Another forward lost to injury, and what is this team all about anyway?

Wins don't come cheap - or often - for the Panthers, and last night's victory was no exception: winger Richard Zednik will be out several weeks with an arm/elbow injury. Any chance JM's been looking for a forward? Now he'll need two.

On a similar note, and it may sound blasphemous, but I worry that last night's win against Carolina might actually hurt the club in the long run. One victory, though huge, troubles me in the sense that the Cats were rock bottom bad, looking up at the entire league above them in the standings. They're against a wall, players waived, threats made, and they scratch out a hard-fought and solid "W". What will we see tomorrow? Do they revert to the same-old same-old against the Devils, now that they've gotten a win to carry them for the next three weeks, while potential roster moves - read: trades - favor the Panthers less as each day moves forward?

Or have they finally gotten the message? All too many times we've seen this pattern: the Cats lose a string of games, season's slipping away, the hope is lost, and then we get a night that stirs the soul and the imagination. You come away from it, jaw on the floor, saying "They've figured it out." The next night, Vokoun (or Auld, or Belfour, or Luongo) is left for dead. There's never any progress. It's like the wins are accidents (and the players need to understand: we've been watching this a lot longer than they've been playing here). Last night was a tremendous game for any hockey fan to watch; close, tense, very few penalties (none, in fact, for Carolina), a divisional match you dream of. The Panthers earned every bit of that win. Who will show up tomorrow?

Cats Win 3-2

Nice game. Off to bed. Official TLB coin-minting in the morning. Still miffed about FSN. Go Cats.

Game Day! Prepping for our favorite opponent

Pipe down, Carolina fans...I haven't trudged out the tired Hartford references, or "Diver Down" flags, nor would I stoop so low as to mention last night's performance at home against Nashville. Need to turn things around for your club? Having a tough stretch? You've come to the right place. I've already bitten off what was left of my fingernails so I won't have to during the third period.

Not really news to anyone, but ex-Cane Cory Stillman remains out for at least another week with concussion stuff. That shouldn't be a problem since the rest of the roster has really picked up their offensive play in his absence. Then again he hadn't scored in six games, so it's a moot point. The evil plan is coming together.

A couple of great Hurricanes'-related sites to check out before the game: CanesCountry and Carolina on Ice.

AccuScore Prediction: Hurricanes over Cats, 2.7-2.5 - and more Belak

Monday! Been a couple of days since the last defeat, so we at TLB are excited for the next one, tonight's divisional match at the BAC against Carolina (11-8-2, 24P). For those of you uppity-types with mongo televisions - like, um, me - the game is on FSN in HD. Few things in life are more precious than watching the Panthers blow a third period lead, with seconds to go, in high definition.

Silly! Florida doesn't get leads! But I digress.

AccuScore has the 'Canes topping our Cats, but not by much. Remember kids...this is a simulation based on current rosters (no, Belak's not in there) and run 10,000 times. The result is an average number of goals scored. Get over there and vote for the winner.

The Belak Conspiracy talk continues on in full-force. On Frozen Pond has a rather spirited debate taking place in the comments section, following George Richards' fantastic blog entry from yesterday. The Sun-Sentinel also asks some relevant questions. And for the record, here's the club's canned response. I agree the waiving was pushed by Coach Pete far more than Uncle Jacques. Wanna send a message? Drop the guy who rides the pine. Uh oh...he's popular with his teammates...might want to rethink the strategy. Martin didn't all of a sudden decide to 180 his acquisition - and contract offer soon after - of the guy. If this is part of a grand plan that's nestled up DeBoer's sleeve, can I assume there may be an upside? He's now got 19 dudes in The Room who are even less happy than they were during the last game. No, it's not a popularity contest. Yes, they are professionals and deal with moves like this one all the time. But the club is at a critical stage, really this time. Coach Pete has had the goodwill of ownership, management, and the fans. Almost free reign to run the ship his way, without consequences. I have yet to criticize the guy, since he can only work with what he's given. However, I detect a subtle shift in the air around the team. Something simply different. We're used to losing...but there's an underlying stink that's tough to identify. There's an awful lot of work to do. This whole Belak thing might just work...or not. Do these guys know what they're doing? How much more faith are we to lend them? It all begins - again - this evening.

