Sunday, February 22, 2009

30 And Counting

The shutout is getting a lot of use at Panthers games lately. Florida, coming off of being shutout by Chicago, after shutting out New Jersey, shutout the Boston Bruins yesterday, for their 30th win of the season.

Reading that statement was probably about as pretty as the game was last night. The Panthers did not play a stellar game, and were bailed out on multiple occasions by Tomas Vokoun, who had one of his best games of the season. Radek Dvorak found a scoring touch, and potted two goals, including his third shorty of the season.

It doesn't exactly matter how the Cats got it done, but those two points were extremely important. We know Florida has to avoid a lengthy losing streak during this tough stretch of games, so I will definitely take trading wins and losses against the likes of Washington, New Jersey, Chicago, and Boston. Now the Panthers have to do it on the road, which will be the ultimate test for the Panthers.

Yes the Panthers have had a tough schedule this month, but most of the games have been at home. The Panthers boast a very impressive 17-8-5 home record. Now the Panthers go on the road for five straight, and four of the games are against playoff teams, including the three Eastern Conference division leaders again. The Panthers are 13-13-3 on the road this year, the definition of average. However they are one of just seven Eastern Conference teams to be at .500 or better away from home.

My current thoughts:

-In the Panthers last nine home games, they are 7-0 when I am there, and 0-2 when I am not. Fear not though, I am currently making plans to make sure I attend every home game for the rest of the season.

-Last year Florida finished with a record of 38-35-9. They would have to go 8-14-1 the rest of the way to equal that.

-Following Carolina-Colorado right now online. What a shock, Carolina with the only powerplay so far in the game. That brings their powerplay differential to +44 on the year (Florida is a -11). Avs with a 1-0 lead though.

-Speaking of the out of town scoreboard, a big thanks to Washington for keeping Pittsburgh at bay, with a 5-2 victory today. Sorry to any Cats fans that think we still have a shot at the division, but we need to make the playoffs above all else. The Penguins are still too close for comfort.

-&$*&@$ The Carolina Powerplays tie it up. Even strength?! No way. Matt Cullen's 17th. Wasn't he a Panther? (Research: Yes he was. Never scored more than 13 with us.)

-Oh what a shock, Carolina back to the powerplay. Colorado, two minutes for wearing white. +45...

-I'm not sure what I want the Bruins to do today in Tampa. If they win, they might not be as desperate when we play them Tuesday, but they may be back into a groove. Either way, it's going to be tough to win in Boston.

-The zebras strike again. Another powerplay for the Powerplays. +46...

Not much hockey going on tomorrow, with only one Western Conference game. Tuesday will be another big day. We need Colorado and Toronto to give us good efforts tonight. Not exactly the two teams I would have picked to help us, given the choice.

Panthers playoff chances: 81.3% (Trending up)

Playoffs or bust.

2 comments:

  1. Of course there's no conspiracy in the NHL...
    How can anyone look at Carolina's amount of powerplays, watch their games, and still say there isn't a conspiracy. I'd be curious to see the edge they have on the road vs. the edge they have a home. Funny how bad they are though.

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  2. I actually want to do that. If I had more time, I'd add up their home and road splits. Maybe somebody already has. Who knows.

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