Gameday, Panthers vs. Sabres, 3-4 SO

Clemmensen was the first off the ice at morning skate which usually indicates he's tonight's starter.

I think they should have gone back to José so that he could get right back up on the horse. He didn't have a bad game last time, just a rough half of a period with some rotten luck.

José replaced Clemmensen late in the 1st period after 3 goals. José stopped all 15 shots he faced the rest of the game, including an OT period. Unfortunately it went to a shootout, and both shooters scored against José and neither Panthers player scored, so that was it.

But José did well off the bench and made a couple really timely good saves.

Gameday, Panthers vs. Penguins, W, 6-4

I'm not going to link to the previews anymore, because I'm tired of reading what sportswriters say. It's found on the Panthers website if you'd like to read it. I haven't even looked at it to be honest.

The Penguins are a tough team, and it will be a difficult challenge for the Panthers. But anything can happen.

José started the game, but was taken out after the 2nd period and Clemmensen started in the 3rd. The Panthers had been ahead 4-1, and then it was tied and Dineen felt "Theo wasn't on top of his game and had a rough 2nd period" so he felt Clemmensen should go in.

I'm disappointed for José, because he really played a good game, except for maybe a couple of the goals. But I am glad they won.

Here are a couple of videos Nelly took, one before warm-ups and one after the game.

Markstrom sent back to San Antonio

It was reported on twitter this morning by the Panthers official twitter account that Jacob Markstrom was sent back to San Antonio. I guess everyone realized goaltending is NOT the issue with the Panthers.

That should mean José will be back in goal tomorrow night against Pittsburgh.

Gameday, Panthers vs. Bruins, (L, 1-4, Markstrom in goal)

We probably won't know who is the starter until they take the ice for warm-ups.

Markstrom is starting and José is the non-starter dressing. Clemmensen a health scratch.

Honestly, I have no comment other than to say José's record against Boston the past 12 games is 10-1-1 with a 1.94 GAA. Whatever.

Post-game: Again, Markstrom played fine. Goaltending was not the issue, just as it has not been the issue this whole season. The last goal was an empty net, so he had 3 GAA.

José gave him a reassuring pat and said something to him as he came off for the empty net, because he's the consummate professional and teammate and so classy.

Here's a photo from pre-game, chatting with another former Wild goalie, Anton Khudobin.

Photos from the Past Week

Here are some of my favorite photos from the past week.

From the Toronto game on 2/18/13.

And Nelly took these at the 2/20/13 practice.

Gameday, Panthers @ Penguins, Markstrom in goal (L, 1-3)

There wasn't a morning skate today, since they got into Pittsburgh in the wee hours of the morning. So we have no idea who will start tonight. The media are still predicting Markstrom, but we'll have to wait until game time to see.

Update: Jacob Markstrom is the starter tonight and José is dressed as the non-starter.

Gameday, Panthers @ Flyers, Clemmensen in goal, W, 5-2

CORRECTION: Clemmensen is the starter. Can't trust the media...

The team played much better as a whole. Let's hope they keep that up when José is in goal next.


It looks like they're going with José tonight, and probably Markstrom tomorrow. Here was the tweet from Steve Goldstein of Fox Sports Florida:

Steve Goldstein‏@goldieonice

#FlaPanthers goalie situation...Looks like Theodore tonight with Clemmensen as back up, and Markstrom tomorrow in Pitt.

and

George Richards‏@GeorgeRichards

Alex Kovalev is the #FlaPanthers healthy scratch v #Flyers along with Jacob Markstrom. Expect both to play Fri v #Pens

Remember last game in Philly? Let's hope the Panthers can regain that spark!

On Frozen Pond Article About Markstrom's Call Up

HELLO JACOB MARKSTROM: Promotion of Goalie Prospect Starts Florida Panthers Goalie Controversy

The plan has been for Jacob Markstrom to be the Panthers' goalie into the future ever since the day he was drafted in 2008.

The timetable may have been sped up.

The struggling Panthers, looking for any sort of spark, recalled the 23-year-old Swedish netminder from their AHL affiliate in San Antonio on Wednesday.

Markstrom, 16-15-2 in 33 minor league games, will be given the chance to play right away said general manager Dale Tallon.

With the highly-touted Markstrom now with the team, the Panthers have a full-blown goalie controversy going. Of course, with zero wins in their past five games, that's probably the least of the Panthers worries right now. Tallon said Florida's biggest concern is "stemming the tide.''

