Special teams have been an up-and-down statistic for the Florida Panthers in 2011-12, but whatever the causes for such porpoising – extensive injuries in both ends would be a safe place to begin any investigation – the Cats (through Sunday’s games) rank 10th on the man-advantage (18.6%) and 24th (80%) on the kill. To their credit, the PK has been solid if relatively untested over the past two, allowing no goals in three opportunities, while the power play has found the net once in eight tries during those matches. Their last game – a 4-2 victory over Ottawa Sunday – featured 1 PP goal-for and none against…the 15th time the club has scored at least one extra-man goal and allowed zero throughout 2011-12. Last time it happened? February 12, a stretch of eleven games.
The Eastern Front
|
Rank |
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
OT |
PTS |
GF |
GA |
Home |
Away |
L10 |
Streak |
|
1 |
NY Rangers |
64 |
42 |
15 |
7 |
91 |
179 |
133 |
22-7-2 |
20-8-5 |
6-2-2 |
Won 1 |
|
2 |
Boston |
64 |
38 |
23 |
3 |
79 |
209 |
150 |
19-12-2 |
19-11-1 |
4-5-1 |
Lost 2 |
|
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 |
64 |
36 |
21 |
7 |
79 |
210 |
191 |
15-10-5 |
21-11-2 |
5-5-0 |
Won 2 |
|
6 |
New Jersey |
65 |
36 |
24 |
5 |
77 |
180 |
175 |
16-12-3 |
20-12-2 |
5-4-1 |
Lost 1 |
|
7 |
Ottawa |
67 |
34 |
25 |
8 |
76 |
202 |
198 |
17-13-3 |
17-12-5 |
6-3-1 |
Lost 2 |
|
8 |
Winnipeg |
67 |
32 |
27 |
8 |
72 |
176 |
187 |
21-10-4 |
11-17-4 |
6-2-2 |
Won 2 |
|
|
||||||||||||
|
9 |
Washington |
65 |
32 |
28 |
5 |
69 |
172 |
184 |
21-10-2 |
11-18-3 |
4-6-0 |
Lost 2 |
|
10 |
Tampa Bay |
65 |
31 |
28 |
6 |
68 |
184 |
219 |
20-9-2 |
11-19-4 |
7-3-0 |
Won 4 |
|
11 |
Buffalo |
66 |
30 |
28 |
8 |
68 |
163 |
186 |
16-11-7 |
14-17-1 |
6-2-2 |
Lost 1 |
|
12 |
Toronto |
65 |
30 |
28 |
7 |
67 |
194 |
201 |
16-12-5 |
14-16-2 |
2-7-1 |
Won 1 |
|
13 |
NY Islanders |
66 |
28 |
29 |
9 |
65 |
155 |
195 |
15-14-5 |
13-15-4 |
4-5-1 |
Won 2 |
|
14 |
Carolina |
65 |
24 |
27 |
14 |
62 |
171 |
197 |
17-13-6 |
7-14-8 |
4-2-4 |
OT 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:
- No Doc Emrick on NBC’s Jets/Sabs broadcast, however…/
Why last night jonesed:
- WPG over BUF, 3-1; Jets remain relevant on 3-assist effort by Bryan Little, face Canucks in Vancouver Thursday
Panthers Playoff Update:
- FLA did not play; playoff odds down 0.5 to 81.3% 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 WSH (69P), 7 p.m.; Canes: 6-2-5 since February 2. Caps: 6-8-1 over same stretch
- BOS (79P) at TOR, 7; Broons outscored Leafs 13-3 in two games this season at Toronto
- DET at PHI (79P), 7; Wings have lost last six in Philly
- NYR at NJ (79P), 7; Devils are 1-4-1 past 6, 1-1 vs Rags at Newark in 2011-12
- OTT (76P) at TB (68P), 7:30; whatever. Bolts – winners of four straight and 7 of last 9 – just won’t disappear./
Next up for the Cats:
- At Philadelphia Thursday; LBC Game Thread goes live at 6:30/
Did you know:
- Ottawa superstar defenseman in-the-making Erik Karlsson was fined 2,500 bones for his Sunday hatchet job on Panthers winger Sean Bergenheim. No Shanaban video as yet.
Monday’s Organizational News:
- AHL “Clear Day” lists for all 30 member clubs have been submitted; here’s how San Antonio will stand/
Monday’s NHL Transactions:
- BOS signed veteran goaltender Marty Turco to a one-year contract, though it’s only a temporary band-aid
- TOR re-signed F Mikhail Grabovski to a five-year contract extension