Panthers 1 - Islanders 3

The Panthers closed out the month of January with a bit of a stinker, falling 3-0 to the New York Islanders. A fluky first period goal, an incredible individual effort by Bill Guerin, and a perfect pass on the power play finished off the Panthers. Florida had chances, but weren't able to beat rookie goaltender Yann Danis until it was too late.

It was a pretty lethargic contest for the Panthers. Despite having two, separate 4:00 power plays, the Cats never really found momentum. There were stretches of pressure, glimpses of the team we saw in the prior two games, but every time Florida got some sustained offense, the Islanders simply collapsed in front of the net and cleared away any rebounds. New York flipped the Florida playbook and executed to perfection. The difference in the game was when the Isles had a chance to finish, they did. Florida didn't.

It was a bit of a strange finish. The Panthers played the final 5 minutes of the game without a goaltender. Trailing 3-0, coach Pete DeBoer pulled Tomas Vokoun to skate 6 on 5. Now, this game wasn't a "must win." It wasn't earn 2 points or miss the playoffs. It was a sent message, pure and simple. Out skate the Islanders, win the puck, or the score will get ugly. I have no doubt that if New York scored an empty netter with 4 minutes left, Vokoun would still be out of the net. Florida had chances, they controlled the puck, but they didn't work like they had against Montreal. They didn't grind out goals like they did against Philadelphia. So for the last 5 minutes, they were going to have to outwork the Isles or suffer an embarrassing box score. For a rookie coach, this guy doesn't pull punches. Benching starters early in the year, basically cutting locker room favorite Wade Belak , DeBoer hasn't been intimidated by the "NHL Head Coach" tag. He hasn't let the culture of losing that Florida has developed over the past 9 years affect him. Coach Pete expects to win, and he expects his players to work for every win, every goal. I think I'm developing a man-crush.

The Cats have a few days off before their next game, a Tuesday night affair with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs are another team, below the Cats in the standings, that Florida should be able to get 2 points off of. If they come out with another apathetic effort like tonight, it won't be as easy. Until then...

Game Night!

The Florida Panthers look to close out a successful January in style, as they head north to take on the New York Islanders tonight. Florida is quickly becoming a hot topic in the NHL, thanks to their recent climb up the standings. The Panthers are 7-1-3 this month, and sit alone in 8th place. A win tonight, coupled with a Buffalo loss would move Florida into 7th.

For the Islanders, it's another story altogether. They have set up residence in the cellar of the NHL, and don't show much signs of moving out anytime soon. Franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro has missed most of the season after a knee surgery, and is already scheduled to sit out the remainder of 2009. The Isles leading goal scorer, Bill Guerin, has just 14 markers thus far. New York has managed to win its last 2 games, and looks to win a 3rd straight tonight for the first time since mid-November.

There's no doubt this could be a trap game situation for Florida. Coming off of impressive wins against Philadelphia and Montreal earlier this week, they head out on the road to take on a team that, on paper, shouldn't stand a chance. It's up to the Cats to bring the same kind of intensity that earned them W's before, regardless of the opponent. Puck drops at 7:00 tonight.

Panthers 5 - Canadians 1

Slowly but surely, this team is stealing my heart. The work ethic, the determination, the style, everything has come together for the Panthers. Can you believe that in the last 29 games (since November 24), the Cats have lost just 6 times in regulation? SIX?!?! The Florida Panthers have earned at least a point in 23 of their last 29 games. Thanks to that, Florida now sits alone in 8th place in the East, just 1 point behind 7th seed Buffalo. But why stop there? The Philadelphia Flyers are the 6th seed, only 5 points above the Cats. 5th seed? Tonight's opponent? Just 6 points ahead.

