Pre-Game Thoughts: Panthers vs. Blackhawks

So tomorrow the Chicago Blackhawks come to the BAC for the only matchup between the Panthers and Blackhawks this season. Being from Chicago myself, the Blackhawks are my favorite team in the Western Conference. Much like the Panthers, the Blackhawks are a team that has turned it around tremendously from last year and a lot of it has to do with new coaching for both teams. I'm looking forward to watching the Panthers take on the talent on the Blackhawks team, especially Toews and Kane. The victory the Cats had over New Jersey last night makes me feel confident that we can win this one. Once again, as much as I would LOVE to be at the BAC tomorrow to watch this game live, I'll have to catch it on TV because of work.

Here's to the Islanders beating the Rangers and Washington beating Montreal tonight!

Panthers Give the Devils Hell

What a SOLID performance by the Panthers tonight against the Devils. I wish I could have been at the BAC for tonight's victory, but because of work I had to catch this one on the radio for the first period, then on tv for periods 2 and 3. I was really nervous about this one. New Jersey was one of the hottest teams in the league coming into this game, and their similar style of play compared to the Panthers kind of worried me.

The Panthers put together a solid effort:
-Vokoun was exceptional
-Penalty kill was perfect
-Panthers had a powerplay goal
-Panthers were hitting (hell, even Vokoun hit twice!)
-Offensive contributions from the big guys (Horton, Stillman, Zednik and Weiss)
-Excellent defense

Everything just seemed to click tonight. I thought the second period was a COMPLETE domination by the Panthers. That powerplay goal by Zednik in the 2nd was key. That was a HUGE goal which built up the Panthers' confidence and they never looked back after that. I knew once Horton scored the third goal shortly after that we would likely get a shutout. They looked so confident out there tonight.

Just some observations:
How hot are Horton and Zednik right now?! Horton with 4 goals in his last 5 games, Zednik with those 2 against Toronto, the shootout winner against the Rangers, and now that powerplay goal tonight. I'm glad these guys are heating up, this is the perfect time. We are going to need them to stay hot throughout this stretch and into the playoffs.

The standings are JAM packed! There are now 4 teams with 66 pts, the Cats being one of them, along with Buffalo, New York Rangers, and the Montreal Canadiens. Every point the Panthers can get is crucial.

Vokoun is on FIRE! He has been amazing the past couple of games. Now I remember why we pay him 6 million dollars and why he's our #1 goaltender! I'm sorry I doubted you at the beginning of the season, TVo!

We got a little help out of town, Boston beat Carolina 5-1. Too bad Toronto couldn't beat Buffalo too, but oh well.

I just LOVE listening to Randy Moeller's goal calls on the radio! He's hysterical! Some of his very best:



AHHHH! I'M JUST SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW! With this victory I feel more confident that the Panthers really can compete with the top teams we face in the next couple of games. KEEP IT UP CATS!!

Pre-Game Thoughts: Panthers vs. Devils

Sitting here between classes at FIU I figured I would post some thoughts about tomorrow's upcoming game against the New Jersey Devils.

-We've lost both previous meetings with the Devils. On November 20th the Cats suffered a 3-1 loss against them. Just a few days later on November 26th we lost again in OT 3-2.
Thoughts: Looking at this statistic, the only positive I can dissect from this is that both losses came in the month of November, Cats went 6-5-3 that month and have since then picked up their play, improving to a 12-4-3 record since the beginning of January.

Speaking of this 12-4-3 record since the new year, looking at it made me feel a TINY bit better against our loss to the Caps. Only four regulation losses in 19 games is not bad at all, it's just that the Cats need to get as many points as they can at this point to keep pace with the playoff race. We got a little help last night with Montreal losing to Vancouver and the Sabres losing to the Canes, but we can't count on getting help from other teams losing. Sure, it would help us tremendously if the Islanders were somehow able to beat the Penguins and if the Rangers would lose to the Blues tonight, but the Panthers have to control their own destiny and rack up all the points they can. That's what frustrates me about not being able to at least get a point last night when we very easily could have.

With the tough schedule that lies ahead, the Panthers face the Devils twice, Bruins twice, Chicago, Rangers, and Capitals, all in their next 7 games. Throughout this stretch of games, we will see what the Panthers are really made of and what their playoff hopes and chances really are.

K.O.'ed by A.O.

When I saw that red light go off behind Vokoun as Alex Ovechkin scored with 2 and half minutes left in the 3rd period, I knew it was over. The Panthers were unable to even get one point out of today's game. This game was extremely frustrating for me to watch. As I sat there in my seat at the game after Ovechkin scored that goal, I could not figure out what pissed me off more: 1)Knowing that we could have and SHOULD have won this game if it weren't for our abysmal powerplay OR 2)Knowing that if the Panthers had just been able to hang on for only two more minutes that we would've at least come out of this one with a point. Seriously... 1 for 8 on the powerplay? The Panthers seriously need to improve this statistic if they want to advance once they're in the playoffs. I felt optimistic earlier in the game when the Cats tied it up at 2-2 from a 2-0 deficit, but Ovechkin is just unstoppable. His drive and passion for the game is amazing. If only the Panthers had a clutch player like that. A finisher.

I hope the Cats are able to just shake this one off and re-focus for Tuesday's game against the Devils. That one's not going to be easy either, New Jersey is one of the hottest teams in the league right now. Cats got a little help out of town so far tonight. The Hurricanes beat the Sabres, so that stops Buffalo from leaping over us and the Rangers lost to Philadelphia. Hopefully Montreal loses to Vancouver later on tonight.

