November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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As Panthers coach Pete DeBoer stood inside Joe Louis Arena looking out at the ice Thursday, he was struck with memories from long ago. DeBoer was an assistant coach to Paul Maurice with the Detroit Junior Red Wings when they won the Ontario Hockey League title in 1995, drawing huge crowds while playing home games in Joe Louis Arena. It was the start of DeBoer's coaching career. He eventually became coach of the Red Wings when they became the Detroit Whalers and then Plymouth Whalers. "It's a nice area. My friends live right across the river, and I've got a lot of friends and family here so it's a little bit of a homecoming," DeBoer said. DeBoer's favorite memory in Joe Louis Arena? A ..."
November 19
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Panthers winger David Booth has stopped exercising after suffering a setback in his rehab last week. Coach Pete DeBoer said Booth, who suffered a concussion Oct. 24 in Philadelphia, had exercised for a few days without post-concussion symptoms, but they returned when he increased intensity of his workouts. "We've kind of taken our foot off the gas and given him a few days off before we look to go back at it again," DeBoer said Wednesday after the morning skate. "But that's anticipated. We knew going through this process there was going to be good days and bad." DeBoer and Booth had talking about him possibly coming on this three-game trip so he could attend Friday's game against the ..."
November 19
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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When the Panthers played the Sabres earlier this season, they were burned for three goals in the first five minutes and decidedly defeated. Then again, that was the seventh game, and up to that point the Panthers couldn't have been any worse of a team than they were, coach Pete DeBoer said. They haven't been any better this season than they were Wednesday night. They not only held off the Sabres late, but scored three goals in the final two-plus minutes for an impressive 6-2 win at HSBC Arena that drew loud boos from the few fans who stayed to the end. "We're starting to look more and more like the team I think we should look like," said DeBoer, whose team won for the sixth time in nine ..."
November 18
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Although the Panthers have fared much better in shootouts this season compared to last year when their 3-8 record clearly cost them a playoff berth, their three meager backhand attempts to score on Kings goalie Jon Quick in Monday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Kings had some wondering how coach Pete DeBoer selects his shooters. DeBoer laughed when he admitted that he doesn't spend much time on selecting his shootout lineup. "That's usually not part of our pregame preparation,'' said DeBoer, whose team is 4-2 in shootouts this season, including 2-1 in the last three games. "We really want to concentrate on winning the game in 60 minutes as a staff and as a team. We'll start talking about that ..."
November 18
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Although the Panthers have fared much better in shootouts this season, their three meager backhand attempts to score on Kings goalie Jon Quick in Monday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Kings had some wondering how coach Pete DeBoer selects his shooters. Despite four of Florida's seven victories coming in shootouts, DeBoer laughed when he admitted that he doesn't spend much time selecting his shootout lineup. "That's usually not part of our pregame preparation,'' said DeBoer, whose team is 4-2 in shootouts this season, including 2-1 in the last three games. Last year their 3-8 record clearly cost them a playoff berth. "We really want to concentrate on winning the game in 60 minutes as a staff ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The two Boca Raton businessmen taking control of the Florida Panthers said Friday they plan to bring a wininng culture, accountability and strong leadership to a hockey team that has lacked those qualities for years. In their first public comments since Alan Cohen agreed to cede majority ownership, Cliff Viner and Stu Siegel said they have opened lines of communication between the team's business and hockey operations. They promise to be accessible to team employees and fans and to create a stronger relationship with Broward County, Sunrise and other South Florida officials. "I think it starts from the top," said Siegel, who oversees the Panthers Foundation and works regularly in his ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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No one has been a harsher critic of Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun than coach Pete DeBoer. The demanding DeBoer, whose patience with goalies is about that of college football coach Steve Spurrier with quarterbacks, has held Vokoun to a high standard – in part because he's making $5.7 million per season – and doled out little praise. But after Thursday's performance in Boston, in which Vokoun posted his third shutout in his past four starts, DeBoer credited him repeatedly, noting he got the team through a rough second period and deserved two points, and "it was nice to get them for him." Vokoun finished with 40 saves against Boston. "He played a hell of a game," Bruins forward Shawn Thornton ..."
November 13
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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When teammate Steven Reinprecht's shot hit the post, bounced off the back of Bruins goalie Tim Thomas' right leg and then off his blocker, Panthers' goalie Tomas Vokoun had the same reaction as just about every other person inside the Garden. "Oh, my God, it's never going to go in," Vokoun thought to himself. In the fourth round of the shootout, the puck finally crossed a goal line for the first time Thursday night. Cory Stillman scored against Thomas to give the Panthers a hard-fought 1-0 win on a night Vokoun recorded his third shutout in four games. "I was relieved," said Vokoun, who made 40 saves. "He deserved the two points tonight," coach Pete DeBoer said. "It was nice to get them ..."
