Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

For Panthers fans it was nice to finally note another ‘W’ to the column and to see the forwards explode in a rare offensive Floridian fireworks display.

Well, maybe it was more a couple of individuals that burst the Cats back into life: Steven Reinprecht with his first period natural hat trick and Rostislav Olesz who scored Florida’s fifth goal of the match and the subsequent winning shootout tally.

Steven Reinprecht has been arguably the best summer pick-up by the Panthers so far.

Not known as a scorer, Steven has nonetheless stepped up and led Florida forward in this department. In the last six games he has now scored all of his eight tallies of the season.

It started innocently enough, when Reinprecht scored an empty netter against Philadelphia on October the 16th. Since then he has kept his goal streak going. And then yesterday—he virtually took the match by the scruff of its neck and propelled Florida forward by scoring the game’s three initial goals, all in the first period of play in Dallas.

Steven has been given the task of centering the second line this season and at the moment he’s finding some good chemistry with Cory Stillman and Nathan Horton on the wings.

Many fans, including myself, doubted that Reinprecht had the offensive capabilities of a second line centerman when he was brought in from Phoenix in June earlier this year.

With his performances in the last 6 games however, he has manage to shut us all up and wish we could clone him instead—and thus have twelve Steven’s on the team.

Reinprecht is a consummate pro who does the little things well.

Known previously as a solid checking center, he is now showing that he knows where the net is as well and is willing to step into that area above the crease to swoop up any loose pucks—and then put them firmly behind the goaltender between the pipes.

I hope the other Florida Panthers’ forwards are taking note: that’s how you get goals in the NHL!

Another forward that has been finding his feet this season is Rostislav Olesz.

Rosti had a poor season last year and had much of that campaign derailed by injury. Nevertheless, the Czech has managed to come back healthy and eager to show his metal this season and it is starting to reap some early successes.

In the opening games he was one of the best Florida forwards; trying and working hard but perhaps not being rewarded on the score sheet.

Hopefully he will now turn that corner after the Dallas game; where he became the Cats’ eventual game winner with a well placed goal in third period and then the eventual shootout winner as well.

Following David Booth’s injury against Philadelphia, Olesz has been given the chance to play on the first line with his friend and fellow countryman Michael Frolik on the opposite wing.

Centered by Stephen Weiss, they started to find some good chemistry as the game progressed in Dallas and began to exert a lot of pressure on the Stars in the third period.

Overall, this was a very good performance by the Panthers’ forward compartment.

The defenders meanwhile were decent and helped in the offensive endeavors. Jordan Leopold also scored a goal from a stunning Reinprecht cross-ice feed in the second period.

Defensively there were some question marks however—on both sides.

Especially the goaltending was shaky in the opening two periods before the backup netminder’s had shed the apparent rust off their respective shoulders.

Former Panther Alex Auld was between the pipes for the Stars, whilst Scott Clemmensen got his third start of the season for Florida. Both had evening’s they’d probably rather forget, but in the end Clemmensen had the last laugh as he blanked Dallas in the ensuing shootout.

On the whole this was another tentative step forward for the Florida Panthers and the win and offensive scoring will be straws of optimism to cling to.

Next up is St. Louis tonight on the mini back-to-back road trip for the Cats.

Having won just one of their first five games at the Scottrade Center, Florida will be hoping to further pile the Blues upon the home team tonight.

Hopefully yesterday’s victory in Dallas can inject some much needed confidence into the fragile Panthers and lift them toward another win.

Another triumph on the road would immediately propel Florida back into the reckoning and could be the proverbial turning of a corner—that South Florida fans are desperately hoping for.

The natural response to the eventual defeat that the Cats suffered yesterday at Pittsburgh is one of incredulity. The Panthers played so well for 40 minutes and then in the third period it all falls apart…

Yes, we all know that picture all too well. How often has not a Panthers fan seen that happen over the years?

