Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

With Less than two minutes on the clock, versus the Sabres, goalie Scott Clemmensen had already been put to the sword twice and was now reeled back-in, by Coach Peter DeBoer, for the early hook.

Tomas Vokoun fared little better in that first period, in fact, he fared a little worse…

Three more goals from a Buffalo team vigorously crashing the net, one of which was a Vokoun own goal (!), and the Florida hosts looked decidedly more like kittens than the more ferocious Panther.

And yes, the stats lie. Not the scoreline mind you. But rather the other stats that would make the uninitiated think that Florida may have dominated this game.

That couldn’t be further from the shocking truth: The Panthers didn’t show up for this game and was dismantled from the very first drop of the puck.

The only reason the Cats could perhaps fool the avid stat-tracker is that Sabres cooled off considerably after that 5-1 first period drubbing. They looked like they were out for a routine practice session and threw the Panthers a late bone of conciliation.

And so the game fizzled out in a 5-2 comprehensive victory for the visitors.

Not what the fans that had turned up had expected exactly. Not least after that impressive win over the Flyers on Friday; which ignited a little hope with the beleaguered hockey fans of South Florida.

The comment of my better half really sums up what many-a-fan was thinking when watching the game: “I waited anxiously for four days, and this is what we get!?”

It truly was a disgraceful performance from the Panthers.

As a fan, it is hard not to get overly emotional after such an appalling first period effort from the Cats. Yes, we’ve seen this before, but even though the Panthers haven’t been one of the better teams since its early heyday; they have nonetheless been a team hard to break down for most opponents in recent years.

Not so – this time around – it seems.

Beaten 4-0 by Chicago, 7-2 by Carolina and now 5-2 versus Buffalo… And had the latter not let up on the gas after the first period, it might as well have ended 15-3…

Ok, enough wallowing in misery. I amply did that last night; hence my sore head this morning.

All the same, the Panthers are now 2 wins and 5 losses into the season and look as fragile as a crackled Ming-dynasty vase.

It is clear that a determined opponent can dismantle this Florida team at will.

The two wins were both against teams (Chicago and Philadelphia) that had bad nights in those respective games. They were both rusty coming to those contests and the Cats could eventually scratch out the victories: but not without a lot of effort mind you.

So, what is lacking in this Florida team?

Well, Richard Zednik for one, Karlis Skrastins for another; and that’s not even mentioning Jay Bouwmeester…

Richard Zednik may have been an enigmatic skater at times and distressingly irregular; but when he scored, it was goals that went against the flow of the game. It was not merely beautiful goals, but momentum changing goals that could, and often did, flip a game on its head.

There is no Zednik on this year’s roster. No one to unlock an opposing team that has the Cats cornered on the ropes; gasping for air.

There has of yet not emerged a Karlis Skrastins on the team either. An ironman defender that sacrifices his body at every occasion and that always plays his heart out. And in so doing; inspires others to follow suit.

Jay Bouwmeester was of course irreplaceable. His puck-moving ability was a continuous source of “get out of jail for free cards” in seasons past.

In addition, he regularly closed down the opposing star players, clocked up minutes like no one else and was key on specialty teams. I miss Bo.

Nonetheless, he is gone and so we must do without him. It was not a choice of the organization; if the individual doesn’t want to stay – there is little else to do about it. The losses of Zednik and Skrastins on the other hand were deliberate moves of the organization.

“Scoring by committee” has become the mantra and a flashy winger like Zednik doesn’t fit into such a narrow box. He must utilize his wings to be effective. Thus, it was no surprise he left either.

As for Skrastins; it was a numbers game.

He wanted a two-year contract whilst the Panthers were only willing to dish out one-year deals. That was a real shame. Shortsightedness was allowed to guide the organization and hence we should probably have been expecting a 2 wins for 5 losses fallout…

Also, as I’ve earlier detailed in the “Life after Jay-Bo” article, the Panthers desperately lack size and grit in the defensive zone.

The risk of such a tactical line-up is that the Cats can easily become hemmed-in, within their own defensive zone and be thrown back against the boards for sustained periods of time.

We have thus far seen this scenario been played out, again and again, in the early going.

This is a wake-up call and the management must respond!

Get the players fired up; not just for one game in a blue moon, but for each and every contest. Also, GM Randy Sexton must start considering his trade options, and if possible, bring in a tall, strong, stay-at-home defenseman to help out poor Bryan Allen in that task.

That would be a good start. Then in the future we could perhaps look for offensive help as well. Scoring by this current committee is obviously not enough.

A goal scoring winger and a big No.1 center-forward would be the choice in a perfect world. But that’s not likely to happen anytime soon with salary restrictions and a distinctive lack of trade bait within the organization.

These are gloomy days for Panther’s fans: once again.

But the poor start is yet reversible.

If the team starts clicking from the first drop of the puck, and if management realizes that further reinforcements are needed, if success is required; this kitten can still grow into a menacing Panther.

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.

Yes, the Panthers have been around. Christopher Columbus would have been proud and impressed.

Winger David Booth recently designed a T-shirt that has been circling the locker room; to commemorate a flying preseason for the Cats.

