The Florida Panthers’ winning streak of 2 games was short-lived as they fell Saturday night 4-0 to the St. Louis Blues. All of the successes from Florida’s victory over San Jose on Friday night were short-lived as well and the Panthers appeared to take a step back in the loss Saturday.

It seemed the Panthers could do nothing right on Saturday. Their trouble in special teams situations again hurt them as the penalty kill allowed 2 goals on 7 opportunities. Even worse, the power play continues to struggle going 0-5 including having a 5-3 advantage for a full minute at one point.

The Panthers were outshot in every period of the game, being outshot in total 31-17. Backup goalie Craig Anderson was between the pipes on Saturday and looked drastically different than he did Wednesday night against Ottawa. Anderson allowed all 4 goals saving 27 of the 31 shots he faced.

Florida’s offense continues to struggle, bordering on being entirely inept. None of the forwards showed up in the game, Horton, Stillman, Dvorak, Zednik, and Booth combined to have just 6 shots on goal between them. While the defense shares in the blame for Florida’s sputtering start to the season, they have been raveged by injuries so far, the offense has no such excuse for their shotty play. A drastic turn around is needed, something needs to be done to spark Florida’s offense, and quickly.

The Florida Panthers have their first winning streak of the season. So what if it is only 2 games, it is an important two games. First, its better than a two game losing streak and second, it breaks their win-loss-win-loss trend they started the season with. Last night’s victory over the Sharks also shows the Panthers can handle adversity and take on the top teams in the NHL.

The first 2 periods of the game were action packed. The game got going quickly as San Jose scored 51 seconds into the game to go up 1-0. Giving up a goal that early can be demoralizing, but the Panthers came roaring back in the first period. Cory Stillman netted a goal 7 minutes into the period to tie the game at 1. Richard Zednik and Nathan Horton then scored 36 seconds apart (at 14:29 and 15:05) to put Florida ahead 3-1 at the intermission.

San Jose came right back in the 2nd period scoring at 11:38 and 17:37 of the 2nd period to tie the game at 3. Cory Stillman would score his 2nd of the night less then a minute later however to give the Panthers a 4-3 just before the end of the period, setting up a frantic finish in the 3rd.

San Jose managed 16 shots on goal in the 3rd period and Tomas Vokoun was up to the task of stopping all of them. Perhaps most importantly, Vokoun made a crucial pad save with 7 minutes to go in the 3rd during a San Jose power play that preserved the win for the Panthers.

Last night was a case of everything going right for the Panthers. Their big guns came to play, Stillman, Horton, and Zednik scored all 4 of the teams goals (Stillman netting 2). Keith Ballard continue to prove his value by picking up 3 assists. Most importantly the team showed perserverance and determination. Twice in the game they were stunned by the Sharks and could have let up as a result. The early goal and blowing the 2 goal lead could have been their downfall. Instead the Panthers recovered from both and got the win.  

Power play and penalty kill situations continue to cause conern though as the Panthers were 0-3 on the power play and allowed San Jose to convert on 2 of 5 of their power plays. These special teams situations need to be resolved if the Panthers want to be successful in the long run. All in all though, a much improved effort from the Panthers, the kind they’ll need if they want to end their playoff drought.

Although the Panthers are a decent 3-3 out of the gate this season, the offense is struggling and is the main reason the team has sputtered to its 3-3 record, going loss-win-loss-win-loss-win. Head coach Peter DeBoer does have a tool on his bench he should consider employing that could help jump start the production of the offense.

Forward Anthony Stewart has been a healthy scratch in 5 of the team’s 6 games so far this season, but the time has come for him to be given a chance. Stewart has proven in the past he is capable of camping out in front of the opposing net and causing trouble for the opposition. DeBoer himself has admitted Stewart is more than capable of contributing, but has said that for now veteran players are going to get their chance to produce. “”We’re not going to wait 20 games,” he said. “If they can’t do it, we’ll give someone else the chance.”

Well coach, the time has come to give someone else a chance. The Panthers are 22 of 30 in goals per game in the NHL and their power play is converting 11.1% of its chances, good for 25th in the league. Monday night’s game in Montreal should have been proof enough, the Panthers out shot Montreal 36-34 for the game, but only managed 1 goal.

Florida Panthers’ rookie forward Michael Frolik has worked himself onto the first line in a matter of one week. Frolik took to the ice for just the 2nd time this season on Monday night against Montreal. Head coach Peter DeBoer was so impressed with Frolik’s effort that by the 3rd period Frolik was on the top offensive line.

During Tuesday’s practice, Frolik was still on that first line, getting time along side C Nathan Horton and winger Cory Stillman. Frolik remained on that top line during Wednesday’s game against Ottawa. Frolik logged 9:16 of ice time and finished a +1  with 2 shots on goal.

Frolik may not be lighting the world on fire, but he is obvioulsy impressing with his effort on the ice or DeBoer would not have moved him to the top line. Frolik’s effort and performance are proof that he was the better choice to keep up with the Panthers. His competition, Shawn Matthias, was sent to the Panthers’ AHL affiliate in Rochester, NY.

The Florida Panthers continued their back and forth start to the season by defeating the Ottawa Senators on the road tonight, 3-1. Back up goalie Craig Anderson got the start tonight and brought his best stuff with him, and boy did he need it.

The Panthers’ staked him to a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st period with Rostislav Olesz scoring his first of the season 4:45 into the 1st period. A mere 48 seconds later Nathan Horton scored his second goal of the season, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead.

Ottawa struck back just over 2 minutes into the 2nd period on the power play, making it a tight 2-1 game. Cory Stillman regained the Panthers’ two goal lead 12 mintues into the 2nd period. Florida had to buckle down for a rough 3rd period as Ottawa threw everything at the Panthers to try and pull even in the game. Florida was on the penalty kill for the final 3:05 of the game because David Booth was issued a double minor for high sticking. Anderson made a crucial glove save during the penalty kill to keep the Senators from getting closer and the Panthers held on for the 3-1 victory.

Wins are nice, but some of Florida’s issues were still evident in tonight’s win. The Panthers continue to struggle offensively. The team was 0-4 on the power play and the Senators outshot the Panthers 42-21, double the shots on goal. Anderson had to face 26 shots in the 3rd period alone as the Senators mounted a furious comeback attempt. The Panthers by contrast managed 3 shots on net in the 3rd. The Panthers are living dangerously, whether it is Vokoun or Anderson in net there will not be many nights where the Panthers can just sit back and absorb pressure like that without giving up a goal. The offense needs to find a way to get going and keep the puck in the opposition’s defensive 3rd.