Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

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.