It features a rock ’n’ roll style Panther on the front. And on the back side can be read: “Florida Panthers – World Tour 2009”.

Thereafter follows a list of dates and “gigs” that many an aspiring rock band might drool jealously upon:

9-12 Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia
9-15 Halifax, Nova Scotia
9-16 Ottawa, Ontario
9-17 Montreal, Quebec
9-18 Edmonton, Alberta
9-20 Calgary Alberta
9-22 Dallas, Texas
9-23 Sunrise, Florida
9-30 Tampere, Finland
9-30 Helsinki, Finland
10-2 Helsinki, Finland
10-3 Helsinki, Finland

Since then three more gigs have been added to the schedule due to popular demand:

10-9 Raleigh, North Carolina
10-10 Sunrise, Florida
10-12 Tampa, Florida

Suiting enough, this mini-tour ends on Columbus Day: Here’s to the memory of you Christopher and your stunning feat of mal-navigation!

 

Vokoun the Workhorse

 

With the Finnish excursion now firmly put to the books, the Panthers need to find their feet quickly. They have 3 games in 4 days to look forward to.

Goalie Tomas Vokoun in particular will have his stamina and resiliency tested as he looks to be playing one consecutive game after another.

With recently acquired back-up goalie Scott Clemmensen on leave, due to family matters, youngster Alexander Salak will be with on this tour as well. When Scott will return is still unknown and head coach Peter DeBoer has already said that Vokoun will be playing in these games whether Clemmensen returns or not.

Tomas Vokoun is of course no stranger to playing hefty minutes. He has always done so in the past and there is no use in confusing him now. Last campaign he also played in the opening five games of the season.

Vokoun strikes me as the kind of goalie that produces his best when he gets a lot of action. He doesn’t like standing or sitting around idly. The more the merrier for Tomas it seems and he’s getting his Christmas wishes early this year.

 

Some Early Question Marks

 

Otherwise the lineup looks relatively intact from Helsinki.

Center Steven Reinprecht got a shot off the skate in practice the other day, but X-rays showed no sign of any fracture. He will thus play tonight.

Whether or not another centerman, new signing Dominic Moore, will feature in any of these games is still unknown. The reason behind his delay in linking up with the team is VISA issues. As soon as they are resolved he’ll join and likely be thrown straight in to the fray by Coach DeBoer.

If Moore does arrive before tonight’s game or any of the other two, it will likely mean that defenseman Ville Koistinen won’t be utilized as a makeshift forward on the fourth line. If he’ll return to the blueline or be made to sit out the game(s) is not yet clear.

It would likely be either Koistinen or rookie Dmitry Kulikov that would be made redundant for the time being when Dominic joins the lineup. But knowing DeBoer he’ll likely be shuffling things around as soon as results aren’t forthcoming; so it may be a very brief spell on the sidelines in that case.

It is also worth noting that the Panthers have announced the signing of 23 year old right winger Victor Oreskovich on a two-way deal.

Oreskovich is a player that Peter DeBoer knows well from the juniors and he’ll be assigned to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Victor was originally a third round draft pick by the Colorado Avalanche. This offseason he attended Florida’s training camp and also featured in four preseason games.

 

Boxed In at Carolina

 

Looking closer at that game in Carolina versus the Hurricanes it would seem that the Panthers are in for a tough matchup. The Cats may have won their last game in Raleigh 5-0, but that was in all honesty before the Canes got together as a team and started to click last campaign.

It is likely to be a much tighter affair this time around.

During the week the Panthers have been working hard on special teams and coverage assignments in the defensive zone. Both of which were Achilles heels in the opening head-to-head with Chicago. With a spanking new defensive corps these issues are predictable to occur in the early going.

The best way to minimize the threat of opposing man-advantages however is, as it always has been, to stay out of the box.

Carolina have a good enough team to punish Florida if the Cats again can’t play fair; as the Blackhawks did in game two.

And knowing your defensive assignments, well, that’s just basic hockey ABC. Give it a few games and some practice and that should not need to be a continued issue.

The Hurricanes meanwhile have also started the new season in a wobbly fashion: Losing 0-2 and 2-7 to the Flyers and Bruins respectively. They then rallied to trump the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2-1 shootout victory on Tuesday.

Both teams should be rested and well prepared for this game, having not played in the last 3 and 6 days respectively. That does however also make the game a highly unpredictable one. It’s hard to see which team will show up with the greater hunger and will to win.

I think this will be a tense game that will go down to the buzzer.

With both teams likely to have stressed defense in practice, due to both having a hard time to keep opposing forwards out of their zone, I’m sure that emphasis will shine through in the game as well.

However, with Carolina having a record of 15-2-0 at home against Florida since Feb. 16, 2004; they must be seen as the favorites to clinch the points in the end analysis.

 

Selling Out

 

The next day the Panthers go home to play their first home game. Outside of Finland that is…

The New Jersey Devils continue their three game road trip and make a visit. Tickets have been selling fast and the Bank Atlantic Center is expected to be a complete sellout.

