March 18
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Panthers winger Nathan Horton is expected to play Thursday for the first time since fracturing the tibia in his left leg nine weeks ago. Coach Pete DeBoer said after Wednesday's practice that he's hopeful Horton will be in the lineup against the Coyotes, barring any setbacks at morning skate. "I feel good," Horton said. "I do still have a little bit of pain, but it doesn't make it any worse when I skate." Horton said he's not sure when the pain will go away — "maybe not for a while," he noted — but added that it won't get any worse by pushing off on that leg. He has missed the past 17 games. The Panthers are 7-9-1 in his absence. Before the injury, Horton was on pace to eclipse his career ..."
March 17
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Earlier this season, Panthers forward Gregory Campbell was struck in the face by a puck after purposely getting in the way of a screaming slap shot. On the bright side, he blocked the shot. "If you're going to kill penalties, you've got to be prepared to block shots. It's not the most glamorous job," Campbell said. "But the guys on the team recognize that when you get a block from anybody, it really sends energy through the team." While this season has been mostly disappointing for the Panthers, one positive has been the team's shot blocking. They entered Tuesday's game against the Capitals with 1,148, second in the NHL only to the Islanders (1,179). In large part, that success is owed to ..."
March 17
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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What little chance the Panthers had left of making the playoffs probably dissolved with Tuesday's blowout loss to the Capitals. Of course, you could argue it wouldn't even matter if the Panthers grabbed that eighth spot. That's because they'd face the top-seeded Capitals in the first round, and as this 7-3 thumping at BankAtlantic Center again showed, they're no match for the NHL's best team. Washington swept the six-game season series by a combined margin of 33-15 and won four of those games, including Tuesday's, without Alexander Ovechkin. "We knew it was a big game. We just didn't put forth the effort we needed to win," defenseman Bryan McCabe said. "They dominated us all year and ..."
March 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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With four home games this week, sidelined forward Nathan Horton's return could provide a major boost to the Panthers' scant playoff aspirations. Horton, who has missed the past 16 games since breaking his left leg on Jan. 21, skated with his teammates for the first time Monday morning at Incredible Ice. "I've got my fingers crossed that we'll get him in the lineup this homestand ,'' said Panthers coach Pete DeBoer, who ruled out Horton's return against the Capitals on Tuesday night. "Even in practice you can see his size and speed, his skill level, so we welcome him back. "We've got a lot of hockey left, and things can change in a matter of a week.'' Horton is the team's second leading ..."
March 15
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Panthers center Shawn Matthias had the best view of Bryan Allen's winning goal going in Saturday as he screened Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss with his 6-foot-4, 213-pound frame. It was a prime example of Matthias asserting himself. For the first time in his young career, he has started to make himself seen on the ice. Saturday, he scored the tying goal in the third period — his sixth of the season — after battling for a loose puck in the slot and was on the ice for all three Panthers goals. He also finished with three hits. The game before in Colorado, he got his most ice time of the season (17:09). "Last year and early this year I was timid with the puck," Matthias said. "Now I'm starting ..."
March 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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After his team was forced to play in its own end so much of the first period, Panthers coach Pete DeBoer went into the dressing room for intermission and thought about what to do. "Punt," he recalled, laughing. Down two goals to the team with the second-most points in the NHL, the Panthers didn't retreat. They rallied. Keith Ballard scored in the second period, Shawn Matthias tied it in the third and Bryan Allen fired in the winning goal in overtime as the Panthers stunned the Sharks 3-2 Saturday afternoon at HP Pavilion. It was the Panthers' first win in San Jose since Jan. 8, 2000. Coming off a shutout loss to Colorado, they ended this three-game trip as they started it in Minnesota – ..."
March 13
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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It's hard for the Panthers not to be discouraged by the prospects that lie ahead for them. They're eight points out of eighth in the Eastern Conference with 16 games left, and they're contending with five teams for that spot. Their next two opponents — the Sharks at HP Pavilion on Saturday and the Capitals at home Tuesday — boast the most points in the NHL, and the two after that, Phoenix and Buffalo, are in the top four of their conferences. It wasn't Thursday's 3-0 loss at Colorado that put the Panthers in this position, defenseman Keith Ballard said. "You look back — losing six, seven in a row and not showing up some nights — we put ourselves in this position," he said. "But until the ..."
