Panthers Close Homestand With A Whimper

The only solace the Florida Panthers can take from Friday night’s 4-0 loss to the St Louis Blues is that they don’t have to face them again this season. In the two meetings, the Blues have put in on the Cats to the tune of a 11-0 combined score.

The loss means the Panthers end their six-game homestand with a 1-3-2 record, taking four points out of a possible twelve. They managed two goals or less in five of those six games. The only win came in the shootout against the Minnesota Wild.

There’s nothing worth talking about in this game as we’ve seen this far too many times this season. When Coach Kevin Dineen singles out three players for actually playing hard (Mike Weaver, Jesse Winchester, Shawn Matthias), you know there’s something seriously wrong here. Something has to change. Quickly. But what? A big trade ala the David Booth trade from October 2011 that got everyone’s attention? A change of assistant coaches or the head coach? Are any of those things enough to stop this downward spiral? Impossible to say but, as a fan, you would at least like to see SOMETHING done. It’s inexcusable that a group of players who know they’re not superstars go out night after night and slog through most of every game. And, in this case, you can’t blame fatigue as they haven’t played a game since Sunday.

Logic would dictate a shakeup is coming, it’s just a question of what and when. If Saturday’s game in Washington (who won 7-0 on Friday) turns out like any of last season’s meetings between the two teams (i.e. not good), it may come within days.

And it should.

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