Today is a sad day at NHL Hot Stove as we close up shop.

I would like to thank every one who has ever contributed, commented and read our site. It was a fantastic ride which unfortunately we can no longer keep up.

Myself and David Strehle are taking on bigger roles at RLDHockey.net while Dustin Leed and The Hockey Guys has been generous enough to give a home to our other excellent contributors. Please be kind enough to give both sites a read.

By Bill Whitehead

This is partially about the Florida Panthers’ horrible showing in Boston last Thursday. That game was ridiculous. Fittingly, I’d like to start out with someone equally ridiculous — a reference to The Simpsons ride at Universal Studios. While standing in line, the soon-to-be-riding patron watches a video of villainous Sideshow Bob, who is brandishing a gun and says to Homer that he’s offering up “a dish best served cold.” Homer responds: “Is it ice cream?”

Of course not. It’s revenge, which is exactly what the Boston Bruins had in mind last Thursday in its 8-0 pounding of the Panthers, who were rendered hapless after playing without seven forwards. That’s right, seven — in itself ridiculous. It was basically the San Antonio Panthers that coach Kevin Dineen was working with at TD Garden. But Florida being shorthanded didn’t keep the Bruins from serving. There was a heaping helping of Brad Marchand. A daunting dollop of Tuukka Rask. Even a smidge of ex-Panther Gregory Campbell was thrown in. It made for an easy night of headlines. How about “Beatdown in Beantown”? “Boston Sixty-Three Party” in honor of Marchand’s hat trick? Or “The Nightmare Before Christmas”? I didn’t see any of those, but they were there for the taking.

But here’s the reality: That game is behind Florida now and, standings wise, was little different than the club’s 2-1 loss to Phoenix earlier in the week. Boston had revenge on its mind and got it, but as thrilled as Bruins fans were after the game, they were just as upset 15 days earlier when Jose Theodore blanked them and Tomas Kopecky and Kris Versteeg broke their hearts. One win, one loss. The only oddity is goal differential, which is an insignificant, overrated stat anyway. Tampa Bay was within one goal of facing Vancouver in the Stanley Cup Finals last year, but the Lightning managed just a meager plus-7 in goal differential during the season.

The first-place Panthers (18-11-7) can’t be caught looking past Toronto tonight and worried about revenge of its own against Friday’s opponent, the New York Rangers, who beat Florida soundly in Madison Square Garden two weeks ago. Florida has defeated both Toronto and Montreal, Saturday’s foe, in separate Canadian road swings. The Maple Leafs (18-13-4) have won two straight, just extended coach Ron Wilson’s contract at Christmas and have Phil Kessel, second in scoring (41 points) and tied for second in goals (20). Goaltending has always been an issue, though. James Reimer and Ben Scrivens have put up better save percentages and GAAs, but Jonas Gustavsson has more starts and half the team’s wins.

A late Christmas gift for Florida would be getting healthy and playing the style of hockey that’s put the Panthers atop the Southeast Division. Stephen Weiss and Mikael Samuelsson are likely the closest to return, and the hope is that Jack Skille, Marco Sturm, Scottie Upshall and red-hot Shawn Bergenheim suit up soon, maybe when Florida hits the road after New Year’s.

Florida has put itself in a good position and created a nice cushion — one it’s needed lately in a three-game losing streak. It’s earned points when that didn’t look likely, such as at Ottawa last week and against Carolina, but now that lead is down to six over second-place Winnipeg. The Jets, however, have nearly played half of its home schedule, and third-place Washington can’t seem to gain any footing in the standings.

Revenge can be set aside for now, and that nasty game in Beantown perhaps could be used motivation in this week’s three-game homestand in front of full houses. Time for these Florida Panthers to start grabbing points however they may come and padding that cushion again.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com

By Bill Whitehead

I couldn’t cover the Florida Panthers’ Sunday matinee contest against Carolina, but it didn’t really matter. I saw the same game when Calgary visited BankAtlantic Center two nights earlier. Though the Cats put together a better overall effort against the Flames, the game played out the same way. Florida led early, lost the lead, watched a key player get injured, rallied late and won in extra time — all while getting strong goaltending from Jose Theodore.

With Calgary rookie Leland Irving in goal making his NHL debut Friday, Florida did whatever it wanted to offensively — everything except score enough goals to win in regulation. Sean Bergenheim, who suffered a groin injury Sunday, scored the second of his two goals much like the first one, cleaning up a loose puck in front of Irving. In fairness, Irving was impressive, turning aside 39 of 41 shots, including four with the game on the line in overtime. That is until unlikely hero Dmitry Kulikov bailed out Florida near the end of the shootout, then Stephen Weiss sealed it. The result was two more points.

