Monday, February 16, 2009

One Man Show

There are some players that we play against that I don't like, and continue to dislike after the game is over. A guy like Sidney Crosby, whose multiple cheap shots and overall whiny demeanor come into play, would be on that list. But then there are others that I just don't like to play against. A guy like Alex Ovechkin would fit under that category.

Two and a half minutes away from a very large point in the standings, Ovechkin pulled out another one from his bag of tricks, en route to a hat trick, and beyond the margin of victory. Washington is far from a one man team, but without Ovechkin yesterday, we win that game easily. I said that this was our best chance against Washington for the rest of the season, and I stand by that. This is a team that I don't think we can beat again this year.

Blame the loss on whatever you want, but the only real thing that deserves this blame is the powerplay unit. Florida is notorious for getting the short end of the stick from the officials, but wound up with eight powerplays yesterday. To only score on one of them is an embarrassing 12.5%. If this doesn't get fixed, Florida will be hard pressed to make the playoffs, let alone do well in them.

In the past, all it took was one loss and it seemed like the season was doomed. I don't think that is the mentality anymore, but with a brutal stretch of nothing but division leaders and the equally strong Blackhawks, the Panthers really have to avoid a lengthy losing streak. If Florida can play .500 hockey just for this small stretch, and then turn it on again when the schedule eases up a little in March, they should be in decent shape. However, if the Cats can't find a way to beat these teams, they may find themselves needing to make another run in March.

My current thoughts:

-$#&@#*&% Washington &$&#$*&#%. Yeah.

-If Nathan Horton's shot moves a quarter of an inch, we probably win. Hockey is a very frustrating game sometimes.

-Forward, I mean defenseman, Mike Green didn't score against us! There's one positive.

-Anyone else feel we're the only team of consequence that has lost to the Islanders lately? They're getting blown out of the water left and right, and you can't help but feel like those four points we left in Long Island could come back to hurt us. Please beat the Penguins today!

-Although we didn't lose too much ground on the teams in front of us, Carolina's playoff chances went up 10.7% yesterday. We're still nowhere near the point where we can concentrate on seeding. We have to make the playoffs first. It's a journey that is not nearly complete.

-Florida is really going to need to use their up-tempo style over the next few games. They have a lot of home games strung together, and especially against a road-logged team like Chicago, we have to carry the play to win. We don't match up on paper with any of these upcoming opponents.

Make sure you still get on out to the BankAtlantic Center this week. The Cats need to feed off the energy. Let's give 'em that seventh man.

Panthers playoff chances: 77.1% (Trending down)

Playoffs or bust.

2 comments:

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  2. That Nathan Horton shot rang off the post SO loud there last night. He should've had that but no, of course not. It's Nathan Horton. Hitting the post is his specialty.

    And... whaddaya know?! The Islanders actually beat Pittsburgh. Sucks that Pittsburgh was able to get a point, but oh well. At least they didn't get two, like we expected. The Rangers lost to the Blues too! Whoooo!!

    I wish I could go to the Devils and Blackhawks games but I can never make it for Monday-Thursday games because of work. I'm excited for Saturday's game against the Bruins though. I'll be there for that one.

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