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.

Well, actually, Rangers can score – just not very often.

So, when they started aggressively and got the early opener on Tomas Vokoun’s back-up Craig Anderson – after a mere 17 seconds – everyone was stunned. The referee’s too it seemed and the Brandon Dubinsky re-direction of Paul Mara’s shot was deemed to be a high sticking – no goal!

Chris Drury getting off a shot against the Panthers, in the game at Sunrise, against a brave Ballard - to no avail.

Nevertheless, the Rangers pressed on undeterred and were the dominant team in the first period. After 7:34 of play Markus Näslund stormed onto a rebound from Anderson and got the deserved home lead. This goal too went to review, but Markus wasn’t adjudged to have kicked the puck in to the net on purpose, so this goal would stand. Näslund was the best hometown players on the night and this after getting in to his first fist fight, the day before in Toronto, since his rookie season back in 1992. It seems John Tortorella’s appointment as Rangers coach has worked as an added incentive for Markus Näslund – at least.

The Florida Panthers then escaped a bombardment of the net in the second period and early in the third unscathed; much due to Craig Anderson between the pipes. Craig was ever-present and, with the help of a much more solid defense than we saw in Boston, he wouldn’t allow the Rangers to score again. The Cats even survived 49 seconds of 3on5 early in the final period. And it’s not that the New Yorkers didn’t try or work hard enough that they failed to score that all-important second goal: They just don’t seem to have any confidence whatsoever, when they are to put that final touch to the puck in front of the net.

Keith Ballard had a very good game at the NY Rangers, protecting the puck well and playing hard. Here he is being forechecked by Lauri Korpikoski and Ryan Callahan in the previous meeting at the B.A.C.

Someone else that hasn’t had much confidence in front of the net of late is Florida’s David Booth. After having double-digit games without scoring any goals to add to his 20 on the season, David turned up early for some shooting practice by himself, and, his dedication and professionalism finally paid dividends on the night. Paired with Stephen Weiss, he received a nice flick pass from his centerman, 11:50 in to the third period, put the puck on his backhand at the right circle and managed to get off a shot hard enough to squeeze in between Henrik Lundqvist’s pads.

It was bittersweet for the Rangers, but the Panthers gained additional fortitude from the goal and quickly moved in for the next blow. It took a mere minute for Florida to tumble NY’s house of cards, as Richard Zednik circled around the net, fed Nathan Horton in the slot, and Horty made no mistake – flicking up the puck behind Lundqvist and putting the Cats in front, 2-1.

Nathan Horton on the fly. He got the 2-1 winning goal at the Rangers. Here with Scott Gomez in the previous game.

The wind was firmly knocked out of the Rangers’ sails and they couldn’t muster a comeback. The fans didn’t help either, and rather than spurring their trodden side on, scattered booing and calling for General Manager Glenn Sather’s resignation came hailing down instead from the stands. It’s a fickle crowd up North and failure is not an option. If he hadn’t before; John Tortorella will start feeling the heat now after two consecutive defeats to Toronto and Florida.

Yet, if the Rangers can only start scoring a few goals, perhaps work on their conditioning (they looked tired in the second half of the third period), they could still stage a comeback and make the playoffs. This game, despite the result, was in some ways a step forward – they created some very good chances – now they “just” need to take a leaf out of David Booth’s book; go beyond what’s required and practice shooting in their spare time! If so, it will come — if not — maybe next year…

For the Florida Panthers, the importance of this win was obvious. Had they lost, the team would again have found themselves outside of the playoffs; looking in. But, rather than falling down to ninth, the Cats now pass the Rangers and are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. It is a very congested table however, and while Florida is now a mere point behind Montreal in fifth; they are also a paltry point ahead of Carolina in ninth (this after the Hurricanes beat the Sabres, 2-1, in a shootout yesterday).

Next for the Panthers is a stern test against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, with Martin Brodeur back between the pipes, who won their game last night against Colorado, 4-0, the same tally that Florida beat the Devils with in Sunrise last week. Yet, with the inspirational netminder Brodeur back and getting shutouts already; New Jersey will be vying to settle that score tomorrow. And it doesn’t get any easier either as the next game is played on Sunday in Washington (who beat Atlanta 4-3).

Nonetheless, whatever happens over the weekend, yesterday’s victory in the Madison Square Garden, while neither beautiful nor deserved, was a crucial win for the Panthers and their playoff hopes this season. It was also a hammer blow to the confidence of the reeling Rangers and it will be interesting to see how they respond to this latest defeat.