The big difference between the two games was in the intensity and attack zone time for the Panthers against Carolina. After the first 10 minutes or so Sunday, Carolina proceeded to dominate puck possession time by not allowing Florida to chip off the boards and start breakouts, and the Canes’ forecheck was thwarting the Cats, who looked like they were on a penalty kill and simply iced the puck often. The most telling sign was shots in the second period, with Carolina winning that battle 16-4.

Once the game became more wide open in the third, Florida had better opportunities, including a power play that led to Jason Garrison’s 10th goal, tops among NHL defensemen, and Kris Versteeg’s near game-winner in the closing seconds that rang off the post. The pace continued in Florida’s favor in overtime. Shawn Matthias nearly won it on a breakaway attempt but was stuffed by Cam Ward, while Versteeg, whose giveaway led to Carolina’s go-ahead goal, redeemed himself with the winner by sending a shot into an open net after Brian Campbell broke down Carolina’s defense in front of Ward. Again, the result was two more points.

“Probably my biggest challenge as a coach so far is to find that formula that gives us a lot of energy,” said Florida coach Kevin Dineen. “But I’ve got a bunch of guys who are finding ways. Sometimes it’s not a thing of beauty, but we’re finding a way to get our two points.”

Dineen even jokingly referred to Versteeg’s regulation play against Carolina as “stinky,” though he was a “difference-maker” at the end. And there was some stinky play Friday night, too, in that Florida couldn’t run a rookie goalie playing his first minutes in the league right out of BAC. In fact, the Panthers haven’t played exceptional, out-of-this-world hockey in their last nine home games, but have turned in an impressive 7-0-2 record.

Cats fans aren’t like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, but the last nine home games they’ve watched have generally been the same — good not spectacular overall play, grinding not flashy offense, in-your-face checking, steady defensively in front of sturdy Theodore, in-it-to-win-it at the end. These home games since beating Pittsburgh 4-2 on Nov. 19 have pretty much all been the same.

Usually ending with the same two points earned, too.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com

By Bill Whitehead

The second meeting at the BankAtlantic Center between the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers was supposed to be a bounce-back game for the Cats — you know, that quick turnaround match where a team shows what it’s made of. Florida was looking to regroup after arguably its worst performance of the season in a 6-1 loss to the Rangers Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.

But a pair of myths were shattered — at least from Florida’s perspective — at the BAC in ex-Cats coach Pete DeBoer’s second visit to his former office:

The back-to-back fatigue factor: This may be the most overemphasized, least significant intangible in the league. For the second consecutive contest, the Panthers faced a team playing the second game of a back-to-back scenario with the first game on the road. While the Panthers were frolicking in a Central Park morning skate last Saturday, the Rangers were upstate preparing to eventually beat Buffalo. The next night was yet another win for the Rangers, trouncing Florida in a contest that was anything but a contest. New York easily dispatched of Florida, who outside of Erik Gudbranson’s first career goal, did little right.

Tuesday presented a similar situation. On Monday, New Jersey led both early and late, but had to hold on in the waning seconds of a 5-4 win in Tampa. Sure, the Devils saved starting goalie Martin Brodeur for Florida, but finally returning home after a long road trip and having an extra day of rest facing a team who had played 24 hours earlier should have worked in Florida’s favor, right? Wrong. The fatigue factor is overrated at this level. These aren’t pee-wee players who need a juice box and some cookies for an energy boost, they’re the world’s elite hockey players who can somehow find a way to play games on consecutive nights — often winning both games.

Having a team’s number: If you happened upon the final 50 minutes of the game between the Devils and Panthers on Nov. 21, you would have guessed that Florida had the number of DeBoer’s new team. After giving up three goals early, the Cats dominated the rest of the game, closing it out by holding New Jersey to just three shots a third period that included the Devils having a two-man advantage for 1:05.

But if you watched last night you noticed a complete turnaround. While Florida was good for the first 30 minutes, New Jersey dominated thereafter. In the third, the Panthers mustered just one shot, basically becoming what the Devils were in the final period of the first meeting. The Devils pinned Florida deep in its own end and forced the action, while the Cats appeared to run out of gas and played on its collective heels. In this parity-driven state the NHL is currently in — a good thing, no doubt — it’s difficult for one club to consistently dominate another over a long stretch of time or even a season.