"I’m not happy. It's a critical part of the season and every game’s important,'' Tallon said. "We need to cut our goals against down. It's time. He’s played great down there and it’s time to see what he can do. I’m not going to sit still and allow this to continue.
"We need him to come up and play like he’s capable of playing and I’m very confident that he can do that. .-.-. The competition will maybe force some guys to pick up their games a little bit. That’s what it’s all about here. What’s best for the team. I’m not concerned about the individuals here.''

Coach Kevin Dineen said Markstrom will likely start one of Florida's next two games -- either Thursday in Philadelphia or Friday in Pittsburgh. Expect starter Jose Theodore to get the other start.

Although Theodore has played well at times, he has been streaky and his goals-against average is up from last year.

Theodore, 36, is 60th with a 3.37 through 12 games. Scott Clemmensen, 35, is third-to-last out of 70 NHL goalies with a 4.32 GAA. The Panthers have yet to record a shutout. In Florida's five-game winless streak, it has been outscored 21-10.

"If you look at most of the games this year, it's a team thing," Theodore said. "Goaltending needs to better, that's no secret. But it's no matter if you lose 1-0 or 6-5, everyone needs to be better in that situation.''

Although Theodore is still looked at as Florida's starting goaltender, the promotion of Markstrom will likely cut into whatever playing time Clemmensen would have gotten.
In back-to-back situations -- as is the case this week in Pennsylvania -- Clemmensen usually would get one of the starts.

"It doesn't change how I'm going to approach things,'' Clemmensen said. "I'm going to come here, put on my gear and go to work. If they tell me I'm playing, I'll do everything I can to win the game. It's pretty simple.

"This isn't my decision. As a goalie, any player, wants to play all the time. Thaty doesn't change if there are three goalies here or 10. You only control what you can.''

Markstrom was at Florida's practice Wednesday morning in Coral Springs and was the second player to take the ice.

And although he is projected to be Florida's future in net, how long will Markstrom be here?

"I think Drew Shore came here with a suit and a pair of jeans,'' Dineen said. "He was a short-term fill and when he came to play it was to come in and get the NHL experience. That’s changed. Drew’s worked himself into a situation where he’s a guy we rely on in a lot of different situations, and nothing is given. Everything is earned. Jacob will be handled the same way."

Although he doesn't currently have his own locker stall at the Iceplex -- he used a pair of plastic chairs set up steps from Theodore and Clemmensen -- Markstrom is getting his chance.

Markstrom filled in for Clemmensen at the start of the 2011-12 season and more than held his own, his highlight being a 40-save victory at Montreal that Tallon called "brilliant. He has that capability."

Markstrom was also called up later in the season when Theodore injured his knee and came up in the playoffs when Theodore had a setback.

In seven games last season with the Panthers, Markstrom went 2-4-1 with 17 goals against.

"Every time I come to Florida, I look at it as an opportunity,'' said Markstrom, who has stopped 92 percent of his shots and recorded three shutouts at San Antonio.
"I just love coming here, everything about it. We have a great team here. Hopefully I get to be a part of it.''

As far as future moves go, Tallon reiterated that Florida's young prospects aren't available to suitors with short-term fixes.

"There’s no quick or easy fix here. We’re taking our time,'' Tallon said. "It’s hard to be patient when you realize you’ve got to win some games, but you have to be because I’m not mortgaging the future just to get a Band-aid.''

-- Tallon said the Panthers didn't need to make a roster move to bring Markstrom up and said injured winger Kris Versteeg wouldn't be put on the injured list.

Versteeg skated before Wednesday's practice but wasn't on the team plane to Philadelphia. Tallon said he was better off working out in Coral Springs.

Jacob Markstrom Recalled, Practiced with Panthers Today

Jacob Markstrom was recalled from San Antonio and was practicing with the Panthers this morning (as were José and Clemmensen.) It seems the team will carry 3 goalies for now. I'd say they didn't want Clemmensen in goal for one of the upcoming back-to-back games (tomorrow in Philly and Friday in Pittsburgh.) So I think José and Markstrom will split those games, but it's not been said yet. 

Here are some of the tweets concerning the situation:

Dale Tallon on Jacob Markstrom: "We have to put him into the system, get some experience, stem the tide. Every game important''

Tallon says will carry 3 GT for now but thats not ideal situation

Media spoke to Dale about @j_markstrom call-up. Says competition makes everyone better and that #FlaPanthers have to be better

Tallon needs to stem tide (of losing) immediately. Hes not happy with entire defense including forwards #flapanthers

Dale Tallon said Jacob Markstrom is here to play although referred when to Kevin Dineen. Expect Theo to split #Pens #Flyers

He played great down there,its his third season as a pro, its time to see what he can do.''

