The Florida Panthers proved to skeptics last night that they are ready and willing to make a serious run at the NHL post-season with an impressive dismantling of the Montreal Canadiens, 5-1 at home Thursday night. Two power play goals in the 1st period got the Panthers rolling and outstanding goaltending from Tomas Vokoun saved the game the rest of the way.

The game was very evenly played throughout, with the teams finishing with 36 shots on goal each. Florida however was able to cash in on more opportunities, finding the back of the net 5 times. Jay Bouwmeester set the tone early in the game as he scored on the power play at 3:54 of the 1st period to put Florida up 1-0. Stephen Weiss would score on a power play at 15:36 of the 1st to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead after the 1st period.

The 2nd period was a tighter affair, and for the majority of the period the Canadiens looked like they were going to climb back into the game. The Canadiens scored :53 into the 2nd period on the power play to make it a one  goal game at 2-1. Richard Zednik would give the Panthers a two goal cushion again late in the period when he scored at 14:44 to make it 3-1 Florida.

The 3rd period was less tense, as Florida would wrap up the game with two goals scored 2:42 apart. Radek Dvorak scored on a penalty shot at 11:13 and Michael Frolik scored at 13:55 to seal a 5-1 victory for the Panthers. Tomas Vokoun was instrumental in last nights win, keeping his team in the game in the 2nd period. Vokoun saved 35 of the 36 shots he faced.

The Panthers power play was also hot last night converting on 2 of 5 chances. The Panthers got off on the right foot in their quest for a playoff spot. Montreal is one of the toughest teams in the Eastern conference, not to mention the NHL as a whole, such a lopsided victory against them is a great mental boost for Florida. While the win was nice, the Panthers have no time to dwell on this win as tough opponents abound in their upcoming schedule. It will be crucial for them to keep their focus and solidify a spot in the playoffs.

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The Florida Panthers dreams of ending the franchises’ playoff drought will be played out in the next month on the ice as they face arguably the toughest stretch of their schedule all season. Beginning with tonights game against the Montreal Canadiens, the Panthers begin a stretch run in which 10 of the 15 games they play will be against teams in the top 5 from both the Eastern and Western conference.

The Panthers currently hold the 8th and final spot in the Eastern conference with 52 pts. Division rival Carolina however is nipping at their heels with 51pts. To say the Panthers can ill afford to lose in the coming weeks would be stretch it, they have another 20 games after this stretch and the opponents during that time are not as tough night in and night out as those the Panthers will face in the immediate future. Nonetheless, the Panthers need to come out of this 15 game stretch in good shape, collecting as many points as possible, so they don’t leave it until the end of the season and force themselves into win or go home situations against teams with nothing to lose.

During the coming weeks Florida will face (in no particular order) the current #1 in the East Boston Bruins twice, #2 Washington twice, #3 New Jersey twice, #4 New York (Rangers) twice, and #5 Montreal once. In addition, they have one game against #10 Carolina (who sit 1pt behind Florida) and one against the #4 team in the West, the Chicago Blackhawks. Even the “easier” games, two against Toronto and two against the New York Islanders, won’t necessarily be gimmes. Toronto is 11pts out of the playoffs, a margin not impossible to make up, so they will be fighting hard. The Islanders have no hope of making the playoffs, and while the Panthers are 2-1 against them this season, the loss came at New York in ugly fashion.

The Panthers are going to have to be on their “A” game in the coming weeks. Perfection is not necessary during this stretch, instead they should look at it more from a “points” stand point. Florida needs to pick up points anyway they can and be glad to do so, even if it means overtime losses. They can’t afford mental let downs because they have a less than sharp performance one night. On top of a grueling schedule opponent wise, the Panthers will get more than 1 night off only 3 times, and even then it is just 2 days to accommodate travel. Hopefully at the end of February things will look as bright for the Panthers as they do right now.

The Florida Panthers got the 2nd half of their season underway in impressive fashion tonight as they returned to the ice and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2. After 5 days off for the All Star break, the Panthers came out sluggish, but overcame a 1-0 deficit to pick up the win against the Flyers. Rookie Michael Frolik had a hand in all 3 Florida goals to lead the Panthers Tuesday night.

