Gameday, Panthers vs. Hurricanes, W (2-0)

It's official now that the teams have taken the ice for warm-ups. Theodore vs. Ward.

The game is scoreless after one period. The Panthers have been pushing hard, and have 14 shots on Ward, but none got through. It has to be frustrating for them...it is to watch. José had a relatively quiet period, stopping all 5 shots he faced. And Jovo is having the best game I've seen from him in a long time. He had 2 big blocked shots in there that probably saved goals.

The Panthers got the much-needed first goal in the 2nd and lead 1-0 at the end of the period. José got much busier as Carolina poured it on. He saved all 19 shots he faced in the 2nd.

José ended up with his 3rd shutout of the season (he saved all 34 shots faced.) He really stood on his head. Let's hope the Panthers can come through with a few more goals in the future (the 2nd tonight was an empty net near the end of the game.)

José was named 1st star!!

Florida Panthers Bounce Back, Get Point in 2-1 Shootout Loss at Penguins ...Kevin Dineen Shakes Things Up, Leaves Theodore In

I realize I haven't posted many of the post-game notes/stories from the 2 writers in South Florida this season, and it's mostly because I'm not a fan of theirs. But I thought tonight's was fair.

On Frozen Pond from George Richards

PITTSBURGH – The Panthers had a lot going against them in the final minutes Friday, the biggest obstacle of all being their opponent.

The host Penguins threw everything they had at a Florida team that lost Jack Skille to injury in the third and were obviously playing on dead legs after Thursday's loss in Philadelphia. Still, thanks to some strong play by Jose Theodore down the stretch, the Panthers forced overtime and earned a valuable point in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Penguins at Consol Energy Center.

Florida now heads home for a key stretch of games with the following four in Sunrise through next weekend.

The Penguins have now won eight straight and 11 of their past 13.

“The outcome is important at this time of the year, but it's a process,'' said Panthers coach Kevin Dineen, whose team went 0-1-1 on this Keystone State road trip and has lost eight of the past 12.

“At the end of the day, it's how you play. We walk out of here knowing we played a good team and played extremely hard. We gave ourselves a good chance to win.''

Skille, who has been a very productive player of late, was lost in the third period when he collided with teammate Sean Bergenheim near the Pittsburgh goal. Skille skated off favoring his shoulder in obvious pain. Skille missed a big chunk of the season with a shoulder injury, returning on Feb. 12 and playing in 13 straight games.

“He looked pretty sore,'' Dineen said without giving further update. “He looked like he was hurting.''

Florida took a much-needed 1-0 lead in the second period when Tomas Fleischmann charged the net from the right side and followed up a big shot from Wojtek Wolski and beat Marc-Andre Fleury at 7:17 of the period.

The Panthers took that lead into the third period with the Penguins tying things up 2:56 in when Steve Sullivan charged in on Theodore on a breakaway and tossed up a soft backhanded shot. Theodore (33 saves) made the initial stop, but the puck somehow crawled past and ended up behind him. This came not long after Florida survived its lone penalty kill – a four-minute job after Krys Barch was given a double-minor for a high stick.

Theodore didn't let the next big shot get that far when Pascal Dupuis chopped at a loose puck that was initially ruled a goal. Hockey Central in Toronto reviewed the play and overturned the call on the ice as replays couldn't confirm the puck fully crossed the line as Theodore had his arm on top of it midway through the period.

“I saw the puck the whole way,'' said Theodore, making starts on consecutive nights for the first time this season. “You never like to see the referee point that it was a goal, but I felt confident it wasn't.''

The Penguins came strong at Theodore the rest of the night but the Panthers goalie stood up to the challenge and made a nice save with less than 10 seconds left. Theodore made three saves in the overtime but gave up both goals in the shootout as Pittsburgh moved to 9-3 in shootouts this season. Florida, now 5-13 in overtime contests, is 4-8 in shootouts.

Still, Florida added a point in the standings to help keep it in first place in the Southeast Division for another few days at least.

“I thought we played a very solid game. It's real tough playing in Pittsburgh, especially up 1-0,'' Fleischmann said. “We fought hard on both sides and it took the shootout to decide it. It was a good bounce back. We played more as a team, five guys on the ice. We need to keep playing that way. This is a very tough stretch.''

