Wednesday Caterwaul: Panthers Open Forum
Despite an ultimate victory which has shaken the city of Toronto to its foundation, the Florida Panthers were far from perfect in many categories on Tuesday night, one of which was in the faceoff circle. No one who took more than two draws had a .500 or better record: Marcel Goc - above - was the team's statistical leader (and he scored!), having gone 8-for-18 (.444). A particularly tough outing for center Shawn Matthias (0-for-4, minus-1, 0 SOG).
RECAPS: Litter Box Cats * SB Nation * Pension Plan Puppets
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The Eastern Front
Rank | Team | GP | W | L | OT | PTS | GF | GA | Home | Away | L10 | Streak |
1 | NY Rangers | 61 | 40 | 15 | 6 | 86 | 169 | 124 | 21-7-2 | 19-8-4 | 7-2-1 | Won 2 |
2 | Boston | 61 | 37 | 21 | 3 | 77 | 200 | 140 | 18-11-2 | 19-10-1 | 4-5-1 | Lost 1 |
3 | Florida | 62 | 30 | 20 | 12 | 72 | 158 | 172 | 15-8-8 | 15-12-4 | 6-3-1 | Won 3 |
4 | Pittsburgh | 62 | 36 | 21 | 5 | 77 | 198 | 163 | 20-8-2 | 16-13-3 | 6-3-1 | Won 3 |
5 | Ottawa | 65 | 34 | 23 | 8 | 76 | 199 | 192 | 17-12-3 | 17-11-5 | 7-2-1 | Won 2 |
6 | Philadelphia | 62 | 34 | 21 | 7 | 75 | 203 | 188 | 14-10-5 | 20-11-2 | 4-5-1 | Lost 1 |
7 | New Jersey | 62 | 35 | 23 | 4 | 74 | 172 | 170 | 16-12-3 | 19-11-1 | 5-4-1 | Lost 3 |
8 | Washington | 63 | 32 | 26 | 5 | 69 | 172 | 178 | 21-8-2 | 11-18-3 | 4-5-1 | Won 3 |
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9 | Winnipeg | 65 | 30 | 27 | 8 | 68 | 166 | 186 | 19-10-4 | 11-17-4 | 5-3-2 | Lost 1 |
10 | Toronto | 63 | 29 | 27 | 7 | 65 | 187 | 195 | 16-12-5 | 13-15-2 | 1-8-1 | Lost 3 |
11 | Tampa Bay | 63 | 29 | 28 | 6 | 64 | 176 | 213 | 19-9-2 | 10-19-4 | 6-4-0 | Won 2 |
12 | Buffalo | 62 | 27 | 27 | 8 | 62 | 154 | 180 | 16-11-7 | 11-16-1 | 5-3-2 | OT 1 |
13 | Carolina | 63 | 24 | 26 | 13 | 61 | 166 | 190 | 17-12-5 | 7-14-8 | 5-1-4 | Won 1 |
14 | NY Islanders | 63 | 26 | 28 | 9 | 61 | 148 | 187 | 14-14-5 | 12-14-4 | 4-5-1 | OT 1 |
15 | Montreal | 64 | 24 | 30 | 10 | 58 | 164 | 177 | 11-14-8 | 13-16-2 | 3-6-1 | Lost 5 |
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Why last night rocked:
- I've poured a lot of grief on him over the season, but Mike Santorelli - he of one point in his last 14 appearances - was superb on Tuesday, looking nothing like the shell of a forward he's been throughout the year. Those two goals were easily his best offensive output since accomplishing the same feat on November 20...of 2010. A plus-1, 1 PPG, 2 BkS and 4 SOG only added to the mystique. Can he bottle it?
Why last night jonesed:
- WSH (69P) over NYI, 3-2 (OT); no need to rehash what a Caps loss would have meant here. Oh Alex, you tease us so.
- OTW (76P) over BOS (77P), 1-0 (REG); Karlsson (GWG) making a push for MVP? Kid is a freak of nature on the Sens' blueline./
Panthers Playoff Update:
- FLA defeated TOR 5-3; playoff odds up 6.6 to 89.5% per Sports Club Stats/
Why tonight is a Big Deal in SoFla:
Focusing on clubs within 6 points of Panthers (72P); teams FLA needs to lose in bold…
- PIT (77P) at DAL, 7:30 p.m. (NBC-SN); see if James Neal has anything in store for his old club. Am I the only one shocked to see the Pens with 77 points?
- TOR (65P...making an exception here) at CHI, 8; Hawks will halt three-game losing streak tonight
Next up for the Cats:
- Thursday from Winnipeg in a game absolutely no one cares about; LBC Game Thread launches at 8./
Did you know:
- Florida has outscored the Leafs 87-65 since the 2005-06 season/
Tuesday’s Organizational News:
- Goc (duh) and John Madden returned to the lineup. Kris Versteeg placed on IR (7-10 days/undisclosed injury), Tomas Kopecky (Andorian Shingles?) scratched.
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