Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

The Florida Panthers suffered two injuries in Philadelphia as a grimy Flyers team knocked out both Radek Dvorak and David Booth from the game.

Radek left the game with a lower body injury early in the second period. That injury didn’t look like a dirty hit, but the one that came later that same period definitely did have that appearance.

Mike Richards of the Flyers, known as a hard-hitting but not necessarily a dirty player, left his shoulder in and appeared to lift his skates from the ice when he slammed in to Booth’s head; flinging David around in mid-air and knocking him cold to the ice.

Booth didn’t see the hit coming until it was too late. The play was upheld for several minutes as trainers and doctors flooded the ice to help the wounded player. Blood was seen underneath his head as he lay motionless, face down, on the ice.

David looked unconscious for several minutes but had regained consciousness by the time he was lifted upon a stretcher and wheeled off and out of the arena to the sound of a standing ovation from the home crowd at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Latest news is that Booth has been taken to the Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia. We can only hope the injury won’t be as nasty as the hit looked like.

Latest news is that David is “alert and moving”. Florida’s General Manager Randy Sexton said that ”they are doing a whole host of tests just to make sure everything is OK”.

Randy Sexton also commented about the injury, saying amongst other things that “those types of hits have no place in the game” and that he’s “sure the league will do a full review”.

The verdict on Richards’ hit and subsequent suspension could come as soon as tomorrow. He was ejected from the game because the referee’s adjudged the hit to be done with “intent to injure”.

Mike Richards has stated after the game: “I was not trying to hurt him but separate him from the puck. He turned, everything happened so quickly”.

Hits and checks have an important role in the game and we should not look to limit this in hockey. However, dirty hits to the head cannot be tolerated. The NHL must make a statement here and take a long hard look at this instance.

The loss of David Booth will constitute a major loss for the Florida Panthers.

But for now we can only hope it is not too severe and that he won’t suffer any permanent damage.

Other Panthers that felt the malicious side of the Flyers team was Dominic Moore that was hit in the face in the first period and 18-year old defenseman rookie Dmitry Kulikov who got banged up in the corner. Apart from these hits however, most Philly checks were legal and the Panthers simply didn’t have it in them to answer back.

What this game highlights for the Cats is the need to have a real fighter on the team.

Someone who will make opponents pay for such reckless play as was seen tonight. Maybe if someone had stepped up in the first period and made an example, Mike would have thought twice about injuring Florida’s starlet winger who scored the visitors only goal.

The Panthers were too tame and, after the hit to Booth, they looked uninterested with the game as the Flyers flew away with a 5-1 win.

And who can blame them. The dirty knock to David reminds us all that there are more important things in life than winning or losing a hockey game.

In fact, there are 82 of them in the regular season alone and Florida sure could have needed Booth for the remaining 73…

The Florida Panthers need to realize the urgency that surrounds them upon their trip to Pennsylvania.

Having been outscored 11-2 in the opening period of the previous seven games played, it is time to start competing from the first drop of the puck.

The Panthers do not enjoy any glaring opulence of skill or physical superiority over opposing teams, and thus, need to rely on good old fashioned hard work to be competitive.

Somehow the players don’t seem to have digested this nugget of wisdom quite yet.

This was blatantly obvious in the dreadful 2-5 defeat against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday at the Bank Atlantic Center…

Complacency again reared its ugly head in that first period, and as always, the consequences were dire.

The Coaching staff, lead by head coach Peter DeBoer, tried to get the message across by pulling goalie Scott Clemmensen after a mere two minutes of play, but with no visible effect.

Since that abomination of a period, the staff has again made the point in training drills by having the players crowding the so called “dirty-areas” of the ice; along the corners, crease and goalie line.

Now that’s where you need to be to compete!

The players will have a chance to show that they got the message loud and clear by making it a game against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions tonight. Not the easiest place to be triumphant, but the players should nevertheless be able to spot this game as a possible season changing contest.

Imagine going to Pittsburgh and challenging the Penguins up and down the ice and grinding out a result. What could possibly be a better way to reignite Florida’s season…?

As long as the Cats show their claws and aren’t beaten beforehand, this could be a more competitive game than most would imagine.

The key will of course be the start of the game. Whilst the Panthers have been sleepwalking through these first periods of the games so far, the Penguins on the other hand have been looking focused.

In their previous game, Pittsburgh beat St. Louis 5-1 to record an impressive 8-1-0 start to the season. In that first period they outshot the Blues 22-3; which makes those 20 minutes of action all the more important for the Cats—to have as their mental and pregame focal point.

Get off to a good start and with a pinch of confidence returning: anything can happen!

Win or lose, the Panthers need to show they are no pushovers as against the Sabres. And then, perhaps, they can take whatever they get out of the game and take it to Philadelphia tomorrow and stuff it to their hosts once more.