Good thing they don't have any sort of rivalry with their opponent.

AccuScore Prediction: Bolts over Cats, 2.5 to 2.2

I'll spare everyone the details and simply let fly that AccuScore's simulation states the Lightning will score more goals than the Panthers. No one outside of the Ice Palace or whatever it's called this week will see it, thanks to Versus and their "exclusive" game of the week. Ooooh...can't wait to forgo my local hockey team's divisional game and suffer through Montreal at Carolina. At least I know who to root for.

Panthers Beat Themselves, Lose 6-4 to Hurricanes

A beautiful - really, beautiful - start led to a tragic downfall as the Cats, up 2-0 just after six minutes into the contest, unwound, falling behind 3-2 and never regaining the lead.

David Booth? High-freaking-light, out-of-your-seat goal to open the scoring. He was everywhere the entire game. They mostly all were, except for the "entire game" part. Until that first Carolina tagging. Then it was back on the heels, semi-defensive, utterly familiar stuff. DeBoer-style went Martin-style. Meaning no-style.

You could almost feel, through the unquestionably non-HD broadcast, the life slipping away and the Cats receding into last year. Or the year before. Or the one before that.

Granted, McCabe - who seemed to be logging lots of minutes, with several nifty offensive plays - was lost to what first appeared to be a leg injury during a check, though later he complained of back pains. But that wasn't the reason.

Bouwmeester was otherworldly, completely living up to his billing, with few mistakes. Always in motion, jumping into the play countless times...deep...and never did one feel he was out of his element staring down Cam Ward before firing on him from 10 feet, on the rush, defenders vainly attempting simply to keep pace. Gorgeous. Looked more comfortable down low in the offensive zone than several of the forwards. Sign. Him. ASAP. Or at least come January when you're allowed to. Just do it, JM...whatever it takes. One word: Bourque.

Pete DeBoer looked composed, if a bit nervous, at least to those of us who have watched him over the past few months. He's definitely - with a capital "D" - got this club on the right path, strategy-wise. The first ten minutes of the game were solid, undeniable proof. As a Panthers fan, I hadn't seen a more up-tempo, attack-the-opposition-at-all-costs, get-the-puck-out-of-the-defensive-zone-in-one-pass style of play since, well, Carolina, which is a terrific starting point. They out-Caned the Canes...until experience and breeding took command for the home team. The man knows his NHL hockey.

Who doesn't know NHL hockey? Many of his minions, and that's not a dig. The boys looked just flat worn out after the first ten minutes (see a pattern here?). As a serious observer of this club for four years, I can honestly declare that I have never witnessed a hungrier, more dedicated, athletic, and cohesive Panthers team than that which I saw in the first period. The downfall was so dramatic, so automatic - for a Cat fan - as to be almost funny.

The play drifted. The first 10 of the opening period featured play almost exclusively in Carolina's zone. Afterward? It migrated...to the wrong end...and stayed there, with increasing regularity. You could just see the loss coming.

Oh, there were a few heroes. Booth with his rapidly-stereotypical theater. Horton gave us hope late, with a goal and further inspired play. Late. Ballard was aggressive, The Beach steady. Dvorak figured rather prominently. Allen had some good, physical shows of force against the glass. McLean? Exactly as promised. Zednick? Hasn't lost a step.

Otherwise? Vokoun can be faulted for three of the five goals (one was an EN). Weiss was invisible. Belak (no fights) took two penalties, the first of which resulted in the Hurricanes' season-opening goal. Cory Murphy is out of his element (why now? No clue. I like the guy, but it ain't happening.)

Don't get me wrong: None of this applied before the end of the first period. It all went downhill THAT FAST. Of course, Carolina is an experienced, successful, disciplined hockey club, and that shined brightly through the remaining two periods. But it's rather telling that these issues did crop up, and as I said earlier to The Lovely Corrie, it's better to get your rear end handed to you now, instead of late March. DeBoer won't stand for it in either case.

