Monday Caterwaul: Panthers Open Forum

by Donny Rivette on Feb 6, 2012 9:40 AM EST in LBC Caterwauls: '11-12

Supremely hot in recent days, Florida's Sean Bergenheim has 11 points (5G) in 22 career games against the Capitals

The Florida Panthers lead the [Southeast] turtle race with 59 points, which vaults them all the way to third in the Eastern Conference. But take away their status as division leaders and the Panthers would sit eighth, barely clinging to the final playoff spot, one point ahead of the Capitals, who are officially ninth in the conference standing. Winnipeg and Tampa sit 10th and 11th in the conference with 54 and 51 points, respectively. Such is the dilemma that faces the general managers of these teams.

- The Globe and Mail's David Shoalts

The Eastern Front

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	L/10	Streak
1	NY Rangers	50	33	12	5	71	141	102	16-5-2	17-7-3	6-3-1	Won 2
2	Boston	51	33	16	2	68	180	111	17-9-2	16-7-0	5-4-1	Won 1
3	Florida	51	24	16	11	59	131	145	13-5-7	11-11-4	4-3-3	Lost 1
4	Philadelphia	52	30	16	6	66	173	156	12-8-4	18-8-2	4-4-2	Lost 2
5	Pittsburgh	53	30	19	4	64	161	138	15-7-2	15-12-2	8-2-0	Lost 1
6	New Jersey	52	30	19	3	63	149	148	15-9-2	15-10-1	7-2-1	Won 4
7	Ottawa	55	27	21	7	61	161	171	14-10-2	13-11-5	3-6-1	Lost 1
8	Toronto	52	27	19	6	60	161	152	15-8-4	12-11-2	5-4-1	Won 2

9	Washington	52	27	21	4	58	145	149	18-7-1	9-14-3	4-4-2	Lost 1
10	Winnipeg	54	24	24	6	54	129	150	15-8-2	9-16-4	4-5-1	Lost 2
11	Tampa Bay	51	23	23	5	51	147	173	15-7-2	8-16-3	6-3-1	Won 1
12	NY Islanders	51	21	22	8	50	125	150	11-11-5	10-11-3	6-2-2	OT 1
13	Buffalo	52	22	24	6	50	126	154	11-9-6	11-15-0	4-5-1	Won 1
14	Montreal	53	20	24	9	49	137	145	10-11-7	10-13-2	4-4-2	Won 1
15	Carolina	54	20	25	9	49	137	165	14-12-3	6-13-6	6-2-2	Won 2

Why last night rocked:

BOS over WSH, 4-1; Ovi's zero points/minus-2 somehow ropes him Third Star status in a game which featured three Bruins with 2 points. Wrong to question this?
MTL over WPG, 3-0; 23 saves for Price as Habs end 3-game slide

Why last night jonesed:

NJ over PIT, 5-2; Devils have outscored opponents 19-12 in last four, all wins

Panthers Playoff Update:

FLA did not play; playoff odds up 1.5 to 77.1% per Sports Club Stats

Why tonight is a Big Deal in SoFla:

EDM at TOR, 7 p.m.; Oilers' Gagner: 12 points (6G) in last three games

Next up for the Cats:

Tomorrow from D.C.; the LBC Game Thread asks Meg why she's got a lot of beef at 6:30.

Did you know:

Former Cap Tomas Fleischmann has 64 points (27G/7GWG) in 137 games over parts of six seasons at Verizon Center

Sunday’s Organizational Transactions:

None

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Comments

It’s because Ovi didn’t try to obviously injure or maliciously hit someone of course!

Seeing Red since 1994.

by coasterg on Feb 6, 2012 9:55 AM EST reply actions

Did you see her cows out front?

:(){ :|:& };:

by Spencer-IV on Feb 6, 2012 10:58 AM EST reply actions

#FlaPanthers Coach Dineen announces that Marco Sturm had minor knee surgery today, out 3-4 weeks. #NHL

Steve Diaz
Twitter - @sdiaz6215

by Sdiaz6215 on Feb 6, 2012 11:04 AM EST reply actions

Is our team full of Greg Odens or something? Wow more knee surgeries.

Fish, Heatles, Cats, Fins, Noles

by National Mario on Feb 6, 2012 11:12 AM EST up reply actions

What's a Greg Oden..

by Rob PKane McMahon on Feb 6, 2012 11:54 AM EST up reply actions

At this point, Stanley C. is going to get playing time. Seriously, this injury thing is getting old.

by badger737 on Feb 6, 2012 2:07 PM EST up reply actions

I am available for 4th line duty. One way contract only

122 days until Prometheus

by Todd Little on Feb 6, 2012 2:12 PM EST up reply actions

Ouch, so at this rate the whole team will be back in April.

