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.

The New York Islanders are far from being one of the NHL’s elite teams, which makes it all the more frustrating that the Florida Panthers were almost entirely incapable of cashing in on opportunities against them in a 3-1 loss to the Islanders on Saturday night. Facing a stretch of extremely tough opponents in a short period of time, the Panthers were blessed to have the Islanders, who won’t be making the playoffs, on their schedule. Unfortunately the Panthers dropped crucial points in a critical playoff run.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the Panthers loss last night was the fact that they dominated each period of play, but were simply unable to find the back of the net. The Panthers outshot the Islanders 28-20 through the first 2 periods of play, but had nothing to show for their effort but a 1-0 deficit. The Islanders scored at 18:34 of the 1st period to take a lead they would never relinquish in the game.

The 2nd period came and went with no goals scored, despite a 12-8 advantage in shots on goal for the Panthers. Still in the game down 1-0 to start the 3rd, but the wheels fell off quickly for the Panthers. The Islanders went up 2-0 at 4:19 of the 3rd, in effect sealing the victory. At 11:02 the Islanders would go ahead 3-0 with a power play goal. The Panthers would get a consolation goal with 1:27 left in the game as Gregory Campbell would deflect a shot into the back of the Islanders net.

Last nights result was nothing short of disastrous for the Panthers. The loss certainly didn’t end their run at the playoffs, but it wasn’t the desired result against an inferior opponent and could be harmful to the teams mental state. However, this time of year the Panthers need to have short term memory and forget each game’s result before the next game rolls around. The Panthers need to make sure that from here on out they win the games against teams they should beat.

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.