March 12
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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While he pedals the exercise bike upstairs in the Avalanche's practice facility, goalie Craig Anderson can stare out of the windows and see the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. "I don't know how much better it can get," he said. Anderson needed a change of scenery. As much as he liked playing for the Panthers and living in South Florida, where he could race his go-karts and hit the beach during winter, the view behind starter Tomas Vokoun wasn't picturesque. Most nights, he watched from the bench, ballcap turned backward, waiting for his next turn to show what he can do. So this past summer, even though the Panthers expressed interest in keeping him, Anderson left as a free agent and signed ..."
March 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Panthers defenseman Keith Ballard's return to the Twin Cities was just as he hoped it would be. "Yeah, the parade was good," Ballard joked after Tuesday's morning skate. Ballard, a native of Baudette, Minn., who won two national championships (2001-02, 2002-03) at the University of Minnesota, guessed he's played 15 games at the Xcel Energy Center. Tuesday marked Ballard's first game here as a Panther -- he came in with 10 points (one goal) in 13 career games against the Wild. His family, which owns a busy fishing resort where visitors come for ice fishing in the winter and guided charter tours in the summer, drove about 350 miles to watch. "I have a lot of good memories in this building, ..."
March 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild came into Tuesday's game with the same slim shot at making the playoffs, but at least a shot of doing so. With both teams seven points out in their respective conferences, neither could afford a loss. Predictably, the game went to overtime -- then a shootout. The Panthers, who had lost seven of their past eight shootouts, rallied with two goals in the third and beat the Wild 3-2 at Xcel Energy Center to start a three-game trip against Western Conference teams. "We talked before the game that it's a big road trip for our club," defenseman Bryan McCabe said. "We need some wins, we've got to keep pace, keep climbing and hope other teams lose.""
March 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Winter Olympics not only gave United States hockey a jolt, but gave Panthers defenseman Bryan McCabe time to recharge his batteries and help resuscitate Florida's offense. Following the two-week break, the fresh-legged 34-year-old captain has notched eight points in three games, the most by any defenseman in the NHL over that stretch. He had a season-high four points in the 7-4 victory over Philadelphia and followed that with a three-point outing in Saturday's 4-1 win over Carolina, the most prolific two-game output of his 14-year career. "We've had a tough time scoring goals the whole year,'' said McCabe, who earned the NHL's weekly third-star honor for his goal and seven assists. "I ..."
March 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The past two games have been a revival for the Panthers, especially winger Michael Frolik. He scored two goals Wednesday and notched another Saturday against the Hurricanes. Before that, he had gone 16 games without a goal and bounced around, playing at times on the third line. Inconsistency has defined the 22-year-old's second NHL season. "Everything was new last year for you and nobody expected anything from you, so in that way it was easy," he said. "But this year for sure the pressure is higher. Everybody expects more goals than last year and that I will play better. Like the coaches say, you have to have the mind to always step forward." With 18 games left, Frolik has 16 goals (third ..."
March 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Center Shawn Matthias has shuttled back and forth between the Panthers and AHL Rochester plenty these past two seasons. His current stay — his third-call up of the season — is his longest, and he has to be encouraged about the future. After playing minimal minutes most of this season, he went into Saturday's game against the Hurricanes having logged more than 10 minutes in seven consecutive games. "I really like the way Shawn's played," coach Pete DeBoer said. "Every time he's gone down and up, which has been a lot in the last 18 months I've been here, he's gotten a little better and the message has started to sink in." Saturday marked Matthias' 16th consecutive game with the Panthers. He ..."
March 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Panthers have played some of their best hockey the past few seasons in March. By that time, they've fallen far enough out of playoff contention that there's been no pressure on them. It's the same scenario this season, and while it might be too late, the Panthers appear poised to go on another run. Saturday, they beat the Hurricanes 4-1 at BankAtlantic Center, following up Wednesday's impressive win against the Flyers with a performance that included a career-high two goals from Kamil Kreps, another by Michael Frolik and solid goaltending by Tomas Vokoun. "With what we did at the trade deadline, it's maybe loosened the guys up a little bit because obviously no one expects to win a lot ..."