The game couldn’t have started any worse for the Panthers, with the news that goalie Tomas Vokoun would be forced to sit out this game with the flu. After his heroics in Sunrise versus the Bruins on Saturday – he would sorely be missed…

Craig Anderson is an able back-up goaltender with some impressive stats this season. Yesterday however, we saw clearly why he’s not considered a No.1 yet. To his defense must be said that a) Craig hadn’t played since the 3rd of the month and only a couple of times overall this year, so he clearly wasn’t up to match speed in the first period especially. And b) any goalie is dependent on his defense – to swoop up rebounds and give the netminder a chance to do his ‘thing’ – without too much interference from opposing players – and clearly he wasn’t given much help on this night.

So overall, yes he let six pucks behind him, including at least one he’d dearly want back, but you can’t fault Anderson personally for this savage 6-1 beating by the Bruins.

Everyone knew that after 6 defeats out of 7 possible, including both games in Florida, the ‘B’s would be buzzing around the Panthers’ net in the early going of this contest. And sure enough, after a lapse of concentration from Jay Bouwmeester (perhaps distracted by all the rumors about him being traded?) Bergeron got a chance to redeem himself for all the misses in Saturday’s game by putting the first puck behind Anderson after only 48 seconds of play. Poor Andy couldn’t have imagined a worse start to the game even in his worst nightmare.

And things just got worse…

6:17 on the clock in the opening period Mark Stuart was presented with the puck on a 3on1 situation in front of Anderson. He misses his shot, but as luck would have it, his miss actually put the puck right on to his backhand instead and with a quick fluff it was suddenly two/nothing – and the despair was evident on Craig Anderson’s face.

Two fluke goals in little over six minutes – in the first period – is the last thing you need when visiting Boston. The task is difficult enough -without the puck being your foe too!

Nick Tarnasky coming up big against the Bruins. Here he faces Shane Hnidy in the previous game at the B.A.C which Florida won 2-0. No repeat in Boston however; as the Bruins won comfortably; 6-1.

The Panthers did nevertheless put themselves back in to the game via the energy of the fourth line: Tarnasky and Stewart dug out and presented the puck to Kamil Kreps who calmly placed home the 1-2 goal to Thomas’s left, from just outside the slot. Tim Thomas then stepped up to keep the Boston lead intact as Florida started to build some momentum in the late part of the first period and first half of the second.

Tim Thomas kept Florida at bay when Boston came under some pressure in the first and second periods. Here he makes a save in Saturday's match-up.

Apart from that fourth line of forwards however, it was only the third line (as always) that showed the customary gritty intent and forecheck throughout the contest. David Booth also played with a lot of energy and determination, but many of the other first and second liners seemed to be easily overwhelmed by the Bruins’ noticeably more aggressive play in this match. And while all individual players can have bad games, it is hard to win when such key players for the Cats as; Cory Stillman, Jay Bouwmeester and Craig Anderson had very poor efforts on the night.

In fact, Jay Bouwmeester played some 6to7 minutes less than usual, which can only be down to Head Coach Pete DeBoers strict “accountability” doctrine: Ice-time is gained on merit, not reputation. And Bo didn’t have a good enough match to deserve his customary 27to28 minutes of game-time.

Against the run of play in the second period, it was Boston that again found the net next.

Stephane Yelle fed the puck from the boards to Byron Bitz, placed strategically alone in front of Craig Anderson, and Bitz flicked the puck expertly in to the top shelf. It was a pretty goal that came to deflate the Panthers. And if indeed, there was still some breath of life in the Cats entering the third, it was soon extinguished again by Byron who doubled up on his previous goalscoring exploits by pouncing on a poor Anderson rebound – making it 4-1 with only 3:24 played on the clock in the final period.

Byron Bitz took the bite out of the Panthers at Bruins - scoring two game deciding goals.

The avalanche of mishaps soon buried Florida beneath a swirling Boston, who glossed the scoreboard with a fifth (a beautifully – rising – Aaron Ward slapshot, 5:46 in to the period) and a sixth goal (Michael Ryder with a power-play tally, 9:31) – soon after Bitz’s two game deciding goals had robbed the Cats of the will to claw themselves back in to contention.

Panther defenseman Nick Boynton put it best, and certainly most poignantly, in his post-game comment: “We played like garbage in the third period […] I thought the first two (periods) we were pretty even.”

Overall this was a game to quickly forget about for the Panthers. Fortunately it doesn’t affect the standings too much as both Buffalo (1-3 vs. Anaheim) and Carolina (2-4 at Ottawa) lost their respective games. However, with both Montréal (3-0 vs. Vancouver) and Philadelphia (4-2 vs. Washington) winning theirs – we become all the more embroiled in that 8th spot struggle.

And things don’t ease up any either – as in next match we face the NY Rangers; currently in sixth and with a new Head Coach (John Tortorella) behind the bench.