The Panthers (16-9-6) didn’t undergo a complete disaster and were a little lucky, too. The club managed to put a point in the bank, which almost didn’t happen, but Petr Sykora inexplicably sent the potential game-winning goal wide with five seconds left. Florida could also rejoice in moving one more point ahead of the Capitals, who were hammered 5-1 in another bad showing by Tomas Vokoun. Additionally, Florida has three straight home games against an average Calgary, a Jeff Skinner-less, mediocre Carolina and a pretty solid Phoenix. Those things are encouraging.

But Tuesday night at the BAC?

Don’t call it a bounce-back.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com

The NHL announced tonight that they will change their current six-division setup into four conferences. For the first time since 1998, the League’s board of governors reached an agreement that not only alters the current outlook but also will allow every team to play a home-and-home series. The NHLPA will still need to approve the realignment but that appears to be a formality at this point.

These four conferences break down as the following:

Conference 1

Vancouver Canucks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Anaheim Ducks
Colorado Avalanche
Phoenix Coyotes

Conference 2

Winnipeg Jets
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
St. Louis Blues
Nashville Predators
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild

Conference 3

Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning

Conference 4

Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Carolina Hurricanes
Washington Capitals

The current playoff configuration will also change with the first two playoff series coming within the Conference. However, eight teams will still make the show but there should be much more parity. For example, a team in a ‘weaker’ division would not be allowed to grab the third seed if they narrowly make the playoffs.

Furthermore, the schedule works out well for all teams. Home-and-home series should account for roughly 44-46 games with the remaining games getting played in rivalries within the conference. This change, as well as keeping natural rivals like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; Chicago and Detroit; Calgary and Edmonton; should pave way for more excitement and interest around North America.

Now that we have the details down, let’s get to the fun part. What do we name these conferences? Do they get the old names: Norris, Campbell, Adams and Patrick? Do we rename them something more current like Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe and Orr? Put your vote in below and give some write-ins into the comments.

By Bill Whitehead

SUNRISE, Fla. — If you head on over to Floridapanthers.com, the front page has a smaller sub-headline that reads like a horror movie title: “The Return of Vokoun.” The mind conjures a terrifying vision of the arrival of a monstrous right-handed catching goalie wearing a white No. 29 Capitals jersey, hitting opponents with his stick, kicking at pucks along the end boards like they are tiny soccer balls and denying rebounds off long shots by defensemen. But it’s really no horror show featuring some alien that’s invading the BankAtlantic Center this evening.

In fact, the headline above it is the real attention-grabber: “The Battle for First.” It’s the second meeting between the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers — the Caps took the first one 3-0 in DC on Oct. 18 — and the first matchup in South Florida. At 7:30, the Panthers return from a 3-game road trip, two on the West Coast, to face Washington and new coach Dale Hunter, who scored his first win Saturday night when the Capitals beat Ottawa 3-2 just 12 seconds into overtime.

With only five points separating the two teams, here’s what to watch for tonight when the first-place Panthers (14-8-4, 32 pts.) host the second-place Capitals (13-11-1, 27 pts.):

Special teams: The power play and penalty kill have been streaky for both clubs this season. At its best, Florida scored five times on the man-advantage and once shorthanded at Tampa Bay in a 7-4 win on Oct. 17. The last three games on the road trip have been the Panthers in a nutshell — a good performance on special teams results in a win, while poor play ends with a loss that’s tough to stomach. In wins over Carolina and San Jose — the origin and end of its road tests — Florida was 3-for-6 on the power play and 6-for-7 in killing penalties. In its lone loss in which it peppered Kings’ goalie Jonathan Quick with 42 shots, the Cats were 0-for-6 with the man-advantage and gave up a power-play goal in two chances.

Florida’s 18.7% on the power play (20-for-107) ranks 10th in the NHL. The team’s penalty kill is 18th, having killed 60 of its 73 penalties (82.2%).
Washington grids 21st on the power play (14-for-93, 15.0%) and is 19th at 81.8% when shorthanded.

Familiar Faces as Foes: Writers won’t have to go too far back into the memory bank when it comes to finding a storyline for this one. Tomas Vokoun, who played four seasons for the Panthers and shut the Cats out on 20 shots two months ago, looks to beat his former team again, just as Pete DeBoer naturally wanted a victory over Florida last month when the Devils visited. Like Vokoun, Florida goalie Jose Theodore will try to shut down the offense of his former team, where he played from 2008 to 2010. Red-hot Tomas Fleischmann, who has flourished this season, played in the shadows of Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom during his tenure with the Caps, and Flash would surely enjoy a repeat of his 3-point performance from Saturday against his former teammates.