The Panthers came out a little rusty in the 1st period and were outshot 12-10 by Philadelphia. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead at 10:44 of the period, but Bryan McCabe would pull the Panthers even just under 4 minutes later. McCabe collected a pass from Stillman and fired a slap shot that found the back of the net high over the goalies’ stick side.

Florida would take control of the game with a strong 2nd period. Shaking off the rust of 5 days off, the Panthers outshot the Flyers 13-11 and scored 2  goals just over 4 minutes apart to stretch their lead to 3-1. Michael Frolik scored his 10th of the season at 7:43 of the 2nd, and David Booth scored his team leading 20th goal at 11:50 to put the Panthers ahead 3-1.

Early in the 3rd period Philadelphia would put some intensity back into the game by scoring just 1:51 into the 3rd period to pull Philadelphia back within a goal of Florida. Tomas Vokoun was solid in net the remainder of the period to hold on to the 3-2 lead and secure victory for the Panthers. Vokoun stopped 11 shots in the 3rd period, and 33 over all.

All in all it was a perfect start to the 2nd half of the season for the Panthers. They picked up a power play goal, held Philadelphia scoreless on the power play, and continued their trend of production from everywhere. Florida needed a good start to the stretch run of the season as they now have 10 games in the next 21 days, all against teams that are either locks for the playoffs or are in hot contention.

The Florida Panthers’ lone representative at this years NHL All Star game made his mark in a fantastic fashion and helped change the outcome of Sunday night’s game. With the Eastern Conference down 11-10 (yes, 11-10 in a hockey game) Jay Bouwmeester would step forward and deliver for the East.

With 3:39 seconds left in the 3rd period Bouwmeester scored to tie the game at 11-11 and force overtime. After a frantic overtime period saw neither side score, the sold out crowd at the Bell Center in Montreal got another chance to see some scoring, in addition to the 22 goals scored in regulation. Bouwmeester’s goal forced the game into a shootout which the Eastern Conference would win, taking the All Star game 12-11.

Bouwmeester wasn’t named the MVP of the All Star game, but he certainly saved the game for the East and made a good showing of himself and his franchise on a national stage with the whole of NHL nation watching.

For the first time in several years, the Florida Panthers head into the NHL All Star break with a solid chance of making the post season. In the 7 seasons since their last playoff appearance (2000), the Panthers have had at best a sliver of hope to make the playoffs, not this year though. Heading into the break, the Panthers sit 1pt out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and have 36 games left this season to solidify a playoff spot.

The Panthers have come a long way not only since 2000, but have also improved their fortunes since the early part of this season. After their November 8th loss to Phoenix, the Panthers were (points wise) the worst team in the NHL with 9pts through 13 games. Since then however the Panthers have turned their fortunes around. The team set a franchise record with 7 wins in December, and scored 27 goals in 5 games to start 2009.

So what do the Panthers need to continue doing right and what must they improve on to make the playoffs? A few simple things can help ensure a trip to the post-season for the first time since 2000.

1. Player accountability has been a big part of the Panthers turnaround this year. Under new head coach Peter DeBoer nobody is immune to benching if they aren’t performing. Tomas Vokoun in particular was one player who didn’t appear to be as sharp as possible when the season began, so to the bench he went. In his place Craig Anderson pushed him for the starting position in the Florida net and was 5-1-2 during Florida’s hot streak in December. Vokoun however has returned as the starter and been very impressive. Each and every player giving their all down the stretch will be important if the Panthers want to make the playoffs.

2. The Panthers must get better at finishing games. The Panthers have been very good this season at coming from behind and forcing overtime late in games, however overtime and shoot outs have been a major downfall for the Panthers so far and cost them a lot of points in the standings. So far the Panthers have lost 6 times in a shootout and only won 2 times in overtime. Picking up full points in these situations will be vital to getting Florida into the playoffs.

3. Most importantly for the Panthers, the team just needs to stay healthy. Almost every big name player on the team has spent a week or more on the injured list this season. At one point earlier this season the Panthers had 5 forwards on the injured list, but nonetheless launched themselves into a hot streak with the help of every player on the team stepping up to fill the void. The Panthers aren’t likely to be able to survive if they tempt fate twice though. Losing a key player at some point down the stretch could prove costly in a tight playoff race.

Make no mistake, your Panthers have a great chance of making the NHL playoffs this season. The team has played very good hockey to this point, but if they want to end their playoff drought they’ll need step their play up another notch.