Any updates on Theodore?

Seeing Red since 1994.

by coasterg on Feb 6, 2012 11:24 AM EST up reply actions

Day to Day, traveling with the team.

Steve Diaz
Twitter - @sdiaz6215

by Sdiaz6215 on Feb 6, 2012 11:44 AM EST up reply actions

Also

Belated Happy Birthday Donny, wasn’t around much yesterday. :P

Steve Diaz
Twitter - @sdiaz6215

by Sdiaz6215 on Feb 6, 2012 11:07 AM EST reply actions

Donny.. Happy Belated to you!

I hereby predict Captain Mike Weaver #43 will score 6G 20A -RCR 0G10A 1/17
Be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, always do your best...

by RPC on Feb 6, 2012 12:00 PM EST up reply actions

Happy Belated Birthday Donny. Hope you are feeling better.

A lil thunder and a lil lightning is what the Cats are going to bring this year.

by trinidaddy on Feb 6, 2012 12:01 PM EST up reply actions

Many thanks, guys and gals :)

Still on the mend, unfortunately.

Litter Box Cats - Your tarp-free Florida Panthers Colossus

by Donny Rivette on Feb 6, 2012 7:10 PM EST up reply actions

@TSNBobMcKenzie: Hearing CAR’s Anthony Stewart is being put on today’s waiver wire at 12 noon ET. Stewart has one more full season at $900K on his contract.

Steve Diaz
Twitter - @sdiaz6215

by Sdiaz6215 on Feb 6, 2012 11:51 AM EST reply actions

Poor Top Dolla

:(){ :|:& };:

by Spencer-IV on Feb 6, 2012 11:55 AM EST up reply actions

I’d be curious as to who the panthers are interested in! I wouldn’t mind sending Santorelli and Ellerby to another team! I know we are short D men now and santorelli doesn’t bring much in value but we really need goals! Hopefully Jose is back on the ice soon! We need him bigtime too!

Dara

by gravenger5 on Feb 6, 2012 12:04 PM EST reply actions

Such is the dilemma that faces the general managers of these teams.

How is that a dilemma? We’re at the top of the division and can do nothing but move down it so at the deadline were a buyer. We stayed up here all season riding a goalie whos surprised just about all of us, with a top line that has cooled off but still exceeded most peoples expectations. All without a bonafide finisher, find one of those and playoffs should come easy.

by Rob PKane McMahon on Feb 6, 2012 12:08 PM EST reply actions

I agree with you on this. My cousin keeps dogging me on how we dont’ have finisher. The question really is what does want Tallon want to give up in order to take a chance like that.

A lil thunder and a lil lightning is what the Cats are going to bring this year.

by trinidaddy on Feb 6, 2012 12:21 PM EST up reply actions

Doesnt have to be ALOT.. look back to 96 when Florida got Ray Shephard. Sure he was older but he still had some goals left in him and was a great sniper. You don’t always have to chase some bidding war to get “Gretzky” when there are lesser, cheaper options.

Altho you all already know I would love B.Ryan or Nash lol

by Rob PKane McMahon on Feb 6, 2012 12:30 PM EST up reply actions

The dilemma is that unless we win the division the odds we go to the playoffs is very low

I’m putting here for reflection later on in the season…. #14 Tomas [Fleischmann] is getting a 40G season. FLASH COUNT: 16G/19A
by RPC on Sep 17, 2011 5:20 PM MDT
Find me on Twidduh And look at my Marmots

by Chris S Roberts on Feb 6, 2012 1:41 PM EST up reply actions

So Tallon has to decide, a one n’ done playoff series or a couple extra picks/pieces for the next season

by Chris S Roberts on Feb 6, 2012 1:47 PM EST up reply actions

At this point I’ll take the one-and-done. It’s time to get that monkey off the back.

by jimmyh71 on Feb 6, 2012 1:59 PM EST up reply actions

agree, I think making the playoffs this year is important to Tallon & crew

122 days until Prometheus

by Todd Little on Feb 6, 2012 2:00 PM EST up reply actions

Its not like we’ll never be in this position again

by Chris S Roberts on Feb 6, 2012 5:05 PM EST up reply actions

He went for “one n’ done” in 2009 and ended up making it to the west finals. Granted they lost to the wings 4-1..

by Rob PKane McMahon on Feb 6, 2012 2:00 PM EST up reply actions

ill take it

by eliran2 on Feb 6, 2012 4:04 PM EST up reply actions

Well, it isnt my decision to make. If FLA is still in first and has a 3-5pt margin, he might go after a few key pieces, maybe a Anton Vermette type player with a short contact. If losing ground in the race I think he sells off some spare parts and keeps his fingers crossed for playoffs

by Chris S Roberts on Feb 6, 2012 5:10 PM EST up reply actions

Ask fans of the Blue Jackets or Thrashers how they feel about the “one-and-done” process for playoff success…

Litter Box Cats - Your tarp-free Florida Panthers Colossus

by Donny Rivette on Feb 6, 2012 7:12 PM EST up reply actions

Actually, the Panthers have ridden the production of a top line while exposing they have had marginal goaltending. When you’re giving up almost 3 goals a game, you’re not getting good goaltending.

by MrOmnipotent on Feb 6, 2012 6:26 PM EST up reply actions

@TSNBobMcKenzie: SJS put Andrew Murray on waivers. BOS puts Zach Hamill on waivers. And, as reported earlier, CAR puts Anthony Stewart on waivers.