Having beaten the Flyers recently 4-2 at home, the Cats are in for a less friendly opponent this time around as Pronger & c/o lace-up in front of a fanatical crowd at the Wachovia Center.

The Philadelphia Flyers has just come off a scheduling quirk that had them playing only their second game in twelve days yesterday—the previous one being the game against the Panthers in Sunrise.

In that match last night the Flyers recorded a 4-3 win against the Boston Bruins. This shootout victory effectively ended their three game losing skid in what was essentially an appetizer for the coming Winter Classic.

For the home-side, it was particularly the fringe players that raised their game against the Bruins. Both the fourth forward line and third defensive pairing caused all sorts of problems for the visitors.

The Panthers must beware that Philly will come at you with everything and everyone they have. This brings me to my final point: squad depth.

Coach DeBoer has not yet revealed his cards as to who will be in goal. Both Scott Clemmensen and Tomas Vokoun were unimpressive in the recent beating by Buffalo.

But, being the No.1, Vokoun would be expected to be given the task of trying to stop the Penguins’ imposing array of firepower tonight. However, whatever performance Tomas melds together in The Steel City, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Clemmensen back in goal for the Flyers game; seeing as he won the previous matchup.

Elsewhere, question marks surround defenseman Bryan Allen. Can his delicate knee handle two such high-intensity games in a row?

If not, expect to see Jason Garrison to be called up from Rochester for the match in Philly.

Also, we can almost certainly expect DeBoer to try and juggle a few people around in the lines to get some feet moving and perhaps some goal scoring chemistry clicking.

Apart from these possible changes, we can only hope that these two games won’t cause the injury bug to appear in the Florida camp—as it subsequently has amongst other teams in the league that have already felt the congestive grind of the schedule.

Playing two such tough head-to-head games will undoubtedly put the Panthers firmly in the chomp of the crunch. The strength-levels within the team will be tested to the limit. And at such a critical point of this early season; the Panthers must prevail and bring something with them back home to South Florida from The Keystone State.

I don’t want to imagine a 2-7-0 start to the season. If that does happen however, then it is truly time to hit the panic button…

It will thus be a critical trip for Florida and a real test of its players; their strength in character and the team’s will to win.

Can the Panthers find that inner fortitude to bring them through these trying times with flying colors, or, will they again buckle under pressure?

Despite rumors of the opposite, the Florida Panthers are not yet done and dusted from the playoff map. The win over the Flyers put to an end a four game losing streak, and as the performances are slowly improving; a ray of hope is reemerging in South Florida.

That however doesn’t deter trade murmurs from buzzing around the Panthers camp like voluptuous vultures. Nathan Horton is the latest and oft recurring target.

Nevertheless, I think these rumors are largely based on faulty assumptions. I’ll go on to explain why in a moment, but first a quick elucidation of the Florida Panthers and its methods may be in order to initiate unacquainted reader…

Florida’s Road Map to Success

The Philadelphia victory, 4-2, was a hard fought win for the Panthers group, a road map if you will, for Florida to follow in their quest for success.

The Florida felines’ team is not the most gifted in the league, in fact, no one star performer has emerged; scoring has come from the collective team effort and the stats clearly show this fact:

Michael Frolik and Stephen Weiss top the point chart with 2 goals and 2 assists each in the opening six games. Three players; Radek Dvorak, Steven Reinprecht, and Dmitry Kulikov, have notched up three points. Six players have two, and of the players that have appeared in more than one game; only Gregory Campbell has yet to snatch a point.

While this says much about the Panthers need for combined scoring, it also highlights the clubs call for greater point production all around.

Each and every one of the current players are required to step up their game and chip in with hard fought goals if the Cats are to have any chance whatsoever.

In the second and third period on Friday, after a stern telling off from the coach, the players managed to do just that and the end result was a much needed win versus the Flyers.

Now the Floridians will have to keep up the pressure in every game, not just once in a blue moon.

Indeed, consistency was the issue throughout all of last season, or rather: the lack thereof. And this time around the Panthers have probably even less room for inconsistency…

Not least after the uninspiring 2-4 start to the campaign.

People outside of South Florida that aren’t necessarily acquainted with the Cats’ brand of hockey sometimes misunderstand the pillars that the team is built around.

Again; there is no star player to lean against for scoring. That is the job and responsibility of the entire team: the defenders as much as the forwards. Hence why we constantly see Panthers’ blueliners pinch-in at the offensive zone and jump into scoring areas at every opportunity.

Coach Peter DeBoer believes in the collective effort. Yet everybody must pull in the same direction for this tactic to be successful, everyone is looked upon to put in sterling, grinding shifts, for the cause. DeBoer will act swiftly if someone is not pulling their load.