March 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Long after other Panthers had showered and left Friday, three lockers next to each other belonging to defensemen Dmitry Kulikov, Jason Garrison and Keaton Ellerby were empty. They were still on the ice working. Although all three are rookies, the 19-year-old Kulikov established himself long ago. As for Garrison and Ellerby, who've been given an extended stay because of the trades of Jordan Leopold and Dennis Seidenberg this week, these final 19 games will determine where they fit in. Ellerby has played just three NHL games. Garrison has played 21, including 16 consecutive while Kulikov was out with a knee injury earlier this season. Coach Pete DeBoer noted this week Garrison "probably ..."
March 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Newly acquired right wing Byron Bitz's greatest memory of his fledgling NHL career came last year when he notched his only multiple-goal game against the Panthers in a 6-1 victory by the Bruins and the TD Banknorth Garden faithful began chanting, 'We want Bitz,' with under a minute to play. "All of a sudden the chants started,'' Bitz happily recalled Thursday after participating in his first practice with the Panthers since being acquired from the Bruins Wednesday along with minor league winger Craig Weller for veteran defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. "No one could make it out but it got louder and louder. Everyone on the bench was like, 'It's awesome.' They were loving it and the coach threw ..."
March 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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And so, once again, the Panthers are giving up on a season, and I'm back to writing the same old column: What's their plan? And is it a good plan? A bad plan? A secret plan? Does the plan start with fighting (three fights in the opening three minutes Wednesday in standing up to Philadelphia)? More importantly: Who's running this plan? I've written this so often, I'm typing in my sleep. There's just one difference this time.The Panthers have new owners. That's the change. The chance. The hope. And so here, once again, is the offer to the Cliff Viner and Stu Siegel to save the Panthers. It's simple, really."
March 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Maybe it was the tranquillity from weeks of pressure leading up to the trade deadline deflating. Or the heightened emotion of playing the Flyers, who transformed into a hated rival this season the moment Mike Richards rammed David Booth's head with his shoulder. The Panthers beat the Flyers 7-4 at BankAtlantic Center on Wednesday night, finally showing the determination and desperation they've mostly lacked since mid-January. Booth got his personal revenge against Richards and his teammates unleashed their frustrations from a season-long seven-game losing streak. "This team's been through a lot the last two or three weeks," coach Pete DeBoer said. "Hopefully we've moved beyond that ..."
March 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg was traded to the Bruins this morning for wingers Byron Bitz and Craig Weller and a second-round pick (Boston previously acquired that pick from Tampa Bay) in this year's draft. The Bruins also acquire from the Panthers the rights to defenseman Matt Bartkowski, who plays at Ohio State. With Seidenberg's departure, the Panthers have called up Keaton Ellerby from AHL Rochester for tonight's game against the Flyers. We're expected to talk to Seidenberg within the next hour. Will update with his thoughts on heading to Boston."
March 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Panthers talked about roaring out of the Olympic break and being the hottest team in the league the rest of this season. The fact they had lost six consecutive games, were 12th in the Eastern Conference and had traded one of their top defensemen the day before would be put behind them. It took just one game for that enthusiasm to evaporate. Already operating with a small margin for error while trying to move up into playoff position, every game like Tuesday night's 4-2 loss to the Thrashers is amplified. "I don't know what to say, really," said winger David Booth, who scored his first goal in eight games since returning from a concussion. "It's really frustrating. The guys want to win ..."
March 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Panthers defenseman Jordan Leopold was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday for a second-round pick in this year's draft. As of Monday morning, the deal was pending league approval. Teams were allowed to start making deals again at midnight (Sunday into Monday) when the Olympic break roster freeze was lifted. It was expected the veteran Leopold, 29, would be moved by Wednesday's 3 p.m. trade deadline since he's set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season."
March 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Even for a goalie as laid back as Scott Clemmensen, it hasn't been easy to stay patient. Especially since he hasn't made the impression he hoped he would in his first year with the Panthers. Having sat the past quarter of this season watching from the bench, Clemmensen finally will make his next start Tuesday in Atlanta -- the Panthers' first game after the Olympic break – coach Pete DeBoer announced last week. He gets the start because DeBoer wants to give Tomas Vokoun added rest – the same reason Clemmensen received his last start Dec. 27. Vokoun has started all 21 games since, in part because of his stellar play in goal, but also because DeBoer hasn't been confident about playing ..."