After having lost their initial two home games of the season, the Devils travelled to Tampa and made an astonishing last second push in regulation to tie the game and eventually win the contest. Again the Lightning lost in a shootout.

It would seem the shootout curse has now switched over to Florida’s west coast. Good riddance!

The New Jersey Devils is as always a tricky customer. With Martin Brodeur between the pipes you can never be assured to score. The Panthers players are also likely to arrive with tired legs in this contest; after having played in North Carolina the previous evening.

Nonetheless, with the B.A.C. packed with hopeful fans there can be no excuses.

The Cats need to display some sharp claws and dig deep for a memorable performance. With the fragile fanbase that exists here; every big crowd turnout is a new chance to redeem the club and gain some new followers in the process.

The importance of this game for Florida can hence not be stressed enough.

 

“Tampa Bay Lightning is a Box of Chocolates; you never know what you’ll get”

 

I don’t think it was Columbus that uttered those words, but it is to him we now return.

For the Panthers he’ll make an appearance in Tampa Bay this coming Monday, on Columbus Day. It will be a symbolic way to end the long preseason tour and early campaign as the Panthers thereafter get some rest (until next Friday’s game versus the Flyers) and then return to the regular season grind.

With five regular games under the belt we should be in a much better position to judge what this year’s reincarnation of the Cats hold in store.

Before we come to that point however we have the Floridian derby against the Lightning, a game that will be contested by fierce cross state rivals. Although prior to the game against the Panthers, the Bolts have a chance to redeem their early season woes against Carolina on Saturday.

So far, after three games, it is fair to say that the Tampa Bay Lightning have not got off to the start they were hoping for.

Much was expected of Tampa Bay for this season in terms of overall on-ice improvement. This has yet to come to fruition and they remain winless to this point.

To me it seems that the Bolts last season put all their efforts into their forward compartment; with the end result of the team becoming unbalanced. This summer therefore, the management focused solely of the upgrade of the defensive corps.

However, the rising evidence seems to suggest this has only led to a new imbalance; with 9 defenders battling for icetime.

It is hard to understand this logic. But we all know the Tampa Bay Lightning organization work in strange ways. Who am I to question their reasoning?

I’m probably too conservative. I like the idea of balancing the team, whilst at the same time I detest the idea of letting players sit on the bench rolling their thumbs without playing any competitive games. But hey, I’m sure they know what they are doing… Right?

Anyway, the Panthers often find the Bolts to be a tricky opponent to unlock. And it being a derby game; one never knows how things will unfold.

This could go either way.

Nonetheless, I do dare wager that the Lightning will struggle this season if they do not address the glaring issue of imbalance. A couple of trades are likely necessary to rectify the problem: The sooner the better for the team and its fans in western Florida.

As for the Panthers, we will not get anything for free this season. Yet, the team is being slowly molded into Coach Peter DeBoer’s own image. And if the players can display his level of competitiveness, never-say-die attitude and directness, we should be fine.

It is a long road to travel however, and while the Florida Panthers players may feel like they’ve already circumvented the Earth a couple of times; truth is that the real journey starts today…

The season may only have begun, but that doesn’t mean players are immune from criticism in the early going. Always in the line of fire are the goaltenders; where one bad game can be enough to have the fans clambering all over their back. Ask Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala – for whom it only took four periods before patience ran thin.

The notoriously fickle fans in Toronto haven’t exactly been enamored with the Finns early displays and, despite Vesa still recovering from hip and groin surgery in the off-season, he has found little sympathy from the many vociferous hockey fanatics north of the border. With promising NHL rookie Jonas Gustavsson waiting in the wings, the call has rung out for the Swedish ‘Monster’ to be the No.1 – in Toskala’s place.

In the 6-4 defeat against the Caps, the Finn got the hook in favor of the Swede after the first period and now Head Coach Ron Wilson has decided to go with Gustavsson in-between the sticks in tonight’s contest from the getgo – against their rivals the Ottawa Senators. This despite Wilson sticking up for his current No.1 by stating that the defense had not helped the goalie with their poor defensive display, in the two opening defeats of the season.

Jonas has a lot of hype to live up to, as he was the most coveted netminder in the off-season, with several teams chasing his signature, before settling for Maple Land as his first NHL destination.

Having helped his former club Färjestad to the Swedish championship last season, he earned the nickname ‘the Monster’ in the process. That and the usual unrealistic hopes of the Toronto fans, leaves Gustavsson with a very big set of skates to fill tonight.

 

Keeping it in the Family

Due to family business, of an unknown sort, Panthers back-up goalie Scott Clemmensen has returned to his family home in Iowa. Whether he’ll be back in time for the next game against the Carolina Hurricanes is at this time not known. What is for certain is that the Cats management is not taking any chances and has recalled Alexander Salak from Rochester; after he was sent there just the other day.

 

One goaltender that has hit the new season running is last season’s Florida back-up goaltender Craig Anderson, nowadays plying his trade in Colorado as their No.1. In his first two contests he saved 73 of 74 shots as the Avs started the season on two winning feet. For his efforts Andy was awarded the opening week’s second star.

Maybe the Panthers will be left to rue his departure, if he can keep that kind of form going…