November 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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His face was stitched up and he had some damage to his teeth, but for the most part Panthers forward Gregory Campbell "looked good" to Pete DeBoer when the coach saw him Monday morning. Pending the results of the CT scan, Campbell probably will play in the Panthers' next game Thursday in Boston despite being struck in the face by a puck Saturday."
November 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen says he's had to operate in survival mode with "total chaos" in front of him for the four games he's played with his new team. After allowing seven goals in Saturday's loss to the Capitals in Washington, D.C., including five in a third period he described as "like quicksand out there," Clemmensen said his teammates didn't protect the front of the net well. When the puck got there, he added, there was such a scramble by the Panthers that "it looked like a fire drill." Coach Pete DeBoer's response Sunday: "I understand where a goaltender who has let in [12] goals in his last two starts would be frustrated, but it's misdirected. "When things aren't going well, ..."
November 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Showered and dressed, Scott Clemmensen wiped his face with a towel before trying to explain what happened in the third period. "It's like Murphy's Law," the Panthers goalie said. "Anything that could go wrong went wrong for me out there." Clemmensen allowed five goals in the third period, one in which his team entered with a lead, and the Panthers lost to the Capitals 7-4 Saturday at Verizon Center a night after losing to them at BankAtlantic Center. "It's disheartening. Our guys played our butts off," coach Pete DeBoer said. "We did everything we didn't do last night in Florida. We won puck battles, we blocked shots. We were physically involved. We scored goals. We should win that game." ..."
November 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Alan Cohen's days as majority owner of the Panthers are numbered, as two partners in his ownership group are expected to take control of the team, sources said. Panthers Vice Chairman Cliff Viner and Managing Director Stu Siegel, both Boca Raton businessmen, have reached agreement to buy as much as half of Cohen's approximately 43 percent share of the team, a source said. They will become co-general partners, other sources said. The agreement has not been signed but is expected to be announced next week. Cohen is to retain a stake but will no longer be making team decisions. Panthers fans are desperate for change. The team has not made the playoffs since 2000, the longest playoff drought ..."
November 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Jose Theodore stopped 28 shots, Brian Pothier had a goal and two assists and the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Friday night to break a three-game losing streak. Brendan Morrison scored twice and Tyler Sloan added a goal for the Capitals (9-3-4) in the opening contest of home-and-home series with the Panthers."
November 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Florida Panthers winger David Booth said Thursday he expects to start exercising in the next day or two, though doctors won't allow him to do anything more strenuous than about 10 minutes on a bike. Booth has been restricted from physical activity since suffering his first-ever concussion Oct. 24 during a game against the Flyers in Philadelphia. He said he has gone for walks and relaxed in the pool. "You start to get anxious when you haven't done anything for so long," Booth said. "This is the longest I've ever gone without doing anything. I don't like it, but it is part of the process and you have to stick with the program." Booth said Thursday he felt much better than the days ..."
November 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Panthers' defenseman Bryan McCabe hasn't forgotten how nervous he was before his first NHL game 14 years ago against the Bruins in Boston. "I remember being across from Ray Borque and my legs were shaking during the anthem," said McCabe, who started his career with the Islanders and was in the starting lineup that night. "It was a dream come true." With a laugh, he added, "I think I had probably 10 penalty minutes, too, that game -- minors for tripping and hooking." Friday night, McCabe will play in his 1,000th career game. He'll become the seventh player to do so in a Panthers' sweater and first since Chris Gratton on March 22, 2007. Lyle Odelein, Greg Adams, Kirk Muller, Mike Foligno and ..."
November 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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There he was, camped out in front of the net, in the perfect place at the right time, as he has been so often the past three weeks. Steven Reinprecht didn't need to move to score the winning goal Wednesday night, just stand there and wait for Cory Stillman's shot to go in off his left shin pad. Reinprecht's goal a little more than five minutes into the third period led to the Panthers' 3-0 win against the Hurricanes at BankAtlantic Center — the third consecutive win for the Panthers and 10th straight loss for their Southeast Division rivals, who haven't won since beating the Panthers on Oct. 9 in Raleigh, N.C. "We found a way to get a win tonight," coach Pete DeBoer said. "It wasn't ..."
November 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Panthers coach Pete DeBoer and Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice, close friends for many years, exchanged text messages the other day about their early season predicaments. "I think misery loves company," DeBoer said with a laugh before Saturday's 4-0 win in St. Louis, "and neither of us is off to a great start. But the one thing we learned last year when both of us were sitting a long way outside of the playoffs is it's a long year and this is a marathon, not a sprint." The Hurricanes (2-8-3) lost their ninth consecutive game Sunday and are off to their worst start ever. The Panthers, despite back-to-back wins, are 4-7-1. The teams will play Wednesday at BankAtlantic Center. The Panthers, who ..."