Litter Box Cats, a Florida Panthers community

I’m a little concerned about the rats in the middle of the game. I know there’s a lot of Devil fans throwing them out there trying to get us a delay of game penalty there. I hope that’s something we can hold until the end of the game.

Let's be straight here. I'll take a 3-0 lead any day. I don't care how many we blow. You want to give me three goals, I'll take them. Got to give Florida credit for coming back, just like we did the other night even though we didn't get all the way (back). I think the team that can fix those issues the quickest is probably going to win this series.

I think the biggest thing [playing alongside Ed Jovanovski] is trying to relate to myself personally, and he did it at the same age that I am now. It’s nice to be able to relate to someone with so much experience, and he does it for the whole team. He’s always there for me whenever I have a question, and he’s taught me to become an overall defenseman and to know when and where to be physical while also playing composed.

I think it’s going to be a heck of a series. You look at [Florida] and they have undervalued depth. You look at their fourth line and they’ve got veteran Stanley Cup winners throughout their lineup. They’ve gotten great goaltending from both guys all year. It’s going to be a real tough test for us.

It helps to view the world through the eyes of a child. Now, imagine being a child of 12 or so living in the state of Florida. Your uncle, visiting from Canada, just took you to your first hockey game and you were immediately smitten by the speed, skill, and physical force of the world’s fastest sport.

As a result of seeing a game live, you check the agate pages of your favorite sports section the next day to see how the Florida Panthers are doing in the NHL standings. And … smack headfirst into a roadblock.