The Florida Panthers have been riding on a hot hand offensively since the start of the new year, and surprisingly the offensive contributions are not coming just from the offense, in fact a good portion of the goals are coming from defenseman.

Florida has scored a total of 144 goals this season, and 37 of those goals have come from defenseman. For a team that was concerned at the start of the season about offensive output, it is safe to say those concerns have been put to rest with the defense racking up 25.7 % of the team’s goals.

Jay Bouwmeester and Bryan McCabe have been the leading contributors on the offensive side among defenseman. Bouwmeester has 12 goals and 16 assists while McCabe has 10 goals and 14 assists. Florida’s 37 goals from defenseman ranks the team 1st in the NHL with goal production from defenseman. For a team pushing for a playoff spot, it is certainly a good thing to have solid two-way defensive players that can contribute on offense as well.

The Florida Panthers ran into one of the few teams as focused and rolling as themselves last night, and were  out-hustled and out-played in a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals. The Caps, 2nd best in the Eastern Conference and well out in front in the Southeast division, dominated the Panthers and kept them in check for most of the game. In reality, things could have been worse for the Panthers, who managed to keep the game close despite Washington clearly controlling the game from start to finish.

The night got off to an ominous start as the Capitals scored just 33 seconds into the game to take an early 1-0 lead. Keith Ballard would get Florida back in the game at 8:35 with his 5th goal of the season, tying the game 1-1. Despite being outshot 15-7 in the opening period, the Panthers escaped with a 1-1 tie. The 2nd period was again controlled for the most part by Washington, who outshot the Panthers 11-9, but were stonewalled by Tomas Vokoun in net. The 2nd period came and went with no goals.

The 3rd period would be a different story. Washington again flexed its muscle in the 3rd, outshooting Florida 13-5. The Caps again found the back of the net early, scoring 43 seconds into the period to retake a one goal lead at 2-1. Try as they might, Washington wasn’t able to find the back of the net against Vokoun again, but at 18:47 they would take a 3-1 lead on an empty net goal.

The Panthers have been red hot since the start of the new calendar year, but lately some early season issues appear to be returning to haunt the team. In the past 5 games, Florida has been struggling both on the power play and penalty kill. Going back to their game on January 29th against Montreal, the Panthers are 3-17 (17% success) on the power play and were goalless on PP opportunities in 3 of the 5 games. On the other side, the penalty kill has been poor lately as well. Since that same game, the Panthers have allowed 5 goals on 15 opportunities, a 33% success rate for their opponents. During that 5 game stretch the Panthers have allowed an average of 1 PP goal against per game.

Fixing special teams situations will be key if the Panthers are to make a serious run at the playoffs. That problem aside, the team is playing well they just aren’t always getting the desired results.

The Florida Panthers got another crack at the New York Islanders this week, and this time got a much better result than before. Last night the Panthers faced off with the Islanders for the 2nd time this week, and were no doubt looking to make a better showing of themselves then they did last Saturday in a 3-1 loss. Florida got out to an early lead against the NHL’s worst team, and made it hold up through a rough 2nd period to take a 3-2 victory.

In defense of Florida’s poor play last week against the Islanders, New York was in the midst of their best win streak all season, but bad is bad. The Islanders are the worst  team in the NHL and are dreadful on the road, all good signs for a Florida team that has rebounded nicely from their poor play Saturday. The Panthers kept it simple this time against the Islanders, with a much better result.

Florida dominated the 1st period, outshooting New York 10-6 and finding the back of the net twice. Jay Bouwmeester scored at 5:41 to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Karlis Skrastins scored just his 4th goal of the year at 16:53 of the period to send Florida into the intermission up 2-0.

The Islanders would show some fight in the 2nd period, where both teams were applying pressure on the other. The teams both mustered 9 shots on goal, with the Islanders climbing back into the game. New York cut it to a 2-1 lead with a goal on the power play at 8:22 of the period. Florida would re-establish a 2 goal lead just over 4 minutes later when Richard Zednik scored a highlight reel goal to put the Panthers up 3-1. Just over 2 minutes later though, the Islanders would make the game interesting with another power play goal to make it 3-2 after 2 periods.

The 3rd period was controlled by the Panthers however as they allowed only 7 shots on goal, all of which were stopped by a healthy Tomas Vokoun. The Panthers held out for a 3-2 win to keep them in control of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference. Last night’s victory against New York was crucial as the Panthers face a particularly difficult stretch in their next 5 games. Saturday they travel to Southeast Division leading Washington (#2 in the East), Tuesday they are home against Toronto before heading to Carolina Thursday for a big game as the Hurricanes are 1pt behind the Panthers for 8th.

Bryan McCabe saved his current team from losing to his former team last night by scoring 3:30 into overtime, completing an outstanding comeback and keeping the Panthers on track for the playoffs. Florida again struggled against an opponent they shouldn’t have too much trouble with, but overcame a 2 goal deficit in the 3rd period to win in overtime.

The Panthers were out hustled through the first 2 periods of the game, with Toronto controlling the game and the scoreboard. Toronto struck first in the 1st period, scoring at 10:52 to take a 1-0 lead. Late in the period, at 18:53 Gregory Campbell pulled Florida even at 1-1. However, Toronto would find the back of the net again just 47 seconds later (with 20 seconds left in the period) to go up 2-1.

The 2nd period was a little more evenly played, but Toronto would be the only side to find the net scoring at 2:11 of the period. The Maple Leafs would take a 3-1 lead into the 3rd period, but the Panthers would finally find their touch and steal the win from Toronto. Stephen Weiss scored early, at 2:21 of the 3rd, to give his team hope with a 3-2 score. The Panthers would leave it till late however, with Cory Stillman scoring with 53 seconds left in the game to tie it at 3-3 and force overtime.

In the overtime session the Panthers were the more aggressive of the two sides, outshooting Toronto 3-1. 3:30 into the OT session, Bryan McCabe sent a slap shot toward the goal that trickled past Toronto’s goalie. The goal was McCabe’s 10th of the season and gave Florida a 4-3 win.

After a dismal effort in a loss to the Islanders over the weekend, the Panthers looked headed for a similar defeat last night until they woke up and perhaps saved their post season dreams. Another loss, this time to a team with in shooting distance of the playoffs, would have been damaging to Florida’s hopes of making the playoffs. Most importantly, the Panther not only showed the resolve to claw back into the game last night, but went a step further and won in overtime. Last nights win was important as the road gets more difficult from here on out with several games in a row against playoff contenders.

The Florida Panthers appear to have gotten a little too confident in their abilities lately, proven by the disastrous result Saturday night against the lowly New York Islanders. The Panthers have been very efficient this season in getting goals despite low shots on goal totals. During January in particular the Panthers were lighting up the scoreboard, at one point hitting a 5 game stretch in which they scored 4 or more goals in each game.

Saturday nights outcome however showed that perhaps the Panthers have a little more growing to do as a team than fans expected. The Panthers have been playing with a great deal of confidence lately, which is important given the goal they are striving for and the competition standing in their way. Saturday however the Panthers appeared to have even gained a little swagger, which didn’t help them. Playing against an inferior opponent, Florida got too fancy and despite 38 shots on net (most of which were not decent threats) the Panthers managed 1 goal with 1:27 left in the game.

When Florida enters tomorrow nights game against Toronto, they need to be refocused on what has worked for them so far this season. It is time for the players to get back to the tactics that got them where they are, that got them into contention for a playoff spot. The Panthers have survived this season thanks to simple hockey, basic hockey. Work hard in the corners and crash the net. Florida needs to get back to these tactics, which play more to their strengths, in order to return to success and keep the race for the playoffs alive.