OTTAWA SENATORS: 10-13-4 (24 PTS.) vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS: 7-15-5 (19 PTS).

TSN GAMEDAY

GAMEDAY SONG: It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City. Bruce Sprinsteen & The E Street Band

If there was ever a game where the Panthers have an opportunity to find their offensive touch, it’s this one.  The Ottawa Senators come to South Florida having given up a whopping 90 goals, which makes them 5th worst in the NHL.  While Ottawa doesn’t appear to have too much trouble scoring goals (they have found the back of the net 78 times), their porous defence and below average goaltending are the main reasons they are in the position they’re in today.

Their defence, with the exception of Erik Karlsson and Chris Phillips features a group of players that are unproven and genrally eratic.  I know that sounds familiar, so I’m not trying to be the pot calling the kettle black as we can sympathize with their woes.  As for goaltending, Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner are sharing the load, and doing a fair job with it.  Lehner who has a decent GAA (2.44) and solid save percentage (.944) is only 4-5-2 with those numbers.  Anderson, the former Florida Panther who has typically owned Florida in goal, could finally be ripe for picking.  His numbers (3.51 GAA and .894 save percentage) look as gaudy as they did once upon a time ago when he was with the Chicago Blackhawks.  Anderson has missed time this season with a head injury, and is 2-4-0 in his last six starts which includes giving up 4 goals on 15 shots agains Vancouver this past Friday.  A game in which he played less than half of.

As mentioned earlier the offence for Ottawa is potent, and the Panthers would be wise to play a smart game.  Bobby Ryan leads the Senators in goals with 13, and Jason Spezza has 10.  Even though they no longer have Daniel Alfredsson to punish the Panthers, Ottawa still has a number of scoring threats.  Ryan also has five power play goals this season which indicates that the Panthers need to stay out of the penalty box.  When you click on the link above for the TSN GameDay, you’ll see a few Ottawa players that have been consistently “hot”.  Karlsson, Ryan and Spezza are all dangerous players, and will need to be neutralized if Florida is to have a chance.

Florida played a strong game on Saturday against the Penguins, yet you’d never know it by the 5-1 loss they absorbed.  That game was a perfect example of how a good team takes advantages of mistakes and pounces on opportunity.  The Panthers have played better since the coaching change 10 games ago, yet the inconsistency and mistakes are still evident.  Not as often as they were before, yet still there.

The Panthers still struggle to put together a solid 60 minutes, and still seem to start games out trailing.  There isn’t enough offensive firepower to over come that night after night.  The more they fall behind, the less confident they seem to play, and the more scrambling they seem to do.  Scottie Upshall who is doing his best to resurrect his career here leads the Panthers in points with 14, can’t do it alone.  There are a few players who need to find their scoring touch, and find it soon.  Some of their names rhyme with Shawn Matthias, Scott Gomez,Tomas Flieschman and Jonathan Huberdeau.  Those four players alone have combined for 12 goals in a combined 99 games this season. Ouch.

Huberdeau, last season’s Calder Trophy winner seems to be “fighting it” this season, as he has only five goals on the year.  There are times when he passes instead of shoots, and that shows a lack of confidence.  Florida needs him to be more aggressive and make better decisions with the puck.  He can worry about being nice to his teammates at some other point.  Scottie Upshall, who deserves a few accolades for jhis performance, especially since Peter Horachek has taken over, has 9 points in his last 9 games.

Talking about lack of scoring here in Sunrise is a common theme, but the fact of the matter is, no matter how good Tim Thomas is in goal, he cannot be expected to steal 82 games, or at least the 60 or so he’ll likely play in.   Since Peter Horachek has taken over the Panthers have had spurts of playing better, but unless they get themselves on a winning streak, it won’t matter.  We can talk about effort all we want.  You don’t get points in the standings for good effort.

Thanks for reading.  We welcome your comments and opinions.

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