Tonight's game looked eeriely similar to Tuesday's win against the Flyers for the first 2 periods. Heading into the 3rd, Florida had a 2 goal, 3-1 lead. On Tuesday, the Flyers came out in the 3rd and dominated the period. Only superb goaltending and a bit of luck allowed the Panthers to escape with the 3-2 win. Tonight, the Panthers held the 2 goal lead, but played like they were the ones trailing. Never sitting back, never letting up, the Cats exercised Coach DeBoer's relentless, mad house forecheck to perfection. The end result, an impressive 5-1 win. The Panthers thorougly outplayed a Montreal team that had every reason to expect a W tonight.

A major question mark entering the season was where the scoring would come from. Let's face it, the Panthers traded their captain and leading goal scorer last offseason. So where is the offense coming from? All over the place! I heard, during tonight's broadcast, a defining statistic. In the last 6 games, Florida has scored 16 goals from 12 different goal scorers. The defensemen contribute, the top 3 lines chip in, the 4th line grinds. Every line brings a different kind of threat. The hard working, grinding CPR line of Campbell-Peltonen-Radek Dvorak. The flashy, fleet of foot Booth-Zednik-Horton line. The all-ages-welcome line with 35 year old Cory Stillman alongside 25 year old Stephen Weiss and 20 year old Michael Frolik. Everyone works, everyone helps out. The results can be seen on the ice.

The Panthers now head out on a quick 2 game road trip, both against lesser teams. Florida closes out what has been an impressive January on Long Island, before starting February in Toronto. If Florida hopes to continue it's run towards to the postseason, they need to earn the full 2 points from teams below them. The Cats can't afford a night off. Tonight was promising, giving hope to this hardened skeptic. Let's keep it going.

Game Night!

The Montreal Canadians (and probably thousands of fans) invade the BAC tonight to take on the Florida Panthers. The two teams come into tonight's contest heading in opposite directions. Montreal is riding a 3 game losing streak, including the most recent loss, a 5-3 decision in Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Florida, meanwhile, has gone through January earning at least a point in 10 straight games.

The dangerous thing about the Habs is that they don't have one, go-to guy or line (much like the Panthers). They're leading goal scorers, Robert Lang and Andrei Kostitsyn, have just 16 goals. Their leading point getter is a defenseman, Andrei Markov. Oh yea, that Alex Kovalev guy's pretty good too. Florida is going to have to be solid on defense all night long if they hope to end a 5-game losing streak to Montreal.

Tonight's teams have a lot in common. Both get scoring from up and down the roster, both like to play fast, high-tempo, aggressive hockey. Both team's netminders can win games on their own. This should be a fun one to watch. Special start time tonight, 7:00 ET, probably due to its national broadcast in Canada.

Panthers 3 - Flyers 2

Florida hung on tonight to take down the Flyers, 3-2. Philly got on the board first with a disputed goal that went off of Simon Gagne's skate and into the net. It was ruled that no kicking motion occurred, and the goal stood. Florida answered back with 3 straight, before the Flyers got it back to within a goal early in the 3rd period. The Panthers held on for dear life for the remainder of the game, and karma was restored when the Flyers had a goal disallowed thanks to a cross checking penalty. In the end, the Cats were able to earn the all-important 2 points.

Michael Frolik continued his impressive rookie season, contributing on all 3 Florida goals (1 G, 2 A). This kid's emergence may be saving the Panthers' season. David Booth became the first Panther to reach the 20 goal plateau this season with his goal tonight. But after Booth, the next leading goal scorer is Nathan Horton, with just 13 tallies. Think it's a coincidence that the start of the year went started so slowly for both Florida and Frolik? And that in the 9 games since 2009 began, Florida is 6-1-3, and Fro has 8 points? Gotta love the way this kid has grown over the months.

As previously mentioned, David Booth got his 20th goal tonight on a beautiful redirection (with his stick, mind you) off of a Keith Ballard slapper. Booth has emerged as one of, if not the greatest, individual scoring threats on this team. Unfortunately, he's just one of a few guys that were being counted on to pick up the scoring after the offseason departure of Olli Jokinen. Nathan Horton has just 13 goals, Stephen Weiss only 9. On the plus side, Florida has 10 players with 20+ points. And with the way the defense has been contributing offensively (Bryan McCabe scored his 9th on the year tonight), the Panthers might just have a style that could prove effective. If a couple other guys can pick up the pace just a smidge, this team could sneak up on a lot of people. That, or a top tier scorer is acquired at or near the trade deadline in exchange for some Bouwmeester character...