Steve Diaz
Twitter - @sdiaz6215

by Sdiaz6215 on Feb 6, 2012 12:11 PM EST reply actions

Was just going to post this and say..

Do the cats need more center depth in the AHL? If so I wouldn’t mind Hamill, he’s got decent skills and is basically a setup guy.

by Rob PKane McMahon on Feb 6, 2012 12:12 PM EST up reply actions

Hamill would be a good pick up… I dont know if he would go to AHL if we got him though.

by Colt1235 on Feb 6, 2012 3:49 PM EST up reply actions

With Madden, Goc, Matthias, Weiss and Santorelli its a safe bet to say he would

by Rob PKane McMahon on Feb 6, 2012 4:23 PM EST up reply actions

Meant rules wise

by Colt1235 on Feb 6, 2012 6:42 PM EST up reply actions

He can’t go to the AHL if we pick him up on waivers.

by angellen on Feb 6, 2012 4:58 PM EST up reply actions

+1

by Chris S Roberts on Feb 6, 2012 5:06 PM EST up reply actions

Actually he can, but he gets exposed to waivers with the original team waving him having the option first of reacquiring him.

by MrOmnipotent on Feb 6, 2012 6:21 PM EST up reply actions

But thus making it pointless.

"Shut up, Pierre!" -Everyone

Litter Box Cats - Your Panthers Colossus.

by John Beatty on Feb 6, 2012 7:37 PM EST up reply actions

Not really pointless, as they might just be lookin to dump the layer. Not a salary dump, but a no useful future/let’s hope he gets claimed dump.

by MrOmnipotent on Feb 7, 2012 2:41 AM EST up reply actions

Happened with one of the EDM guys(Chorney, Petry?), got waived, claimed by STL, waived and reclaimed by EDM

by Chris S Roberts on Feb 6, 2012 8:37 PM EST up reply actions

bad day to be a coach

Both retweeted by @TSNBobMcKenzie:

Tom Renney is doing fine & receiving stitches after taking a puck to the head earlier in practice, according to Ralph Krueger.

Bulletin: Ruff injured in practice collision, status unknown

by jimmyh71 on Feb 6, 2012 2:25 PM EST reply actions

Ralph Krueger?? whos that?

I hereby predict Captain Mike Weaver #43 will score 6G 20A -RCR 0G10A 1/17
Be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, always do your best...

by RPC on Feb 6, 2012 2:38 PM EST up reply actions

Fred’s younger brother

by Rob PKane McMahon on Feb 6, 2012 2:39 PM EST up reply actions

Associate coach for the Oilers

122 days until Prometheus

by Todd Little on Feb 6, 2012 3:13 PM EST up reply actions

Former long term coach of Team Switzerland.

by Pilchino on Feb 6, 2012 3:27 PM EST reply actions

Melrose take on the Caps and Panthers,,,

http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=6197

by LAUSMAN on Feb 6, 2012 3:57 PM EST reply actions

Howard Baldwin, ex-Whalers owner, offers critical look at ‘marginal’ NHL markets

I don’t think Florida was ever a good idea. That’s a market like Atlanta, where people’s attention is everywhere other than on hockey. They don’t even have a fair shot, if the team’s always out of the playoffs.

More here.

Steve Diaz
Twitter - @sdiaz6215

by Sdiaz6215 on Feb 6, 2012 6:24 PM EST reply actions

Missed this when I put together the fan shot, Steve :(

The quote you posted above was actually that of the interviewer, to which Baldwin replied:

Totally right, particularly in a warm weather market, like L.A. We lived in L.A. for 22 years. We still go back there a lot. L.A. is a really funny market, because there’s so many things to do there. So if you’re going to bill yourself as a major league team, you better be good. What turned L.A. around was Gretzky. What Bruce [McNall] did there, bringing Gretzky in there, all of a sudden that opened up all of hockey on the West Coast.

Nothing really controversial there.

Litter Box Cats - Your tarp-free Florida Panthers Colossus

by Donny Rivette on Feb 6, 2012 7:15 PM EST up reply actions