Expect the Capitals to attempt to neutralize Florida’s speed with plenty of physical play. Florida’s opponents, like the St. Louis Blues last month, have routinely tried to outmuscle them. Getting aggressive with Florida may work, though the team has still managed to be on pace for 101 points this season despite the rough play. Sometimes players like Andre Deveaux and Derek Joslin have resorted to illegal hits to get them off their games, but Florida won both of those as well.

This is a statement game for the Panthers, who are concerned primarily about the season-long war but would like to be victorious in this battle before heading back out on the road. A win helps solidify the notion circulating around the league that they are for real. And really, if they’re going to be taken seriously as a possible postseason player, Florida must regularly beat the teams it faces six times each year within the Southeast Division.

Especially the team that’s sat at the top for so long.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com

By Bill Whitehead

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and time to consider and be grateful for all we have, and Florida Panthers fans have plenty to relish. The Panthers (12-6-3, 27 pts.) are atop the Southeast Division and sit second in the Eastern Conference. The club has also feasted during its annual Thanksgiving homestand, winning its first three contests against Pittsburgh, New Jersey and the New York Rangers.

Upon reflection, here are just a few more things fans can be grateful for at Thanksgiving:

The organization — The old saying goes like this: “The fish rots from the head down.” But the Panthers aren’t rotting anymore; they’ve been resurrected and transformed into the high-priced, Catch-o’-the-Day. The sad state affairs for a few seasons — well, more than a few, perhaps closer to a decade — has been shelved for a new attitude around BankAtlantic Center. Heck, the place is hardly recognizable. Red-themed improvements can be found in the stands, on the boards and pretty much everywhere. Up next on the list is a new scoreboard. Most importantly, though, the brass brought in…

Dale Tallon — When Florida hired him, fans expected great moves by Tallon, and he hasn’t disappointed. The moves he made in St. Paul in June at the NHL Draft appear to be the club’s foundation, but the transactions he made around the trade deadline nine months ago left Florida in position to do what he did with Brian Campbell, Kris Versteeg, Tomas Kopecky — all players he had in Chicago — and others. Tallon wears his emotions on his sleeve — slightly reserved but with a trace of a smile when Florida wins, evidently upset on the elevator ride down to the dressing room when the club loses (see the home shootout losses earlier this month). He also puts a premium on how players are performing currently, not what they did last season, and doesn’t play favorites. Just ask David Booth.

Kevin Dineen — Not enough can be said of the job done in such a short time by the 48-year-old Dineen. He had the tough task of not only being new to the NHL, but also having to assemble talented players quickly. He has also been patient and doesn’t make kneejerk reactions when times get tough, which was the case Monday when starting goalie Jose Theodore gave up three goals midway through the first period. A year ago, Pete DeBoer would’ve yanked Theodore, but Dineen stood by his No. 1 guy and Jose responded by holding the Devils scoreless the final 48 minutes. When the hunt was on for Florida’s next coach, a Buffalo hockey scribe told me Florida should’ve hired Dineen the previous time instead of DeBoer and that teams were failing by not hiring Dineen. Looks like that guy was right.

The top line — If you would have polled most NHL fans before the season, the first line of Kris Versteeg-Stephen Weiss-Tomas Fleischmann would’ve likely rated in the bottom third. But that shows how much faith you put in polls. Through 21 games, the trio has tallied 69 points. Versteeg (12 Gs, 14 As) is on pace for a staggering 102-point year — 47 goals, 55 assists — and is TSN analyst Marty Turco’s choice for the Hart Trophy. Fleischmann is the sniper of the bunch, and Weiss simply makes it all run. The line seemingly plays possessed, and future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur had nothing but glowing praise for the group, especially Versteeg, after Florida’s 4-3 win Monday.

Those constitute much of the core of the Panthers, and the defensive corps and goaltending have been just as important. Intagibles also have made this first quarter of the season a success, including role-playing depth, AHL call-ups and players whose contributions don’t translate to the scoresheet.

