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It's a statistic that's received relatively little attention around these here parts - probably since in the Big Picture, it doesn't mean a whole lot...at all - but the Florida Panthers currently rank seventh in the National Hockey League in fewest penalty-minutes per-game with 9.8, trailing sixth-place Toronto (9.5) while barely "leading" the Capitals (10.0). Looking purely at the Eastern Conference, the Cats slot in at fourth behind - get ready - the Isles, Hurricanes and Leafs, all clubs with significantly lower overall point totals, i.e. ho-hum.
Want to get really dirty regarding penalties? Bench minors - seemingly a staple stat throughout 2011-12 for the Panthers - have occurred less than most of us likely imagined: happily far short of the several dozen any unbiased observer would be inclined to estimate after having witnessed three games drawn from a hat, Florida has actually received a mere 10, "good" for second-highest in the league behind Detroit's 11. Wait...Detroit?
The Eastern Front
|
Rank |
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
OT |
PTS |
GF |
GA |
Home |
Away |
L10 |
Streak |
|
1 |
NY Rangers |
65 |
42 |
16 |
7 |
91 |
180 |
137 |
22-7-2 |
20-9-5 |
5-3-2 |
Lost 1 |
|
2 |
Boston |
65 |
39 |
23 |
3 |
81 |
214 |
154 |
19-12-2 |
20-11-1 |
4-5-1 |
Won 1 |
|
3 |
Florida |
65 |
31 |
22 |
12 |
74 |
163 |
184 |
16-9-8 |
15-13-4 |
4-5-1 |
Won 1 |
|
4 |
Pittsburgh |
65 |
39 |
21 |
5 |
83 |
209 |
168 |
21-8-2 |
18-13-3 |
8-2-0 |
Won 6 |
|
5 |
Philadelphia |
65 |
37 |
21 |
7 |
81 |
213 |
193 |
16-10-5 |
21-11-2 |
6-4-0 |
Won 3 |
|
6 |
New Jersey |
66 |
37 |
24 |
5 |
79 |
184 |
176 |
17-12-3 |
20-12-2 |
5-4-1 |
Won 1 |
|
7 |
Ottawa |
68 |
35 |
25 |
8 |
78 |
209 |
201 |
17-13-3 |
18-12-5 |
7-3-0 |
Won 1 |
|
8 |
Winnipeg |
67 |
32 |
27 |
8 |
72 |
176 |
187 |
21-10-4 |
11-17-4 |
6-2-2 |
Won 2 |
|
|
||||||||||||
|
9 |
Washington |
66 |
32 |
28 |
6 |
70 |
175 |
188 |
21-10-3 |
11-18-3 |
4-5-1 |
OT 1 |
|
10 |
Tampa Bay |
66 |
31 |
29 |
6 |
68 |
187 |
226 |
20-10-2 |
11-19-4 |
7-3-0 |
Lost 1 |
|
11 |
Buffalo |
66 |
30 |
28 |
8 |
68 |
163 |
186 |
16-11-7 |
14-17-1 |
6-2-2 |
Lost 1 |
|
12 |
Toronto |
66 |
30 |
29 |
7 |
67 |
198 |
206 |
16-13-5 |
14-16-2 |
2-7-1 |
Lost 1 |
|
13 |
NY Islanders |
66 |
28 |
29 |
9 |
65 |
155 |
195 |
15-14-5 |
13-15-4 |
4-5-1 |
Won 2 |
|
14 |
Carolina |
66 |
25 |
27 |
14 |
64 |
175 |
200 |
17-13-6 |
8-14-8 |
5-2-3 |
Won 1 |
|
15 |
Montreal |
66 |
25 |
31 |
10 |
60 |
170 |
184 |
12-15-8 |
13-16-2 |
2-7-1 |
Lost 1 |
*
Why last night rocked:
- CAR over WSH, 4-3 (OT); Canes were down by 2 before making it interesting. Caps now 0-2-1 in last three
- BOS over TOR, 5-4 (REG); I was initially against this outcome, given the Broons were within striking distance of FLA, but one more club has likely been shown the door
Why last night jonesed:
- OTT over TB, 7-3; Sens' Michalek: PPG, ENG, SHG in final 12:12 of third period. Throw in an assist and plus-4 on the night. Sick.
- NJ over NYR, 4-1; Brodeur stops 24, Rags beginning to plateau? 3-3-1 last seven.
- PHI over DET, 3-2 (REG); Wings are 2-4-1 in last seven as Flyers go 6-3 over past nine; face Panthers at Wells Fargo Center tomorrow.
Panthers Playoff Update:
- FLA did not play; playoff odds up 1.9 to 83.3% per Sports Club Stats
Why tonight is a Big Deal in SoFla:
Focusing on clubs within 6 points of Panthers (74P); teams FLA needs to lose in bold…
- CAR at BUF (68P), 7 p.m.; Canes: 4-2 at Sabs over past six. Oh, and they've gained points in 6 of last 7.
- TOR (67) at PIT, 7:30 (NBC-SN); just going through the motions here
Next up for the Cats:
- Allllll together now: tomorrow evening. At Philadelphia. LBC Game Thread utilizes the OptiGrab at 6:30, thereby avoiding those nagging loose frames forever.
Did you know:
- Of the 18 points (7G) forward Marcel Goc has accumulated over his 40 appearances this season, 12 (5G) have come in 21 games on the road
Tuesday’s Organizational News:
- "T-Bone", "Gammi" & "Buck Naked" somehow missed the cut