Panthers can't stay out of the box, drop third straight

by David Dwork on Oct 11, 2009 8:27 AM EDT Comment 4 comments

Vokoun_medium

For a team who stressed the importance of starting the season on the winning side of things, they sure aren't playing like it. Despite a closer score on Saturday then on Friday, the Panthers played two games in two days and got spanked in both.

The Cats did get off to a fast start against the Devils, but that abruptly ended. After registering 3 shots in the first few minutes of the game, the ice seemed to tilt towards the Panthers defensive zone for the remainder of the game. At one point early in the 2^nd period the Devils were outshooting the Cats 23-4.

Peter DeBoer showed little patience for the lack of offense and was swapping linemates throughout the game. It seemed the Cats had pulled out a little Opening Night magic when Steven Weiss scored on an amazing individual play to tie the game at 2 late in the 3^rd, but unfortunately that ‘Panthers mystique' caught up with us.

Michael Frolik was called for his 3^rd penalty of the night shortly after Weiss' goal, and it took the Devils only 42 seconds to re-take the lead. The puck never left the Cats zone during that sorry excuse of a penalty kill.

Last season the PK was a great component of our team, but this year that is not the case. The Panthers have killed off only 70.6% of their penalties (23^rd in the league). Not to be outdone, their power play has been even worse. The Weiss goal last night was their first on the PP this season, but the Cats are still ranked dead last in the league with the man advantage (6.2%, 1-for-16)

Alright enough with this weekend of terrible hockey. Things will get better; it's just a very frustrating way to start the season.

Everybody enjoy your Sunday!

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Let’s face it, the Panthers aren’t very good. I missed the reasoning behind both Garrison and Kulikov being in the lineup, but our defence is awful. Vokoun actually kept us in the game yesterday as opposed to Friday night, but this has all the makings of a looooong depressing season.

by Karl Selvig on Oct 11, 2009 11:44 AM EDT reply actions

Kulikov is in the lineup because they’re waiting on Dominic Moore. I think we’ll be seeing Kulikov sent back to his junior team once Moore is here and they pull Koistenen off the fourth line and put him back on D. Garrison was in because Allen was out. And for whatever reason, DeBoer trusts him more than Repik, apparently.

by Johnny B on Oct 11, 2009 8:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Ya, I was thinkin’ the same thing with Moore coming in and Koistinen going back to D. I hadnt heard anything before the game about keeping Allen out to rest his knee, but I guess that was the case.

Repik might be good enough, but there actually doesnt look like there’s room for him as a forward, surprisingly enough. Especially with Koistinen playing forward, I think all 4 lines are fairly balanced. We’ll see how Moore fits in, assuming he does eventually make it, lol. It’s the defense that has me worried.

by Karl Selvig on Oct 12, 2009 12:42 AM EDT up reply actions

I drove down Saturday and while it was disappointing overall there were a few bright spots.

- Weiss’ goal was incredible, beat 3.5 Devils and Broduer.
- Vokoun stood on his head, again.
- At least the number of shots is down a bit, but they aren’t blocking, deflecting enough shots. The reason why the Panthers shot total was so low, everything was being blocked or deflected.
- Bought a training camp used Olesz jersey straight from the team. :)

Some other notes:
- Often forwards would carry the puck into the offensive zone and have 0 support, happened about 6-7 times where there was a clear opportunity but no support for the lone forward in the zone. And it wasn’t line changes.
- The defense and especially one of my favorite players, McCabe, aren’t in sync. I almost cried when I saw McCabe mishandle pucks at the line or flub a shot repeatedly throughout the game.

by coasterg on Oct 12, 2009 9:33 AM EDT reply actions

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