The Cats' Official 09/10 Thread

[paint huffer]

Wow, I know there aren't that many Panthers fans on here, but I can't believe there's no thread yet?!

Two games are in the books in Finland now with two very different stories. I didn't get to watch much of the first game as I was at work (though I opened an online stream to watch the overtime ) but in that first one Florida surprised a Chicago team that some are picking to win the cup.

Today was a lot different. The first thing on which I must comment is the lack of a fighter. When the team is down 4-0 in the third, someone has to look to spark the team with physical play. Stillman tried to throw a big hit and he got called for it, but at least the thought was there. Otherwise, there was next to nothing. I was hoping Campbell might try to ignite the squad, or McCabe given that he's the new captain, but nothing.

On McCabe, he didn't look great tonight, IMO. He was ok defensively, but he seemed to be having trouble moving the puck. Whether we can equate that to him or the positioning of the Florida forwards, I don't know. But McCabe's game looked a little off, to me.

Anyway, let's see if we can make this thread a little longer than last year's! No J-Bo, but this team still might have a shot to squeak into a playoff spot, especially if Vokoun plays well. Let's go!

[everblades2]

Man, I sure hope so. There's only a handful of Panthers fans on here, but we will try our best. I didn't see today's game but yesterday's was a step in the right direction. The come back shootout win was huge for us since those are always the games we give up and lose.

On a fighting stand point, I agree with you 100%. I mean we've got a few guys who will drop the gloves but someone has got to step up and take one for the team in situations like today's game. I'm glad Mike Duco made the team since he actually goes out there and plays physical and Tarnasky is good too, but it's just not enough. We need an enforcer!

[paint huffer]

Long gone are the days of Paul Laus. With Martin out of town I actually thought the Panthers might ice a tougher squad, but alas I was wrong. All around they're not bad, but they have no one who can really intimidate. Tarnasky hardly cuts it, and his fighting skills have landed him with a broken orbital bone courtesy of Chris Neil. Not that it's a bad thing, but like you said, it's just not enough.

Still, there are tons of guys in the AHL who could be nabbed by Florida, and the fact they haven't seemed to show any interest tells me that they're going to get as far through this year as possible without an enforcer. And it's a distinct possibility that they go the whole 82 games without one.

[everblades2]

Exactly! But I thought the same thing. With Martin gone, maybe Sexton would pick up some tough guys, but it didn't happen which was a disappointment. Most likely we will go the whole season without a legit enforcer, but hopefully they will prove me wrong.

[everblades2]

Starting slow once again... But luckily Sexton is going to talk with DeBoer about the team. Sexton finally realizes the Cats are soft and need toughness. Hopefully we will pick up some guys because we have nothing right now.

Come Monday, Sexton said he’ll meet with coach Peter DeBoer and his coaching staff to talk about ways to improve the Panthers, who are struggling with a 2-6-1 record. Sexton said all issues, including team toughness, would be addressed.

“We need to take better care of our players,” he said. “We have to upgrade the competitive level of our players. Right now, we need some solutions to change the way we’re playing and every solution will be considered. We want to be a hard team to play against, and that includes players of all different types. It might be time to change the mix. We need a mix of skill, speed, toughness and tenacity.”

[paint huffer]

I watched the game against the Sabres last week and Florida's lack of toughness/spark was a bit disturbing. I mean, how soft are the Sabres, and still, after going down five goals in the first 15 or so minutes, you'd at least expect something. A fight, a big hit, whatever. The team needed some sort of a spark but there was nothing there.

And I'm not sold on McCabe in his start as captain to this point. Still no goals, no fights, no big hits (that I remember at least)...absolutely nothing on-ice to spark his struggling team. It's still early, but it's damn near time for him to step things up.

[everblades2]

Originally Posted by paint huffer

I watched the game against the Sabres last week and Florida's lack of toughness/spark was a bit disturbing. I mean, how soft are the Sabres, and still, after going down five goals in the first 15 or so minutes, you'd at least expect something. A fight, a big hit, whatever. The team needed some sort of a spark but there was nothing there.

And I'm not sold on McCabe in his start as captain to this point. Still no goals, no fights, no big hits (that I remember at least)...absolutely nothing on-ice to spark his struggling team. It's still early, but it's damn near time for him to step things up.

Exactly. The only game I remember is the game vs the Flyers at Bank Atlantic Center. We go down fast in the first like usual. But instead of coming out in the 2nd period like that, Campbell drops the gloves with Carcillo, then Allen fights Lappy about 30 seconds later.

After that, the team actually played hockey and you could tell the fights sparked the team. We came back and won 4-2 including a shorthanded goal by Dvorak. Now, why don't we do that more often??

[Doug]

I'm sure most of you have heard what happened to Booth against the Flyers.

I'm not mad at Mike Richards for hitting Booth and they said it was a clean hit.

But I'm mad at the Panthers for just standing around and doing nothing. I was reading an article about the Booth hit on Litterboxcats.com and they said none of the Panthers players did'nt retaliate against the Flyers after the hit. They wanted to know where was Gregory Campbell.