And as is typical of the day after Thanksgiving, there is still King George-style eating to be done. I mean, who devours everything in the house on Thanksgiving and has to go out for food on Black Friday? The BAC, Florida’s fridge, will be rocking again tonight one final festive time. Fans can come in, see all the red they want and enjoy the last leftover of this Thanksgiving feast.

The Tampa Bay Lightning.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com

By Bill Whitehead

SUNRISE, Fla. — Tonight’s game between the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers at BankAtlantic Center is the second morsel in the Thanksgiving Feast, but it’s more than just that. If you’re flipping through the handy schedule or checking online, it looks like just another game between two good teams.

The Devils (10-7-1) have 21 points and rank tenth in the Eastern Conference standings while playing one less game than the Southeast Division-leading Panthers, so the matchup is a good one. The two clubs are also playing well — the Devils are 3-1 on the road trip, while Florida is 5-2-3 in its last 10 games. A win by the Devils wraps up a fantastic road swing. The Panthers, meanwhile, just want to keep the momentum going at home.

But there’s another issue at play tonight that has nothing to do with future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, former Panther Ryan Carter or any player on the ice for that matter. Instead, the attention will be on new Devils coach Pete DeBoer, who was fired by the Panthers one day after last season ended following three years of service. Here’s what DeBoer told The Record’s Tom Gulitti about tonight’s game:

“For a lot of reasons I’d like to win that one,” DeBoer said. “Obviously, the big picture is we want to finish this road trip off the right way and we want to keep feeling good and playing the way we are.”

The key here clearly is “for a lot of reasons.” Naturally, DeBoer has taken this a little personally, which is just human nature. DeBoer, who was well-liked during his tenure here, is reacting as anyone likely would at being fired for the first time. He coached under three different Florida GMs, so there was very little continuity going on to make the team’s effort any easier. The constant turnover, both in management and player personnel, worked against him.

DeBeoer also had abysmal talent — sometimes the Panthers resembled nothing more than an AHL squad, especially after last year’s trade deadline. The only bright spot in the final two months was the Sergei Samsonov-Stephen Weiss-Niclas Bergfors line, which showed promise, skill and production. But after Florida beat Washington 1-0 on April 9, closing a second consecutive bad campaign with a 30-40-12 mark, GM Dale Tallon fired DeBoer the next morning. DeBoer’s stint as Florida’s bench boss ended with a 103-107-36 record.

But DeBoer was also complicit in the team’s failures. While he didn’t have much skill to work with, his system didn’t get the most out of his players’ abilities. Florida’s constant cycling ended in very little offensive production, and the low slot in front of opposing goalies should have been marked off with orange cones because it was essentially a restricted area for Panther forwards. He played Scott Clemmensen too often and Tomas Vokoun too little, creating discord with the Czech netminder. And DeBoer’s legacy in Florida is leading teams who couldn’t hold late one-goal and sometimes two-goal leads.

“I haven’t been back to a place I’ve been fired before,” said DeBoer, 43. “It will be a first-time experience for me. I had three great years there. I met a lot of great people. I’m looking forward to catching up with some of the friends I made there.”

The visit by the Devils tonight will finally put an end to the DeBoer era in Florida, and when New Jersey returns in three weeks, DeBoer won’t be an issue. But for the emotions involved right now, this game is necessary.

For Pete’s sake.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com

By Bill Whitehead

Writers try constantly to find that right word to summarize a moment. I’ve sat in press boxes covering the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, and college and high school football, trying at length to grab that elusive word. You know, that perfect description to paint the picture of two teammates drafting together in NASCAR (teammating?) or a bone-crushing tackle in a football game (maybe bone-crushing will simply have to do).

That being said, it’s a little taxing and a bit restrictive to try to use just a single word to describe what the Florida Panthers did to the Stars in Dallas Tuesday night. Did they simply dull or completely extinguish the Stars, who didn’t shine so brightly in a 6-0 thumping? Maybe they trimmed the D off Dallas — leaving them as Allas — because there wasn’t much D being played by anyone wearing the home colors.

Here are a few words that would apply to the big road win:

Relentless. What better word to describe the offensive attack the Panthers (9-5-3) threw at the Stars. At one point, shots on goal were 19-4 in favor of Florida. Early in the third period, the Panthers led in attempted shots 64-19, a staggering number, and Dallas was on its heels in front of goalie Kari Lehtonen much of the time.

Mismatch. Perhaps it was just one of those nights where everything worked for the Cats or maybe just an off one for the Stars, who had just returned home after being on the road for over a week. Whatever the case, Dallas rarely had a pulse in the game, save for a slight push early in the second. In fact, the contest kind of resembled one of those early group games in the World Championships, where one team spends most of the time in its offensive end and repeatedly beats its opponent to the puck.

