For a team coming off a 5 day lay off, it wasn’t the worst possible result for the Panthers last night, but it certainly could have been better. After falling behind 2-0 on quick goals in the 1st period, the Panthers got two quick goals of their own in the 2nd period to tie the game at 2-2. Following a scoreless 3rd period and overtime, the Panthers allowed the only goal in the shoot out to lose 3-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Panthers outshot the Flyers 15-12 in the 1st period and 13-3 in the 2nd period, but after two goals in 1:56 midway through the 1st period, the Panthers found themselves down 2-0 at the break. In the 2nd the Panthers dominated play and would get two goals in 2:51. Jay Bouwmeester scored on a Florida powerplay to make it a 2-1 game. A few minutes later Bryan McCabe would score on another powerplay to tie the game at 2-2.

The 3rd was a tight affair with few shots on goal from either team, and no goals. The Flyers dominated overtime in terms of shots, 4 to 1, but no one could find the back of the net. The shootout was not kind to the Panthers whose shooters went miss, save, and save. The Flyers final shooter scored to give the Flyers the victory.

The Panthers pick up a point from the game, but continued their poor performances following long lay offs in the schedule. The Panthers will be busy over the course of the next 5 days, but will again find themselves with a long lay off after this busy stretch. On a plus note, Ville Peltonen was able to play 17 minutes despite having a broken bone in his left foot. Next up for the Panthers, a trip to Tampa Bay tonight to face the Lightning.

Tonight the Florida Panthers will take the ice in Sunrise and face a very tough Philadelphia Flyers squad that is 9 pts ahead in the Eastern Conference standings. The Panthers themselves sit 1 pt behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the last playoff spot. Now, there is a lot of season left, but a good show tonight will help the psyche down the stretch of an organization who haven’t tasted the playoffs in years.

There are positives to long breaks in the schedule, the biggest being rest. Many hockey players go the entire season nursing bumps and bruises, days off provide an opportunity for healing and rest. The Panthers entered this 5 day break having played 11 games in 21 days, getting 2 days in a row off just twice. The team now begins a stretch of 4 games in 6 days.

On the other hand, time off can mess with the momentum and timing of the team. While the layoff was nice in terms of getting rest, rust also builds over long breaks and the Panthers were riding a 5 game stretch of solid performances. The recent past shows that extended breaks haven’t been kind to the Panthers either. The Panthers were 6-2-0 in an 8 game stretch prior to a 3 day break in mid December, after the break the Panthers went 2-3-1 in their next 6.

In 5 games this season that followed 3 days or more off, the Panthers are 1-3-1. From the outside, a break in the schedule always seems welcome as a chance for the team to catch its breath and for players who are dinged up to get some rest. In reality, hockey is all about momentum and for a team that was 4-0-1 in its past 5, the break could prove to be a disadvantage as players can lose their touch just a little and the team can get out of a groove. Hopefully the Panthers can avoid this and keep their 3 game win streak rolling.

Just as he was catching fire this season, Ville Peltonen will be cooled off with a few weeks on the bench. Peltonen sustained a broken bone in his left foot during last Saturday’s 8-4 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. Xrays have confirmed the broken bone and Peltonen has not skated in any practices yet this week.

Peltonen missed 24 games last season with a foot injury, but he insists this injury is not as severe and that he will be back on the ice sooner rather than later. It is believed that Peltonen will miss around 2 weeks before he returns. Peltonen has 8 goals and 11 assists this season, including 4 goals in the teams last 5 games.

Although Peltonen isn’t a pillar of the offense necessarily, he is prone to making timely contributions in games that the Panthers could miss over the duration of his injury. If nothing else, Peltonen’s absence means lines will be changed and/or shuffled and throw off the chemistry of a team that already faces the challenge of carrying their hot streak over to Friday’s game after having a 5 day break from games.

Few people in America right now can say the economic downturn hasn’t effected them in one way or another. People are losing their cars, jobs, and homes as a result of the recession that grips the nation. America’s professional sports leagues are not immune either. Sure, owners might be making a few million dollars less these days, but players are still getting paid and the games go on. However, if you pay close attention, the games are going on but with fewer butts in the seats to see them in person.

Franchises across all 4 of America’s major sports are rolling out deals to try and put asses in the seats again and keep fans interested in their teams. Florida has been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn, and the teams in South Florida are looking for ways to draw the fans in despite tighter purse strings. So far this year the Florida Panthers have distributed and average of 15,156 tickets per game which is below last seasons average of 15,436 per game. Even with that number of tickets distributed, there are still empty seats. The Panthers currently rank 25th of the 30 NHL teams in tickets distributed per game. Overall NHL attendance however is up 2 % over last season.

So for the Panthers’ fan who has been avoiding a game this year, or still waiting for a good time to go see their first, keep your eyes open because the team is rolling out the deals. The Panthers are working on a “First Timer” program in which fans who have never attended a Panther game can sign up for a FREE pair of tickets to a game. There are catches with this one, obviously the honor system is necessary on this one. The Panthers are allowing a maximum of 500 people to take advantage of this deal per game, they must present a valid Florida drivers license, and must sign up on floridapanthers.com first.

The Panthers are also experimenting with “Total Ticket” packages that include a game ticket, parking, gas card, and a meal all in one. The lowest price for one of these packages is $17. In addition, the Panthers have decided to cancel plans to charge an additional $25 fee on tickets to marquee games.

As proof the Panthers are not immune to economic hardships, several support staff employees have been laid off already this season and the team is no longer matching employee contributions to 401(K) programs. Times are tough for everyone, and sports franchises are no exception. Sometimes however, bad things have a way of benefiting the fan, especially in a region where franchises can’t afford to alienate the fans and still expect to prosper.

The Florida Panthers’ recent run of success is due in part to their strong play on special teams lately. The Panthers have been very successful in the past five games at taking advantage of power play situations and shutting down their opponents on the penalty kill.

With the exception of Saturday’s game against Atlanta, the Panthers had scored at least 1 power play goal per game during their current streak. Over their last 5 games (in which the team is 4-0-1) the Panthers are averaging 1 power play goal per game.

Not only are the Panthers effective in man advantage situations lately, they are playing strong, solid defense when they are down a man as well. During the past 5 games the Panthers have faced 17 penalty kill situations and allowed only 2 goals. The Florida penalty kill is ranked 9th in the NHL with an 83% success rate.

If the Panthers wish to continue playing solid hockey, they will need to continue their performance on both the power play and penalty kill. Both situations provide a team with great opportunities to win games and turn momentum. If Florida can keep clicking on the power play and shutting down opponents when they are at a disadvantage, watch for the Panthers to keep playing tough hockey and picking up wins.