Post-Game Interview, Articles, and Blogs, 2/12/12

Click to watch video of interview with José after his win over the Islanders on 2/12/12.

From On Frozen Pond:

“We struggled a little bit but now it's crunch time and it's never too late to start doing the right things,'' said Jose Theodore, who was back in net for the Panthers after missing 13 of the past 15 games with a sore knee. “Winning back-to-back games on the road is always huge.''

Theodore showed a little rust as Florida continued its trend of giving up early goals. Frans Nielsen scored on New York's first shot 3:35 into the game as the Panthers surrendered the opening goal within the first four minutes of a game in four straight road games.

Yet as was the case on Saturday, the 1-0 deficit didn't deflate the Panthers as they came back to win.

“It's good to be back out there,'' Theodore said. “I only had a couple of practices, so I was a little rusty. You like to get a couple of easy shots to get the feel of the puck, but their first four were quality chances. I didn't start the way I wanted to, but I didn't panic and the team played a heck of a game in front of me.''

From ESPN:
"I was just looking forward to getting this game in and I was feeling better as the game went on," Theodore said. "I'll have to work hard in practice to get my game to where it was a couple of months ago."

From The Sun Sentinel:

“That was two solid games. It’s satisfying,’’ Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. “I don’t think it was an easy night for Jose. A lot of pucks were jumping and hopping. He had to be sharp. Our young defensemen played good in front of him and obviously, we got some production from different places. We’ve talked about that a lot, a little bit of diversity and not betting on the same horses all the time.’’

Theodore, who hasn’t played since Jan. 20 when he reinjured his knee that has forced him to miss 13 of 15 games, recovered from a shaky start in which he gave up a goal on New York’s first shot to record 26 saves.

“It’s good to be back helping the team,’’ said Theodore, who improved to 18-9-2 against the Isles. The only other team he has more victories against are the Penguins with 20. “I was a little rusty. When you miss a couple of games I always like to have a couple of shots to feel the puck. [Today] the first four shots were quality chances. It didn’t start the way I wanted to but with my experience I didn’t panic and the team played great in front of me.”