Pre-Game Thoughts: Panthers vs Caps

In a few hours I'll be taking off to the BAC to watch this afternoon's matchup between the Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers. I have to admit, I'm quite nervous about this one. The Capitals kind of intimidate me this season. If the Panthers can come out of this one with 2 points, I'll be ecstatic! I hope the Cats end Green's scoring streak. He just set a record for defensemen by scoring in 8 consecutive games in Tampa Bay last night. This is a streak I would LOVE to see the Cats end. Carolina lost last night against the Blue Jackets, and Pittsburgh lost as well, so we got a little help out of town. That's all for now, I'll be back with post game thoughts and photos later tonight.

GO PANTHERS!

Panthers Won A Shootout?!

A shootout win? Who? THE PANTHERS?!

Last night's dramatic shootout win was worth way more than the price I paid for my seats in section 122. As usual in any Panthers vs. Rangers game at the BAC, there was a huge crowd in attendance with plenty of Rangers fans there. Last night I felt that there was about a 70:30 ratio of Panther fans to Rangers fans as opposed to the usual 50:50 ratio during the holidays. I had the pleasure of sitting behind 4 drunk, hilarious Panther fans seemingly having a "guys night out". To my right I had an obnoxious Rangers fan (of course) and his girlfriend, but I didn't mind, it makes it more fun to sit next to those loudmouth fans, especially when your team is the one that wins in the end of it all. Watching the first period was frustrating. The Panthers had so many opportunities but Lundquvist was able to stop all the Panthers' shots during the first period. The only goal of the first period was Fredrik Sjostrom's goal for the Rangers, which he scored by jamming at Tomas Vokoun's leg until it went in. Shortly after, Gregory Campbell got into a fight with Dubinsky and each got 5 minute majors. Those were the only penalties of the first period. Two and a half minutes into the 2nd period, Frolik was able to get a slap shot past Lundqvist, tying the game at 1-1. Boynton was called for an instigator penalty, a 5 minute fighting major, and a 10 minute misconduct after his fight with Paul Mara. 17 minutes of penalties just because he stuck up for a fellow teammate was WAY too harsh in my opinion. Apparently the rest of the Panther fans at the BAC agreed because once the penalties were announced, the crowd erupted with BOOOOs. I noticed that the 4 drunk Panther fans in front of me were missing for most of the 2nd period. They returned early in the 3rd period with 3 Panthers Ice Dancer calendars and a hockey stick. One of the guys turned around to us and told us that his friend won all that free stuff. I asked him how and he said that his friend went to go use the restroom and a tube must have broken or something because he got splashed a lot of water when he flushed, so he complained to customer service and they gave him all that free stuff. He handed us one of the Ice Dancers calendars and told us to keep it. There was no scoring in the third period, but David Booth was called for a marginal hooking penalty late in the 3rd. The Panthers were able to kill it off and we were headed to OT. OT went by, no penalties were called, and at the end of those 5 minutes I thought "Great, a shootout. We're done. Oh well, at least we got a point." The crowd at the BAC was on their feet. The Panthers selected to shoot first. Lundqvist was able to top Stillman, Horton and Weiss. Vokoun was able to stop Naslund, Dawes, and Callahan. For the 4th round of the shootout, Zednik was up to shoot and.. HE SCORED! We began cheering so loud, and our drunk friends turned around for the high-fives. All Vokoun had to do was stop the last Rangers shooter and the Panthers would win and get the 2nd point in the standings. I covered my mouth and nose with my hands as I watched him start skating towards Vokoun. He took the shot, Vokoun made the save! I started jumping up and down, giving high fives, and screaming as the Panther fans at the BAC erupted with cheers while the Rangers fans walked towards the exit.

Just when you thought the Panthers had done the impossible by coming back from a 4-1 deficit against the Leafs and shutting out the Hurricanes 5-0 in Raleigh just the night before, they topped it yet again.... THE PANTHERS FINALLY WON A SHOOTOUT!!

Roaring through Raleigh

The Panthers took the Carolina Hurricanes by storm last night. I can't really say I was expecting things to turn out the way they did given the Panthers' record when playing at the RBC in Raleigh, NC. I remember thinking before the game started "This will probably be a really close one, it should be playoff-like." So, I turn on the game and watch the Panthers score first. Nathan Horton on a practically empty-net. I was glad, but I figured it was just luck. A few minutes later, Zednik scores. Florida is up 2-0 after the first period. I didn't want to be TOO optimistic, after all the Panthers have blown many leads in Raleigh before. Finally, the second period started and the Panthers start off taking penalties. I knew they were coming, the Panthers get calls o' plenty, especially against the Hurricanes. Vokoun came up BIG! He made some remarkable saves during the penalty kill and throughout the duration of the entire game. Then, all of a sudden, the Cats score two goals in 12 seconds. One by Anthony Stewart, the other by Gregory Campbell. I could not help but yell out "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Even my sister came into my room to ask me what was going on! I started laughing and told her "CHECK THIS OUT! We're wrecking the Carolina Hurricanes!! I felt relieved and more comfortable now that the Cats had a 4-0 lead. Shortly afterward, Frolik scores to make it 5-0! At this point my sister and I were laughing and "WHOOOO-ing" at the same time. By the time the 3rd period rolled around all I kept hoping for was a shutout for Vokoun. He deserved one, and the Panthers got it!