Panthers @ Penguins, L (1-2, Shootout)

The first period has been a good bounce back one after last night. Even though there has been no scoring, the Panthers are playing better. It's still scoreless at this point. José saved all 6 shots he faced.

The Panthers are still hanging in there, and now lead 1-0 after 2 periods. José has played tough and saved all 14 shots he faced. The guys are playing good defense in front of him as well.

Another shootout, and this against the best shootout goalie in the NHL, Fleury. And with Neal and Malkin as shooters, 2 of the best. Didn't go the way of the Panthers.

But it was a great bounceback game for them. José was outstanding and was named 2nd star of the game. He saved 34 of 35 shots on goal. Some of those of the fantastic variety. One right at the end of regulation that saved the game for them. Nothing to hang his head about in this game.

Gameday, Panthers @ Flyers, L (0-5)

After one period, the Panthers are down 1-0, but they've played pretty well. They just didn't capitalize on their two power plays. In fact, they looked awful on their two power plays. Wasted opportunities. The one goal against was a PP goal. José stopped 9 of 10 shots.

After 2 periods the Panthers are down 3-0. ~sigh~ They can't get any second chances on Bryzgalov, because there is no traffic in front of the Flyers net. Yet the Panthers net is a different story. Hard work by the Flyers in front of the net led to that 2nd goal. Then the 3rd was a breakaway after a turnover by the Panthers.

José was spectacular at times. A gorgeous glove save thrown in there near the end of the 2nd. He saved 11 of 13 that period.

That was too painful to even talk about anymore. Moving on to tomorrow. José ended up saving 30 of 35 shots.

Gameday, Panthers vs. Senators, W (4-2)

The Panthers are down by 2 again after one period. That's happened way too often lately. The Senators are just working hard and got some lucky bounces, and the Panthers aren't getting ANY luck. None. It has to be more frustrating for them than it is for us. I really hope they can snap this bad luck streak, because it's getting down to the scary point.

José saved 10 of 12 in the period. He had some really nice saves, but the team isn't clearing guys out from in front of the net. I couldn't tell if the first goal was a deflection or just a screen. Disappointing period, that's for sure.

It's amazing the difference one period can make. The Panthers came out on fire and scored THREE that period. They now lead 3-2. José saved all 8 shots he faced.

Oh man, that win felt GOOD! To feel so down after the first period, then to have such a great second, and the third was pretty darned good also. They didn't get that 4th goal until the last few minutes, so it was a bit tense for most of the period for me, but all in all, a great win! José wasn't overtaxed in the 3rd, so he ended up with 23 saves on 25 shots. He only had to face 5 shots in the 3rd.

Gameday, Panthers vs. Predators, L 1-3 (Clemmensen in goal)

Clemmensen was the first off the ice after morning skate, sot it's assumed he will be the starter tonight. They have back-to-backs this weekend, so it seems they are holding José for tomorrow's game against Ottawa.
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The Panthers played a lot better, but couldn't solve Pekka Rinne. Let's hope things go better tomorrow against Ottawa.

The cameramen did a great job showing José on the bench though.

Gameday, Panthers @ Jets, L (0-7, 4 on José)

Well...not the first period you'd hope for in a big divisional game. Panthers trail 2-0. The first goal was the result of a turnover right near the net, and the second was due to Jovo running over José and opening up the net. After that things calmed down. The Jets really went after José peppering him with shots, but he came up big when his teammates didn't sabotage him. He saved 11 of 13 shots.

The Panthers played better that 2nd period, but unfortunately couldn't get anything past Pavelec. So it's still 2-0. José saved all 8 shots he faced that period.

And things got bad in the 3rd period. José was pulled after the 4th goal. But this is the way I see the 4. The first he didn't have a chance on as it was scored on a turnover right in front of the net. The 2nd was because Jovo knocked him over and the net was open. The 3rd was deflected by 2 other players in front of him. The 4th was a 5-1. He saved 20 of 24 shots.

Then Clemmensen came in and got 2 GAA. I didn't even see them, as I couldn't watch anymore.

But the Panthers still hold a 2 point lead in the SE. This is one you just forget about. Period.