"We need to cut our goals against down."

It's time to see what [Markstrom] can do. I'm not going to sit still and allow this to continue. 

Tallon hopes competition will spark better play. "It's best for the team. I'm really not concerned about the individuals here."

Carol's view? I feel everyone is laying too much blame at José's feet, but at least he said he's not happy with the ENTIRE defense, including forwards. But it's just the goalie that's getting changed...

Gameday, Panthers vs. Maple Leafs (L, 0-3)

José was first off the ice at morning skate, so it looks like he's back in goal tonight. Let's hope this is the night the team starts turning things around. 2 points would feel really great right about now. But they need to start playing better in all zones and stop hanging their goalie out to dry.

Maple Leafs-Panthers Preview

I take exception to that writer saying José was "shaky" on Saturday night. Just because the Panthers were scored against 6 times doesn't mean HE was shaky. I'm really getting fed up with writers and fans in general.

So, same story different night. First goal was a direct result of a turnover by a dman, 2nd goal was because 3 Panthers were below the goal leaving a Maple Leaf player open in front of the net, and the 3rd goal was another guy left wide open. 

I don't know what is going on with blown coverages and stupid mental errors on this team, but José is the one getting the brunt of the flack for it.

I took the advice of my husband and a couple of friends and didn't even have twitter open during the game tonight. I can see what happens in a game, I don't need the "media" telling me about it online. And then I won't be tempted to search his name on twitter and see all the fans' hate. And I was a lot less stressed out not looking on twitter. I will probably wait until late tonight, or maybe even tomorrow before I look. I still need some of the information the beat writers give. I just don't need their opinions.

For those that don't know, the Panthers' goalies are receiving the brunt of the blame for the poor season, even though the team in front of him has been atrocious. I have never seen so many defensive breakdowns and poor play in both the offensive and defensive zones. But as we know, hockey fans always want to blame the goalie, because they are the last person the puck goes past.

Many fans are calling for Jacob Markstrom to be called up from the AHL. I'm not saying Markstrom is not a good goalie, but I think he needs to complete his AHL season and be ready for next season with the Panthers. No goalie can save this team the way they are playing right now, and there is no reason to throw him into this frying pan.

I don't usually give so much opinion on here, but I'm just really fed up on José's behalf and needed to get that out.

A few of José's "favorite things"

Thursday night the Panthers Foundation held a silent auction for baskets of the Panthers' "favorite things." The baskets were put together by the players' "better halves" and were a sampling of some of their favorite things. I thought José's was really neat, because it wasn't just Panthers merchandise, but a real representation of some of his favorite things. Much more personal than a lot of the others. Great job, Stephanie!

The list did leave off tennis balls, I can see those in there. We knew he loved golf, but obviously he enjoys tennis as well.

The Magic Catch Game (they misspelled it on the list) is this:

I just wonder if that's something he enjoys playing with Romi or he just likes it himself. Maybe something to help his reflexes? Not sure...just curious. Haha.

Gameday, Panthers vs. Lightning (5-6, O)

Let's hope the Panthers give their goalie some offensive support today. He can't do it all himself. The Lightning have cooled off a bit since their hot start, so hopefully the Panthers can come out with a win today. I will be at my nephews' birthday party today (starts the same exact time as the game), so I'll miss the game. Hopefully I'll return home to find they won!

Lightning, Panthers chase two big points

The Panthers let another 2 goal lead slip away in the 3rd period and the game went to OT where they can't seem to close anything out this season. Honestly, poor José. He had another great game...if you look at every goal, the defensive positioning was bad. I don't know what to say about how this team is playing in front of him...it's extremely frustrating. And he's the one getting the flack for it.

I watched the game after I got home from the birthday party, and I was still proud of the way he played that game, even if his team couldn't close it out for him.

Gameday, Panthers vs. Canadiens, (0-1, O)

The Panthers have to start turning things around tonight. Let's hope the whole team shows up in front of José and he can shut up all the doubters that are calling for Markstrom to be called up. I'm getting so tired of hearing fans talk about how awful the goaltending is. The TEAM is awful, goalies can't save an awful team! But hopefully they will wake up tonight. I hate to see José going through this.

