the team that got the late goal – score another when the next period commences. This was no exception to that rule. Nick Antropov handed Toronto the 3-1 advantage by scoring on an Anderson rebound early in the second.

Panthers now stepped up their game and pressed back the home side in search of that life-giving goal but, even though they rattled the Leafs at times, they could not shake them enough to get that goal. Especially Nick Tarnasky, getting a one-punch knockout on Toronto bad guy May, and Anthony Stewart piled on the pressure going forward and hitting the defenders. Yet, the killer instinct was lacking in this period and Toronto came away with the two goal lead.

The statistics don’t read too well when Florida are down two goals entering the third period. The Cats have made some spectacular comebacks to claim a share of the spoils, but not taken two points – up until this point in the season. That was about to change.

However, as the Panthers started to throw caution to the wind, the Maple Leafs started to look increasingly dangerous on the breakaways and it would take a couple of spectacular saves from Anderson to deny the home team. Florida also cashed in on some luck as one Toronto puck somehow failed to cross the entire goal line before being knocked away by a Cullimore skate. Ensuing reviews in slow motion showed that the puck crossed most of the line – but the entire puck wasn’t over… No goal!!

But as the saying goes; you deserve your own luck. And the Panthers, while looking flat in front of goal, were working very hard in the second half of the game. It was rewarded when Cory Stillman used some of that considerable experience and vision to find Stephen Weiss driving at the net. It was a wonderful cross-ice feed and Weiss needed only to put the stick to puck and the game was there for the taking; 2-3.

The tying goal would however take its sweet little time and with only 1:25 on the clock, Toronto finally succumbed to the pressure and took its first penalty of the evening. Alexei Ponikarovsky took a needless boarding penalty, Pete DeBoer pulled Anderson, and it was 6on4 for the remainder of the penalty. An opportunity too good to pass on and the Florida power-play, which was 0for6 against the Islanders, quickly clicked and put the Maple Leafs to the sword: With 0:53 remaining Campbell found Stillman at the back post and the winger raked in the all-important leveler.

Going in to overtime the momentum was firmly with the Cats and it was here that Bryan McCabe stepped forward to haunt his old club; scoring the winner 3:30 in to the OT.

Overall it was a lucky escape for the Panthers, they had put themselves in a tough spot by not working hard enough in the first half of the game, but in the second half they created their own luck and with gritty determination tied the game late and finally got an overtime win.

But what a breathtaking Hockey spectacle it was for the Florida fans watching! From despair to ecstasy and the playoff dreams resurfaces again on cloud nine. With a little help from other teams in the league, the Panthers are in eighth spot and looking up!

Bryan McCabe made his much anticipated return to Toronto and quickly silenced the boo boys with an assist and otherwise assured display. After his trials and tribulations last season as a Leaf, it must have been a satisfying game indeed for him. For Florida he has been magnificent so far, not least at the point of the power-play; leading the early stumbling Cats to excellence in this important aspect of the game. His leadership in the dressing room and affable character has also been a much needed and appreciated; both essential ingredients for a Panther team that is again on a roll.

The Florida Panthers were coming off two good games against Pittsburgh and Montreal and were looking to come away from this latest road trip with plus points. That they did by beating the Maple Leafs convincingly 4-2; taking 5 out of 8 possible points on the tour. The Cats are now one of the most travelled teams in National Hockey League and can finally return to Sunrise for some games on home ice. Considering this, it is exciting to see the Panthers embroiled in the playoff race already and if they can rack up a good home record – they could very well take a spot among the top eight. It is that close…

As for the game itself it was a sparkling display by the Florida team and a lame showing from the home town club. Before Toronto could even get a shot off in anger, the Panthers had got 10 quality shots at net and one (by Weiss) had sneaked in. Clearly the Cats had done their “home” work and 3 out of 4 goals were in the top shelf against the small butterfly Leaf goaltender, Vesa Toskala. In the Florida net Vokoun made not only an increasingly rare start, but was also allowed to finish the contest this time. No wonder, as he looked like he was back to his best again; playing with confidence and making all the necessary and important stops.

The Panthers led the Leafs 3-0 coming in to the third, due to Peltonen and Frolik adding to the goal tally in the first forty of the contest. Toronto players now tried to mount a belated resurgence and got one back through an Alexei Ponikarovsky power-play effort. However, the Cats soon hit back in a power-play goal of their own; Campbell making a nice re-direction in front of the net – grabbing the all-important 4-1 lead going in to the final 10. Not even a Jason Blake shorthanded goal, a couple of minutes later, could spoil the Panther party. 4-2, and back to Sunrise it is!

The resurgence shown by the Panther players, and team as a whole, these last three games (after four previously alarming showings) seems to indicate that this Florida club is finally starting to fight its demons and display some gusto and bravado. Being three points ahead of last season and seven of the preceding one, it is a statement reflected in results, and can clearly also be seen in the on ice performances this season. Especially if one considers the slow start of the Panthers in October/November, it really is a turnaround that brings back confidence and hope to players and fans alike.

Now the formerly disillusioned fans need to get back behind their team, these Cats have some bite to them and can make a realistic run for a playoff berth this time around. But, there are no grounds to get carried away just yet. The Panthers still need to collect regular points, beat rivals (starting with Carolina on Thursday) and above all; perform on a consistent basis. With players like McCabe in the fold, a winning mentality is starting to appear in South Florida and it is important that the fans hang on along for the rough ride too.

No one can blame Panther fans for being disillusioned, but if you are a true fan you don’t really have a choice do you – winning or losing – your heart still beats for Florida and the Panthers. So let’s let ourselves be overwhelmed by naïve hope and optimism; believe in the Panthers once again and lend our voice and support to the cause. Worst thing that can happen is that we feel the thrill of competition and lose out on the prize (playoff) in the end.

But even so, we would experience the ecstasy of fandom and professional sports, the rapture of winning and hope of something better and improving. There is after all no sport as rousing as Hockey; full of flying tackles, magnificent skill, raw fights and roller coasting scores. And chanting for a team; even if they are underdogs or perennial losers – it still only enhances the experience – especially when that long sought after goal is finally, long last, achieved.

The Florida Panthers are again finding their stride and the Toronto game was a great win, not only because we got the two points, but because we fully dominated the game and deserved them. McCabe said it best in his post match comments:

"They were really flat […] We really outplayed them, got up a couple, and we really didn’t look back from there. It was a good game."

It was, and he’s right you know; from now on we shouldn’t look back, but rather look forward at all that which is possible. And almost anything is – if you let yourself believe.