It will be a crucial crunch-up with plenty of bite against the New Yorkers. If the Panthers were hurting after the Boston game – they have something much worse awaiting them at the Madison Square Garden tomorrow: Tortorella likes to deploy a highly up-tempo and aggressive “old” style type of game that the Panthers need to be expecting and be mentally prepared for. The timidity shown against the Bruins won’t win them any games; least not against a John Tortorella fuelled Rangers side.

In his last two starts Tomas Vokoun has been pulled from the Panther goal. It has become a common occurrence this season. Apart from the early games in October, Vokoun has not been given a consistent chance to show his ability. Head coach Peter DeBoer has rather gone with a tactic of low tolerance, pulling the start goaltender if he lets in a couple of “soft” goals or three or more altogether.

To begin with this tactic played off in tremendous fashion. Especially back-up goaltender Craig Anderson saw his ice time increase rapidly. Some stellar performances later and it could be questioned if he was the back-up still, or indeed the starting goaltender. Vokoun responded in a professional manner, worked on his game and looked sharp when given the chance; culminating in two straight shutouts just before the Christmas holiday.

The strong goaltending was seen by many, including DeBoer himself, as a main reason for the remarkable Panther upsurge from bottom dwellers to playoff contenders. However, after the Christmas holiday something has happened and Florida are again scrambling to get goals on the board, while leaking at the other end. Of these four defeats, three came against the team that was dead last in the standings – at the time of the games. Undoubtedly this is cause for concern. But what can explain this sudden downturn in fortune?

While Hockey obviously is a team game and no part in itself can be responsible solely for the results, good or bad, there may still be reason to analyze some parts closer – in search for clues. The defense has not looked confident and the forwards are perhaps not working hard enough, it could be claimed. But my greatest worries are not found in the outfield play; but rather between the posts. Neither Tomas Vokoun nor Craig Anderson has been playing like before the Christmas break and DeBoer has been quick to pull them to try and change things around.

Conversely, this is my grievance. While Anderson has played well and racked up some nice stats, it could be argued that he is a less complete goaltender than Tomas Vokoun. So, common Hockey sense would tell us that a team needs to have a No.1 goalie in addition to a solid back-up. Who is that for Florida? Looking at the actions of Head coach DeBoer that seems like a surprisingly difficult question to answer. If he truly had confidence in Vokoun you would expect Tomas to be playing more often and not being pulled as frequently. DeBoer has been in charge long enough to be able to choose who his No.1 is and if that indeed is Vokoun; should he not be given more time to prove himself?

The constant yanking of goaltenders from games, and Vokoun in particular, after a couple of goals – is clearly starting affect their levels of confidence (and perhaps also the team’s confidence in their keeper). Tomas himself stated after the Islanders game:

“Obviously, some of those goals should have been stopped,” Vokoun said after the game. “People make mistakes all the time. This has never happened to me in my career. But I’m not blaming my mistakes on anybody else. When you get pulled three of the last four games, it’s going to shake your confidence.”

DeBoer on the other hand said: “Really it was four goals on 20 shots. Even the first one that didn’t count looked like it went in to me. That was reason enough.” [Quotes from the Panther website]

Now, admittedly, I only saw the highlights of the game, but in my book Vokoun could not be personally held for any of the goals. While changing the momentum of the game could be reason enough one could argue, and DeBoer has done that on several occasions, I think the long term consequences, when it comes to goalie confidence, could be detrimental. We are already seeing this in the performances of Tomas. He doesn’t look himself in goal, and it’s not because he’s not a good goalie still, rather I think it goes back to the lack of self-belief. And when it comes to the keeper of the net in particular – no one can doubt the importance of this.

Tomas is at his best when he assertively steps out on the crease and challenges the opposing forwards. And the thing is; you can’t manufacture or replace confidence since it comes from within. It must be nurtured carefully – for when it blooms it can truly be magnificent. In fact, this could be said about several other underperforming players like Horton or Olesz. Maybe coach DeBoer needs to learn a few new tricks; discern which players require a gentle pat on the back and which revel when put in pressure cooker. A good coach can handle players that are different in an individual approach – to get the best out of each player. DeBoer has yet to prove he has this.

Now, I can’t say what’s happening in the dressing room or at practice, but I can see what’s unravelling on the ice, and there is clearly not enough Panther poise in rink at the moment. Not even Craig seems to be on top of his game anymore. Perhaps it is; that which once worked, pulling goalies and creating an environment of uncertainty, is no longer working. Now question is: What other tricks does DeBoer have in his hat?

A change of tune may be necessary, not least when it comes to the goaltender situation. Having a good goaltender tandem is important, but having a great No.1 goalie is perhaps even more important, not least when the team as a whole is struggling; they need someone calm and self-assured at the last outpost, fending off the pucks with poise.