Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

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!

On paper the game versus the tough hitting Philadelphia Flyers looked like an intimidating opponent for the Florida Panthers; who had lost 4 straight games coming in to last night’s contest.

However, the Cats soon found their growl and outworked and outmuscled a rather timid looking visitor’s side. That means that the Floridian felines now finally seem to be back on par after the Helsinki excursion.

Perhaps too much focus and energy were put in to those couple of games as the Panthers have since struggled:

A whipping by the Hurricanes, a home opener marred by a sound outshooting to the Devils, a cruel third period crush by the Lightning: It certainly was not adding up to the best of starts for the Cats thus far.

With the recent history of the Panthers, many fans started to fear it would be “another of those seasons” ahead…

Seeing a Pronger fuelled Flyers team coming to visit was another ominous sign it seemed.

Florida desperately needed to steady the ship, whether it was only five games in to the season or not, the South Floridians were nonetheless sinking fast…

Head Coach Peter DeBoer has never been one to dread changing things up if they don’t work and his patience was already running thin. He wanted desperation hockey and got it versus the Flyers after some shuffleboard changes to the crew and a stern telling off after a poor first period showing.

Prior to the game he had sent C Shawn Matthias back down to Rochester in the AHL. This because he finally got new signing C Dominic Moore to be able to suit up after Visa issues had detained his arrival on the ice; until finally yesterday when Moore could make his much vaunted debut.

Rostislav Olesz was also promoted to second line wing, whilst veteran Cory Stillman was demoted to the third line. Scott Clemmensen meanwhile was given his first start in goal; instead of Tomas Vokoun.

These changes seemed to do the trick and finally the Panthers started to click on the ice, work as a team and play the only way they can to be successful: with a large degree of desperation.

Signs of this pending revival had been seen on Monday as the South Floridians almost stole the show against their Western Coast counterparts; the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was an even game that was decided late in the third period in one sequence where the Cats missed a one-on-one and then immediately were punished at the other end with the deflating 3-2 goal. To say it was a bolt out of the blue would be rather trite, but nonetheless accurate.

Despite the defeat the Cats showed some burgeoning confidence on the ice and the players looked like they finally were getting their act together.

Thus, the win against the Philadelphia Flyers was not a one-off performance and the fans can take some heart from this victory. There is no reason to think the Panthers won’t continue to grow together as a team and continue to improve with the season.

However, some caution is to be advised.

The Philadelphia Flyers looked sluggish in this game and were easily overpowered in the second and third periods. They have an awkward schedule with a lot of blanks in it at the moment and their skaters could be expected to be a bit off their stride – which they clearly also were.

Tampa Bay Lightning is similarly still trying to find an identity and is playing some haphazard hockey at the moment.

That they still won the game against the Panthers is in itself a worrying fact. Antero Niittymaki was stellar in goal, but equally, the Cats were rather off the bat in their shooting.

Indeed, whether the Panthers do find some much desired improvement or not in the upcoming games, I still think they may need to address the fundamental flaws that exist in the team at one point or another; in order to make a concerted effort to reach the postseason.

As I have previously mentioned in my articles, the Florida Panthers don’t really have the top names in the forward compartment to make any opposing defenders frightfully jingle-jangle in their skates. Our top line of Booth – Weiss – Horton may be a promising one; but hardly a line that will dominate many games.

Moreover, the second line looks a bit fragile; whether it’s Olesz or Stillman teaming up with Reinprecht or Moore and Frolik on the opposite wing: it still doesn’t amount to an offensive juggernaut of unstoppable proportions.

The checking third and fourth lines however, look very competitive within their limited field of play. They should be well equipped to provide energy and power to get the Panthers up the ice.

As for the defense…

I have previously covered the blueline in an extensive article of analysis, but the key deficiencies can be seen as its apparent lack of size, grit and raw power. Focusing rather on mobility and speed, the Panthers defenders can be caught out and also outmuscled in the defensive zone by an aggressive and determined opponent.

A point which was clearly demonstrated in both comprehensive defeats to Chicago (0-4) and Carolina (2-7).

Yesterday however, versus the Philadelphia Flyers in that memorable 4-2 victory in Sunrise, none of these potential deficiencies reared their ugly heads. Nonetheless, this does not mean we have overcome them quite yet…

One win does not make a season and I fear we will again see these shortcomings up close in South Florida.

Getting a win onboard for the continued continental journey is nevertheless very valuable for morale and confidence. All this will be needed the coming Wednesday when facing a strapping Buffalo Sabres team that has started the season in impressive fashion.

Hockey fans in South Florida will still be fretting the future after the discomfited start to the season by the Panthers, but the victory over the Flyers does bring some much needed hope and belief back to the B.A.C.

Perhaps this win can be the catalyst needed to jump start the Florida Panthers season?

We will see about that. But hopefully that win will at least mean that the Florida players have finally put Helsinki firmly behind them and that they’ve now found their hockey feet back in the NHL proper: and will start playing with a much added sense of urgency henceforth.