But to their surprised, none of the Panthers did'nt stand by Booth when he was hauled away in a stretcher, only Pronger did.

The people who responded to that article were accusing the Panthers of being too scared to back each other up. They now call the team "The Kittens". They also said the team needs one or two enforcers. Last season, Martin traded Belak to Nashville and Sexton never picked up another one.

But they said the Panthers are now labeled as weak, passive and uninspired.

[paint huffer]

The Kittens, ha. I like it!

The lack of an enforcer does suck, but in the Booth incident there's an overriding issue. At that point, it doesn't matter if there's a tough guy on the ice or not- you stick up for your teammate whether you're Derek Boogaard or whether you're Rostislav frikin Olesz. There are countless examples of non fighters, Europeans or North American, coming to the aid of an injured teammate. But still, all the Panthers stood around doing absolutely nothing while one of their best players was out cold on the ice.

That signifies an underlying problem and the phrase "weak, passive and uninspired" as previously stated illustrates that very well. Sad.

[Doug]

The Panthers have called up Michal Repik and Kenndal McArdle to replaced Radek Dvorak and David Booth who are injured. I don't see why not and they should go ahead and call up Keaton Ellerby. It can't hurt for them to do that.

But last season I read an article that was sent to me on the internet by a French-Canadian who is a Montreal Canadians fan. The article was in french, so he had to translate it for me. But it said that Jacques Martin was about to trade Jay Bouwmeester to a team for a couple of good players. Which team it was, it did'nt say. But the trade did'nt happen, because owner Alan Cohen stepped in and stopped the trade. He wanted to keep Bouwmeester for the playoffs, but it was all for nothing since the Panthers did'nt make the playoffs.

Alan Cohen was voted the second worst owner in the NHL. There was a group, I don't remember the name. But they were going to buy the Panthers and it did'nt happen. The story I read was that Cohen wanted to be in charge of the team. The group rejected that and I did'nt blame them.

But the Panthers should look at the newly acquired enforcer Jimmy Bonneau of the Rochester Americans.

[everblades2]

I agree. The Panthers are finally looking to have a bit of life which is a great thing to see. I also love seeing McArdle and Orekscovich (sp) up in the big leagues. They are throwing their weight around which i love to see.

But I agree Doug; if possible, the Cats should call up Bonneau. He would be a nice physical presence, but also there have been a few rumors floating around that we are looking to acquire an enforcer like Riley Cote. We will just have to wait and see, but the Panthers are moving in the right direction.

Hopefully we come out strong tonight and get a win against Carolina.

[Doug]

I have an article somewhere and I went back to try and find it. But I could'nt find it. Anyway, it said the future looks bright for the Panthers, but it will take several more years for it to take effect.

It said the team has good up and coming prospects like Jacob Markstrom, Keaton Ellerby, Kenndal McArdle, Dmitry Kulikov and Shawn Matthias.

Markstrom should be ready for the 2011-2012 season.

[everblades2]

Originally Posted by Doug

I have an article somewhere and I went back to try and find it. But I could'nt find it. Anyway, it said the future looks bright for the Panthers, but it will take several more years for it to take effect.

It said the team has good up and coming prospects like Jacob Markstrom, Keaton Ellerby, Kenndal McArdle, Dmitry Kulikov and Shawn Matthias.

Markstrom should be ready for the 2011-2012 season.

Kulikov has been pretty impressive so far. Also Alexander Salak is holding his own in the AHL. He's aiding Rochester quite nicely and he seems to be a nice pick for the Cats.

We've definitely got some up and coming talent, so the future does look bright for us. I'm excited to see what happens.

[paint huffer]

And not that he's a young guy of the likes of those previously mentioned, but in terms of guys looking impressive so far, how about Reinprecht? He seems to be carrying the load offensively- hardly something of which I thought he was capable. He's almost equaled his goal production from all of last year in Phoenix.

Weiss, on the other hand, has had a less than stellar start to the campaign. He's one of my favorite Panthers and I'm hoping he turns it around.

I only saw the end of the game last night but it was nice to see McArdle drop the gloves after the final buzzer (though no fight came of it). Still, the kid is more than willing, and here's to that!

[everblades2]

Originally Posted by paint huffer

And not that he's a young guy of the likes of those previously mentioned, but in terms of guys looking impressive so far, how about Reinprecht? He seems to be carrying the load offensively- hardly something of which I thought he was capable. He's almost equaled his goal production from all of last year in Phoenix.

Weiss, on the other hand, has had a less than stellar start to the campaign. He's one of my favorite Panthers and I'm hoping he turns it around.

I only saw the end of the game last night but it was nice to see McArdle drop the gloves after the final buzzer (though no fight came of it). Still, the kid is more than willing, and here's to that!

McArdle has to fight to stay up, and I think it's a great thing. We need it.

But I am astonished by Reinprecht's performance. He is doing a great job. He's scoring left and right, including that one hat trick in a span of like 6 minutes. He's really stepping up and it's great to see.