Fearless. That’s how the Cats must feel when they leave South Florida. The Panthers own a league-best 7-3 road record and will try to add to that tomorrow night in St. Louis, a team 3-0-1 since replacing Davis Payne with Ken Hitchcock. You will hear it often and perhaps grow tired of it, but the Panthers have become the Road Warriors of the NHL through nearly a quarter of the season.

Redundant. That’s an accurate portrayal of what it felt like — again — when Florida held a 4-0 lead in the third quarter of its third consecutive road game while the home crowd (officially announced, without laughter, as 10,175) booed its team’s poor play. Surely it won’t be the norm, but these big leads late on the road are like waking up as Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

Superb. An apt description of the play of Stephen Weiss (G, 2A, plus-6), Kris Versteeg (G, A, plus-3), Brian Campbell (A, plus-5), Tomas Fleischmann (highlight reel G, A), Jason Garrison (NHL-best 7th G for defensemen), Evgeny Dadonov (2 Gs in 2 games) and goalie Scott Clemmensen (25 saves in first start). Also throw in the tic-tac-toe goal (maybe gorgeous is a better word for that one) at the end of the second period. Weiss initiated it with a strong rush, but Versteeg, who looked up at the game clock in the closing seconds, knew he had enough time when he took a pass in the low slot from Fleischmann and deftly fed it to Weiss for an easy goal with eight seconds left for a 4-0 lead.

One word to describe what the Panthers dished out for 60 minutes in Texas, where everything is supposedly bigger?

Sheer domination.

I know. That’s two.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com

By Bill Whitehead
Credentialed Florida Panthers Correspondent

Before the Florida Panthers embark on its travel version of How the West was Won – albeit a brief trip over two games — it’s clear following a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers that the club needs to clean up its act if it wants to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

The home loss on Sunday — Florida’s fourth straight at BankAtlantic Center — dropped them to 8-5-3 roughly 1/5 of the way through the 2011-2012 campaign. The Panthers had numerous opportunities to take control of the game early but failed to do so against offseason free-agent acquisition Ilya Bryzgalov, the latest goalie brought in to solve Philadelphia’s neverending netminding issues.

From the outset, Florida had good tempo but repeatedly failed to cash in on chances. Standing alone in front of Bryzgalov with no Flyer within 15 feet, Mike Santorelli had a puck take an odd bounce while coming around the boards, eventually careening right to him. But 1-on-1 against the Russian goalie, Santorelli couldn’t beat him. Bryzgalov made plenty of big saves, but the puck seemed to be sitting in or near the blue paint for much of the first two periods, yet no one wearing a blue sweater could get a cheap goal. Finally, Evgeny Dadonov, recalled from AHL affiliate San Antonio over the weekend, ripped a wrister past his countryman.

The key moment came in the third period when Florida, already on a power play, watched Maxime Talbot get a double minor penalty after high-sticking Brian Campbell. Florida’s futility persisted, though, and eventually led to complete futility. The Panthers couldn’t score in a brief 5-on-3 or the man-advantage, and to make matters worse, defenseman Jason Garrison pulled down rookie Matt Read on a breakaway. The resulting score on the penalty shot proved to be the difference in the game. To compound problems, team leader Stephen Weiss was tossed for arguing the call, and energetic forward Jack Skille was injured. Florida’s power play, ranked fourth before the game, was a dismal 0-for-7 over 12 minutes.

That kind of sloppy play won’t work for the Panthers when the club travels to Dallas and St. Louis for games on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. While pundits are referring to the Panthers as a great story in the Eastern Conference, the Stars’ start would be deemed fantastic. Dallas grids in second place (11-5-0), trailing only Chicago in the Western Conference. St. Louis, who fired coach Davis Payne and brought in Ken Hitchcock, was excellent in blanking Tampa Bay 3-0 on Saturday, limiting the Lightning’s offense to 19 shots on goal — just two in the middle period.

Florida has shown a propensity to be quite the group of road warriors. It’s 6-3-0 record away from South Florida is the best in the NHL, and only Nashville has an many road wins. But a failure out West to capitalize in key moments like it did against the Flyers will leave them close but likely pointless.

It’s time for coach Kevin Dineen and company to tighten up the play if the Panthers still want to be that hot topic in the East.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com