Canadiens-Panthers Preview

Well José couldn't have done more for them than he did tonight. People said the goalies needed to "save a game" for the Panthers...well you can't save the game if your team doesn't score. He held the Canadiens scoreless through all 3 periods, and then they got one past in OT. So at least the Panthers got a point, that's something. But more importanly José redeemed himself, because there is NO way people can pin this loss on him. He was outstanding! Great saves throughout. Sharp and moving well. Great game. He really deserved the win.

Fan Photos from 2/12/13

Thanks to Nelly for sharing some photos she took during warm-ups before the 2/12/13 game. The guy he's talking to is Chris Scoppetto, Head Equipment Manager.

Gameday, Panthers vs. Capitals, Clemmensen in goal (5-6, O)

José will not be in goal tonight.

Capitals aim for home-and-home sweep of Panthers

The Panthers lost in OT 6-5. It was especially disappointing, because they had been leading 5-3 with less than 10 minutes left in regulation. Coach Dineen said they are having trouble with their composure.

At least this one can't be blamed on José.

Gameday, Panthers @ Capitals, L, 0-5

The Panthers are 3-0-1 in their last 4 games. Let's hope they ride that streak right into DC and come out 4-0-1. The Capitals have the worst record in the league, but desperate teams can be scary. So the Panthers will be ready and hopefully really take it to them. It would be amazing for José to beat his former team after that win in Philly...what an end to the road trip that would be!!

Struggling Capitals host improving Panthers

I was a bit annoyed by one sentence in that preview:  The goaltending is still not great, but is has improved of late. The Panthers have yielded 11 goals in the past four contests after giving up 23 during the five-game skid.

You can tell this was written by an NHL.com writer who didn't actually watch much if any of the games, because goaltending was never the issue. That irritated me, but José will prove people wrong yet again.

Not much good to say about this game. The Panthers didn't show up to play at all, and the Capitals were a desperate team that needed to win. And they worked harder. I'm not going to say José was perfect, but this loss is not about him or goaltending. The Panthers didn't have jump from the first drop puck. The unfortunate thing is that the fact that the team didn't come to play left their goalie out to dry. He was pulled in the 3rd period after 5 goals. 

But a friend of mine pointed this moment out...after he was taken out a fan wearing a José Caps jersey turned her back so that his name and number could be seen as he going down the tunnel. I thought that was a super sweet thing to do, even if he probably didn't see it. That's a true fan.

And hopefully the Panthers can take revenge when the Capitals come to Florida on Tuesday. And the Panthers get to be home tonight, and that's awesome because José will get to have some daddy hugs from Romi.

Gameday, Panthers @ Flyers, W, 3-2 (shootout)

Panthers-Flyers Preview

Oh that was a sweet game!! José especially shone in the 3rd period, OT and the shootout! He stopped all 5 shots in OT (and the Panthers had NO shots in the OT period, so he was busy at his end.) Then he had two nice saves in the shootout, and with Huberdeau and Mueller the Panthers actually have good shootout shooters this season! It was beautiful!!

José saved 30 of 32 shots and here's Coach Dineen's post game quote:

He just decides that he's going to stand up and be a difference maker. He did a heck of a job. The overtime as well as the shootout, that was a big-league game by a starting goaltender.

:)))))

And here's the whole shootout:

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/flapanthers/#storylink=cpy

Gameday, Panthers @ Jets, 2-3, O (Clemmensen in goal)

I'm sure this is to give José a rest. Gotta keep him fresh with this grueling schedule.

Panthers-Jets Preview

The Panthers lost 3-2 in OT. That brings their record to 3-5-1 on the season.

Gameday, Panthers @ Sabres, W, 4-3

There has been no word from he media guys about starters today. Maybe they don't have morning skates when the game is so early?

Panthers-Sabres Preview

Things started out a bit slow for the Panthers, and they were down 3-1 in the 2nd period. But José came up with a couple of huge saves (one on a breakaway by Ennis, followed quickly by another save) to keep them from going down by more. Then the Panthers dug in and battled back. They showed a lot of character, and it was great to see.

The defense really clamped down in the 3rd, and the Sabres had very few shots on goal. José only ended up facing 20 shots total, but like I said he had some very timely BIG saves and was a big part of their win.

The team is staying in Buffalo tonight and will be watching the Super Bowl at a bar owned by a friend of Brian Campbell's. Thank goodness they can actually enjoy the get together after a win. :)