Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

Florida Panthers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 3/21/09. Faceoff battle.

Saturday’s game versus the Columbus Blue Jackets was an action packed contest and looking at pictures from after the game – you can’t help but wonder how the Cats ever managed to lose this game. So many spurned opportunities…

Nonetheless, here are ten action pictures from the game.

Nick Tarnasky drives at net and sets the stage for the first goal.

Rostislav Olesz is first to the free puck in the crease and puts his stick to it - and Florida are up: 1-0!

Board-battles and hussle-tussle hockey.

Richard Zednik makes a wrap-around attempt on Mason who makes the the pad save.

Tomas Vokoun blocks a Columbus shot and keeps the Panthers' slender 1-0 lead intact, throughout the second period.

Getting close...

...gettin' closer (but not close enough).

How can it be so hard to score??

Tomas Vokoun pokes away a Blue Jackets attempt around the net and the defense is close by in support. However, a late collapse by that same defense would spoil the day for the Cats and a 1-0 lead with three minutes remaining is reversed to a 1-3 mishap of giant playoff proportions.

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.

The playoff race usually starts in earnest after the All Star break. It is now that all teams involved in this chase need to step up their games – or be left behind.

Currently sitting in ninth of the Eastern Conference standings, merely a point behind – but with a couple of games in hand on rivals Carolina Hurricanes, the Florida Panthers are ready to attempt to establish their playoff credentials tonight. Philadelphia Flyers come to town and the Cats have a point to prove after losing the last contest between the teams in a shootout.

The next team to visit the Bank Atlantic Center will be the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday; and they too won the last game against the Panthers on a penalty shootout. Better then to stay away from any such tiebreaker and win the game within the allotted 60 minutes. Coming out hard, playing simple and getting some assistance from the goaltender/s will be key to get any points from these games.

For tonight’s match Ville Peltonen is back in the line-up, together with Nick Boynton, while Nick Tarnasky and Noah Welch are out.

Considering how poorly stats Brett McLean have put up this season, it comes as a slight surprise that coach Pete DeBoer doesn’t opt to go with the energy and power of Tarnasky instead. McLean has ten points on the season, but a team worst -13 in the plus/minus column. Nick isn’t a big point scorer either, but has additional hard hitting qualities that opponents find hard to play against.

Nick Tarnasky and Anthony Stewart have played well together in that fourth energy line, the last few games, but Nick will now have to patiently bide his time again. As we all know McLean is an established and well compensated player, monetarily speaking, on the Panther roster; but since his former central partner Olli Jokinen was traded to Phoenix, Brett just hasn’t looked the same.

From formerly being a first liner; Brett McLean has basically been chucked around in all the Florida lines over the course of this season; having become DeBoer’s plug-stopper of choice – when other players have succumbed to injury. More and more he’s finding himself on that fourth line though; and the question must be raised – if he even warrants a place there anymore? Certainly when considering that considerably fat paycheck going Brett’s way, shouldn’t the Panthers get more than a bit-time role player for that kind of green?

Hopefully Brett will shut up us doubters with an assured displayed tonight and in the next few games, but if not, this question will again come to the fore. With Bouwmeester’s contract expiring, Horton looking dim on the ice – more often than not this season and McLean not living up to billing; we might be looking forward to a busy time for GM Jacques Martin leading up to the transfer deadline, in about six weeks time.

Time will tell, but what is for sure – is that now is the time for players to bring out their A-games; if they want to see the playoffs in a Panther uniform this spring. The race starts here. Tonight. In the Bank Atlantic Center. Be there!