Style Change. Same Result. Panthers Lose.

In an attempt to rebound from an embarassing effort against Toronto on Tuesday night in which the Panthers and coach Peter DeBoer thought was unacceptable, Florida played the style of game they wanted to.  Unfortunately they came up with the same result.  Empty.  Showing what I have been saying all along, this team lacks a superstar.  They need a go to guy.  A player that can produce results on a consistent basis.  More on this in a bit.

As for the game itself, yes you can say that Jaroslav Halak was brilliant as he made 38 saves against the Panther sharpsooters skaters.  But c’mon, does every goalie we play have to look like a Vezina Trophy winner?  The Montreal Canadiens scored late in the first on Benoit Pouliot’s sixth goal and his fourth in his last six games and that was really all Montreal needed.  Brian Gionta added an empty netter with 36 seconds left in regulation resulting in a 2-0 victory for Montreal, breaking their home losing streak.

The Panthers who were put through a vigorous practice where special attention was payed to working the boards and being more aggressive, appeared to have drank the kool-aide and played a better style.  Yet the change in play did not change the end result.  The top line of Weiss, Horton and Frolik was held scoreless.  Weiss has not scored now in six games.  Hey Billy Lindsay, you still think he’s Olympic material?  Nathan Horton, while having a solid game had six shots on goal and led all Panther forwards in ice time with 23 minutes, but no goals to show for it.  Weiss at one point showed the most frustration I have EVER seen, when he was called for a slashing penalty.  As I watched the replay a few times, it was plainly obvious, it was a slash.  Weiss however was venting to the refs with a few choice words in disagreement and almost slammed his stick as he entered the sin bin.  NEVER have I seen that from him.  Yes folks, frustration is setting in.

While the game was more entertaining than the score indicates as Florida was banging and Montreal was flying, more of the same and obvious problems continued to surface.  Our third and fourth lines lack talent!  Sure, the fourth line of Oreskovich and Tarnasky and Kreps played hard, but they are not able to create any scoring chances.  The third line of Dvorak, Campbell and Dinty are either streaky (Dvorak, Moore), or unable to finish (Campbell).  The chemistry that Rhino and Stillman showed before Stillman got hurt, has yet to surface again.

I’m scratching my head and here’s a wonderful analysis:  For a team that has not made the playoffs for nine consecutive years, and is headed for a tenth, how is it possible to have such little talent????????  It boggles my mind that they are so poor in this area.  I guess since we haven’t been bad enough to get a number one pick, yet are decent enough to get a 10th or 11th, that may explain part of it.  But honestly, the season is slipping away, and I dare anyone to argue with me on that.

Great Effort was the headline in the Miami Herald this morning.  Coach DeBoer said the other day that we don’t have the talent to compete and play pond style hockey after the Toronto loss.  Now he’s saying he likes the direction we’re going.  HUH?  We just got shutout.  We played a different style of game for a change, and got the same result.  Gregory Campbell, no goals, continues to play on the third line in hopes of him scoring.  Kamil Kreps continues to be on the roster for what reason, I don’t know.  Rusty Olesz getting second line minutes because….Uncle Jack gave him that ridiculous contract.

It’s all just a bunch of mishmash as this team continues to try and find an identity.  I give DeBoer props for getting them to play a better game, but great effort it was not.  This league is about getting results.  We are not getting results.  If the organEYEzation is really behind DeBoer, which I think they are, then some player movement needs to happen.  This team lacks a superstar, and I’m tired of saying it like a friggin broken record.  It’s January 8th, and the season could be done by the Olympic break if not sooner.  You want fan interest, you want the seats filled for teams other than Montreal, Toronto, New York, then go out and make a fu*king deal!

We don’t have time to start from scratch, we don’t want another 3-5 year plan.

You want a recipe for fixing this thing?  Go look at the Chicago Blackhawks and see what, and how they have done what they have done.  As for style of play, while they have the players, they are NEVER out of a game.  Watch some of their highlights and games.  There is one common thread that runs through every single Blackhawk player that is plainly obvious and that is:  HOCKEY SENSE!!!  Panthers need some players who have it.

Last night, Hawks down 2-0 against the Boston Bruins in the first period, in Boston.  Final score, Hawks 5, Bruins 2.  I was never at a point where I didn’t think the Hawks could win.

This whole thing makes you wonder doesn’t it?

Thanks for reading.

Cheers