Sometimes, fairly and unfairly, Nathan Horton has been pinpointed as one that doesn’t give 100% exertion into all games. However, worth noting is that Peter DeBoer seems to hold Horton’s endeavors in high regard.

Nathan didn’t start the season in the best of fashion, but in the last two games his, and the teams play overall, has made a remarkable upturn.

Why Horton Will Stay Put

Horton, a 24 year old 6-foot-2, 229 pound right winger, has only two goals so far into the campaign. However, those came in the two previous games and his play is showing clear signs of improvement.

Yet, the most frustrating part of Nathan’s hockey repertoire, in a Florida fans’ perspective, is his inconsistency. He can win games for the Panthers one day and then be virtually invisible the next. In this light his performances seems to follow the same path as the team as a whole over the last few seasons.

So, to hear Nathan Horton’s name already popping up in trade rumors is not surprising, and yet, probably based on the misunderstanding that he is supposed to be a prolific goal scorer and little else on the team.

Two goals in six games is thus reason enough for some to start the rumor that the Panthers are actively shopping Horton.

However, that rationale is based on a foundation that is not currently employed by the Panthers and its head coach Peter DeBoer. In Pete’s tactic Nathan is a two-way player that is looked equally upon as a defensively responsible and offensively predatory player.

He is not a pure offensive force (as he perhaps once was seen as).

What this does to Nathan’s stats is obvious: less goals scored and points on the board. This could clearly be seen last year as well when Horton was employed in the center. After having notched up 62 points in the two previous campaigns; he only got 45 points in 67 games played in 2008/09.

No one doubts the skill and potential possessed by the former 3rd overall pick from 2003.

What perhaps is lacking sometimes, and that brings Panthers fans to the brink of insanity, is his apparent lack of certain mental aspects of the game, such as a healthy dose of determination and resilience; to accompany those silky skills of his.

If Horton can adapt to coach Peter DeBoer tactics, and required two-way play, I think this can be highly beneficial to Nathan’s progress as a player. If he adds the mental wherewithal to his arsenal, he could become a lethal player yet, in the NHL.

Further, there have been no signs from DeBoer that he is specifically unhappy about Horton’s play; that has been directed more to the team as a whole. And there are no signs that Pete is giving up on Nathan.

Neither are there signs that the new General Manager Randy Sexton is contemplating trading Horton. Indeed, he has stated that the young Panthers players that have become the core of the team also constitute the long term backbone of his plans.

Nathan would surely be seen one of those core players.

When confronted by the Horton rumors from a Sun-Sentinel reporter, Sexton told him that “there is no shred of truth to the report, that it was absolutely made up and that he hasn’t contacted teams, nor have any contacted him, about trading Horton”.

I, for one, have no reason to disbelieve him.

This rumor sounds like a pure fabrication, apparently from the good lads of the Ottawa Sun brainstorming department.

Its basis, Horton’s lack of points, is based on misconceptions of the Panthers style of play and tactics. A poor study of character when it comes to head Coach Peter DeBoer, General Manager Randy Sexton, as well as a confusion of the long term strategy of this club.

Nathan Horton will remain a Panther, for the time being anyway.

To add to the list, Nathan is in his third year of a six year, $4 million per season, contract. Such a contract is not easy to move in a Salary Cap world. Most teams would be expecting to get more than Horton’s 45 points (last season) for that kind of money. They would also be obliged to give up some serious assets in order to tempt the Florida management.

Overall these hurdles are simply to big too overcome. But, does that mean Horton won’t be traded this season?

No, it does not. A trade could possibly happen later in the season, if the Panthers fail with their endeavor of putting up a decent challenge for the playoffs.

While Florida would probably prefer to move some of their veterans in that case of events, it is not impossible that management might consider moving Horton if they are unhappy with his performances at that point; especially as Nathan has a no-movement clause kicking in next July 1st.

That however, amounts to a grand subtotal of: Copious quantities of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’.

As Panthers fans, we may or may not wish to see Horton traded, but I think we all understand that he won’t be going anywhere at the moment anyway…

For the time being we’ll have to hope he can dig deep, ignore the rumors, and continue to improve his play. However, he is not alone in that respect; all Panthers players will need to do the same, not least tomorrow; when the Buffalo Sabres come to town.

Coach DeBoer has opted to go with the same team that won against Philadelphia last Friday. That means Scott Clemmensen will continue in goal instead of Tomas Vokoun.

The Sabres on the other hand have started the season impressively and it is up to the Cats to take the game to the visitors and squeeze out another victory.

We need those points accumulating rapidly to keep that early playoff-push on course and catch up with the teams above us in the standings, with Buffalo being one of those teams.

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.