Do You Believe Yet?

As Toronto netted their fourth goal of the game, I turned to my girlfriend and said, "Well that about wraps this one up."

Four Panthers goals and two mosh pit celebrations later, and as Smash Mouth once said, "I'm a believer."

It's not as if tonight's game turned me in a complete 180. I have been believing a lot more for a while now. But as we Panthers fans know, it's been tough to completely forget the demons of the past years. We were the ones constantly on the wrong side of these types of games, and now we're the ones breaking hearts and stealing points.

Even though every part of me wanted to get up and leave after Florida fell behind by a field goal with 12 minutes left, the fan in me would not let me go. I've never walked out on this team, and now I know it would be foolish to do so. Just ask the thousands that heard the epic comeback on their radios instead of cheering in the stands.

Richard Zednik was a hero tonight, and on the one year anniversary of his terrible accident, no one deserved it more.

In reality, Florida should not be happy with their overall effort. They were grossly outplayed for much of the game, and it took a comeback of miraculous proportions to salvage a game that they had to have.

As always, my post game thoughts:

If the Panthers somehow make the playoffs this year, Peter DeBoer has to be Coach of the Year. The losing mentality that he has helped erase is nothing short of amazing.

Want to think of another reason for this change in thought process? Look no further than Cory Stillman. He makes his share of mistakes, but he didn't win Cups in Carolina and Tampa Bay by accident. You can't help but think he's in the locker room every night telling the boys they aren't out of it. It's also no coincidence that he has been instrumental in both of the Panthers comebacks against Toronto in the past week.

Maybe another reason for Florida's third period success: the rolling of four lines. While most other teams attempt to play their fourth lines as little as possible, the Cats feel quite comfortable with a grind line that wins many of their shifts. This helps to keep legs fresh, and helps them battle to the end.

Speaking of that fourth line, congrats on your goal Brett McLean, but you're still horrible. It took him just getting in the way of a shot to get his fourth of the year. He is the worst plus/minus player on the team, and is the one player that needs to go the most.

As for Nick Boynton, how in the world did he get the third star? He had a brutal game, directly leading to the Leafs second goal. His shot off the boards that led to Horton's goal was pure luck, and it's tough to know he is commanding three million dollars of our salary. I don't expect him to be back next year, at least not with a significant pay drop.

Speaking of Horton this time, is anyone else fed up with him? If he doesn't have five seconds to load up his shot, he can't get it off. Most of the time he gets his stick checked, or he passes off a golden opportunity. His goal tonight was just being in the right place at the right time, and it took a near empty net for him to grab the goal. Someone with his talent is significantly underachieving.

What a great win tonight, but this effort will not get the Panthers two points in Raleigh. In the battle for eighth place, the Panthers are going to need a complete 60 minute effort. Here's hoping we get it.

Instead of just chasing down Buffalo for 7th, it's nice to see us with the Rangers and Canadiens in our view all of a sudden as well. Battling for four spots is a lot safer than battling for two.

With just about every team around the Cats playing tomorrow, I will try to get another post in soon. We need a lot of help on the out of town scoreboard, but most importantly, we just need to keep finding ways to win.

Panthers playoff chances: 69% (Trending Up)

Playoffs or bust.