Anyway, an entertaining game, if only because we're watching so many new elements coming together, trying to mesh, and become a cohesive whole. Even after a loss, the baby steps to legitimacy are kinda kewl to be a part of. All the new players, new coaches, new philosophies, strategies, etc. have to take their toll. The playoffs won't happen overnight.

Their entire on-ice formula has been changed in a matter of three weeks, with no games that counted, and plenty of younglings to clog the lineup. The situation will improve, and quickly.

Congrats to the Hurricanes for an inspired come-from-behind victory.

Go Whale.

GAME DAY! Cats at Hurricanes

Another season of Panthers hockey - Pete DeBoer style - is born. Tough economy? Election-fatigue? BS. The world is a perfect place.

Seems like a year ago that I spent an entire day - July 1st, in fact - monitoring the web for what promised to be an exciting, action-packed start to unrestricted free agency. I was, needless to say, not amused by the lack of movement early on, but the Cory Stillman signing boosted my spirits toward nightfall. Once announced late in the day, Marian Hossa to Detroit, for one year, was the crescendo. That's stuff you just can't make up.

GM/coach Jacques Martin is "simply" the GM now, a move that brought a chorus of opinions from the fanbase. Love him or hate him, the Cats haven't been this solid in a decade, due to his diligence and steadfast decision to stay the course, partnered with an ownership group willing to commit.

We've been through the draft, said goodbye to longtime captain Olli Jokinen, hello to Keith Ballard and The Beach, and met Jacob Markstrom.

Peter DeBoer has installed a new offensive system, but more importantly, a confidence sorely lacking.

The Rochester Americans are now wholly ours, allowing new bench boss Ben Groulx the luxury of mirroring the strategies of the big club. Translation: kids called up can step right in, without wasting precious time getting acclimated to a foreign strategy.

The league's worst kept secret - Bryan McCabe for Mike Van Ryn - came to fruition and both sides appear content or better. I know I'm happy.

What is certain to be the NHL's Feel Good Story of the Year - Richard Zednik - is ready to go, perhaps on the first line.

The surprise of training camp - Anthony Stewart - has earned a spot on the big club...at least to start the year. The kid has come a long way. I gave him up for dead at the start of camp. Awesome.

Let's do this thing.

The locals, yes the Palm Beach Post too (if the Cats make the playoffs, the bandwagon starts at the doorstep of the cheapskate Post) all come armed with articles ringing in the new season.

From the Miami Herald, GR gets down with coach DeBoer. Also, Richards breaks word that Shawn Matthias has been sent to Rochester, but Michael Frolik has not. Lastly, the changes in personnel, and in attitude, are highlighted.

At The Sun-Sentinel, a commentary by Dave Hyde profiles the potential impact of Jay Bouwmeester heading into a season which may or may not be his last with the organization. Steve Gorten details the pressure on Nathan Horton.

The Palm Beach Post's Greg Stoda offers up a preview of the team's goal scoring potential now that Jokinen is in the desert.

And from behind enemy lines, the (Raleigh) News-Observer sets the tone for a new season in Carolina, and once again, evidence that the Canes haven't forgotten the last time they hosted the Panthers.

The season must be here...we've got odds! And I have no idea what they mean, but here they are, courtesy of SBR Forum. A Q & A session with Nathan Horton is also provided, pushing the outer edge of the envelope with Mike Wallace-style hardball questions, such "Who's your favorite cartoon character?"





More to come, kids...

Hurricanes Looking Forward to Friday's Home Opener; NC National Guard on Alert

Apparently our friends in Carolina have not forgotten their laughable end to last season's playoff hopes.

"Opening is always fun, the house is always rocking," says center Eric Staal. "We've got some ex-teammates and some guys we've gotten to know over the years, so it should be a good game."

"Plus," Staal adds, "it's Florida."

Get some.