Yet, as natural as that thought process may be, we must also lift our heads to see past that concluding disappointment and see the strides forward that were actually made in this game.

Who among us actually thought the Cats would get anything from this game at all?

With a red-hot Pittsburgh team, that was continuing to tear apart opposing teams in the early part of the season, one might be excused for fearing the worst: that Florida might be ripped to the bone and be left embarrassed—as against Buffalo on Wednesday.

But that did not happen.

Rather, the Panthers found their collective growl and did to the Penguins what the Sabres did to us in that recent first period. Obviously we weren’t going to get five goals like Buffalo did, but two important goals nonetheless. Both scored by Steven Reinprecht.

Reinprecht has found his footing in Florida and is now starting to contribute well to the team. With a three goal scoring streak going, he added a brace of nitty-gritty goals to his tally. Both were created by Steven crashing the crease and mopping up loose pucks to stick away.

In other words: just the kind of goals the Cats need to start scoring to be successful.

Indeed, whatever the coaches and players had been practicing, talking about, and doing to get focused for this game—it worked a charm. The Panthers of yesterday was a different team from what we saw on Wednesday or almost any other game of the season.

They worked so hard that many players seemed to have in progress began blowing fuses in the third period. Some sloppy play and bad decision became the result. It gave the Penguins a way back into the match and they grabbed it with both flippers.

Sidney Crosby showed why he’s regarded so highly by claiming both goals that drew Pittsburgh level late in the third period. The Panthers meanwhile showed why they still need to hone their special teams: the first goal was a powerplay tally and the second a shorthanded one.

The game thus went to the dreaded shootout and there Sidney once again made himself the home crowd’s darling with a nice deke and penalty score. It was the only one and hence the Penguins took the additional point.

One could argue that it was a fair result considering how dominant the Penguins were in the third and thus showed they had the cutting edge when it really mattered.

But, on the other hand, one could equally argue that for the first 40 minutes of the game the Panthers had been the better team and should have had a bigger lead than the two goals they had when entering the third.

Indeed, Panthers Caoch Peter DeBoer made that last point after the game, saying:
"We couldn’t get a third goal. We had opportunities, I thought maybe four or five tonight; some 2-on-1s, some chances around the net, but we have to find a way to get more goals."

Especially left winger David Booth was a constant thorn in the Penguins’ side, getting himself in 1-on-1 situations and into the scoring areas over and over again. Shame only he couldn’t find the target any of those times…

Booth seems to be in that place right now were nothing goes in no matter how hard he tries. But, sooner or later that vacuum will be released and hopefully David will then burst on to the scoring charts the way we want to see.

Other special mentioning’s go to Tomas Vokoun who was stellar in goal. One brilliant save after another in that third period; he single-handedly kept our hopes of winning the game alive.

The defenders as a collective also deserve plenty of praise. They did very well moving the puck to the forwards in the opening 40 minutes, as well as pinching-in to help the offense whenever possible.

The forwards also had their collectively best game of the year, possibly competing with the Philadelphia contest, working tirelessly and fore-checking hard. Only poor Rostislav Olesz looked out of shape in this game and was unfortunately involved in both Penguins’ goals.

His demotion to the fourth line, despite being perhaps the Cats’ best player to that point in time, obviously didn’t go down too well with him.

Rosti seems to have a fragile confidence and his downgrading apparently knocked it around a bit.

With the blip that the demotion of Olesz caused, Coach DeBoer’s line-juggling otherwise seemed to pay-off pretty well.

Nathan Horton took his relegation to the second line maturely and battled hard throughout the game. Dominic Moore looked lively centering the third and Michael Frolik worked hard on the top line.

Overall this was a good team performance from Florida. They picked up an unexpected point in Pittsburgh and can now go to Philadelphia with some renewed confidence.

It just goes to show that all is not lost yet, it is early in the season, and the Cats are finding some inner pluckiness and fortitude to try and guide them past these early trials.

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.