Florida Panthers

Panthers get physical…in practice!

After watching his team give up 52 shots Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning and blowing a 3 goal lead, head coach Peter DeBoer orchestrated a physical practice Wednesday in an effort to prevent this from happening again.

Players were stuck into a small corner of the ice and told to “fight” for the puck, “drive” each other into the boards.  There was apparently alot of pushing, shoving, and prodding.  You know, “working the corners”. It was one of the most physical practices the Panthers had held, probably since the days of Iron Mike, and no doubt it was much needed. Coach DeBoer was quoted as saying, “We need to tighten a few things up.  We gave Tampa too much space”.  I would have to agree as I have watched the last few games in their entirety, which was probably not good for my heart rate, even though they have won 3 of their last 4 games.  It is true that they are rarely physical, hardly ever finish a check, and are just not working the boards or the corners.  Something that Coach DeBoer said was going to change at the beginning of the season when he took over as head coach.
Most teams when playing Florida have a pretty free reign of ice and for the most part will not be bothered, or at least will not be afraid of any overly physical contact.  It has been preached that they are to be more aggressive, forecheck more intensely, and be a tough team to play against.  Time will tell if Wednesday’s practice has changed anything.  While Tomas Vokoun looked solid and more than likely saved the day, you cannot be expect to win many hockey games when you give up 52 shots, and let’s not forget we are offensively challenged.
Speaking of which, looking at the stats, things are bleak to say the least.  Nathan Horton the scoring leader (if you will) with 6 goals, 5 assists, minus 4 after 17 games.  Jay B, no goals, 6 assists, minus 8!Brett McLean no goals, minus 6, Ville Peltonen, no goals, minus 2, Radek Dvorak 1 goal, minus 5.  Yikes!Scoring has been an issue for this club since 2001, and things just never seem to get any better.Therefore, we shall see starting tonight against the always tough to play against New Jersey Devils if things will be different.
The next 10 games are all against Eastern Conference teams with 5 on the road, and 5 at home, however none of them will be easy.  So the Panthers have their work cut out for them, as this will be a crucial part of the schedule.  Scoring needs to come from somewhere, and the “D” needs to tighten up.  Giving up 50 shots to the likes of Boston, The Rangers, Carolina and even Buffalo is a recipe for disaster. 
Notes:  Cory Stillman will remain out indefintely due to concussion symptoms.  There is no timetable for hius return.  Kamil Kreps may play tonight which could help.Tomas Vokoun gets the start against most likely Kevin Weekes, a former Panther.

Thanks for reading.