A promising start to the 2nd half of the season. Florida went down early, fought back, took a lead, and held on when pushed. And with the New York Rangers win over Carolina, Florida now sees themselves back in that 8th seed. Tomorrow, the Pittsburgh Penguins head to New York to try to get themselves back into a tie with Florida. The Cats are off until Thursday, when they invite the Montreal Canadians to town. Until then...

Game Night!

The All-Star break is now behind us, and the push for the playoffs is here. Florida returns to the ice tonight for the first of their final 36 games. Escaping the cold, Pennsylvanian winter, the Philadelphia Flyers visit South Florida for tonight's contest.The Flyers are in a battle of their own, as 3 teams are separated by 2 points, battling for the Atlantic division lead.

Keeping it brief, just a few quick hits about tonight's game. Ville Peltonen will make his return to the ice tonight, after missing the last two games with a deep knee bruise. It's good news for the Cats, no doubt. The CPR line (Campbell, Peltonen, and Dvorak) have been a bright spot for the Panthers since they were put together. Another line to watch tonight is the Booth, Horton, Zednik line. The last 2 or 3 games, it's looked like they might be coming together as well. Puck drops at 7:30 from the BAC.

Other games to keep an eye on tonight; Carolina (8th seed, 1 point ahead of FLA) @ NY Rangers, 7:00; Buffalo (7th seed, 3 points ahead of FLA) @ Edmonton, 9:00.

What To Do About J-Bo?

A thought about the Panthers' lone All-Star, Jay Bouwmeester. Much has been made about his status as a Florida Panther this season, and as we head into the final 36 games of the year, one wonders how many of those contests Mr. Bouwmeester will be wearing the Cats' uniform. I, for one, hope it's less as opposed to more.

What?!? Am I crazy?? Possibly. Probably. But here's the grim truth. The best we Panther fans can hope for is he sticks around the rest of the season, gets this team in the playoffs, before splitting for big bucks and a big city. He wants to play in the postseason, something he has yet to do since he was drafted in 2002. Watching and listening to Bouwmeester at the All-Star game made it pretty clear to me, he wants the attention of a big hockey market, he wants to be in a city that cares about its hockey more then it cares about its sun tans. He wants to be elsewhere.

So where does that leave us? He's been the consummate professional this year, filling interviews with only the vaguest of answers, doing his best on the ice, leading this team towards a possible playoff berth. And why shouldn't he? If GM Jacques Martin doesn't trade him before the March 4th deadline, Bo will need an impressive resume when the bidding begins for his services in the offseason. He's a free agent come summer, and that's the killer. The Cats have to, have to, get something in exchange for a player of this caliber. If they wait til summer, they'll get squat.

So what does Florida need? I think that's obvious. Scoring. A proven, post-season, pressure time scorer. What do we have to give up? One of the best defenseman in the league. Sounds like a trade made in heaven. Teams reportedly intersted include Montreal, Ottawa, and Washington. I think they might have some scoring to give up. The good news is that Florida can probably (hopefully) live without J-Bo. The offseason moves by GM JM almost seem to have been made almost as if he knew this was coming... Bryan McCabe, Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton, Karlis Skrastins, and Jassen Cullimore are more than just decent defenders, they have proven to be solid playmakers. With the solid play of Noah Welch lately, they might even have 6 solid defenders, should they lose J-Bo.

We'll see what happens. Obviously, I hope I am completely and totally wrong about all of this, that Florida hangs on to Bouwmeester, they make an improbable playoff run, Jay decides he likes the sun and 70* weather in January, and signs a deal to stay in Sunrise. Unfortunately, getting nothing in return for the services of one of the league's top D-men is a scenario that seems much more likely if no trade is made. Until then, let's just hope he keeps performing and pushing this team towards the top 8.