On November 12th, the Florida Panthers announced that they have claimed forward Seth Griffith off waivers. A natural center, Griffith has shown that he has the ability to play all three forward positions. With the Panthers injury situation as it is, this could be the best chance for Griffith to show he has what it takes to excel at the NHL level.
Continue reading Seth Griffith Waiver Claim Smart Transaction For Florida Panthers
After the Florida Panthers’ season ended on Sunday night by a 2-1 loss in double overtime, fans and media brought specific attention to the referees. Specifically, how the series has been a highlight reel of terrible officiating that should have the National Hockey League reviewing each of the referees that have worked any of the six playoff games. This post is not being written to bash the referees.
This post has been written in order to review how the Panthers could have salvaged their season in a series that many around the league had predicted them to win.
Continue reading How The 2015-16 Florida Panthers’ Season Ended
On a night in which the Florida Panthers were defeated for the first time in over a month, that was not the biggest story of the night. After the Vancouver Canucks ended the Florida Panthers twelve game winning streak, something was said towards the Panthers bench and both benches cleared to the ice in something that has not happened much since the 1980’s. What happened between the Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks? Which team’s comments would you side with?
Continue reading In-Depth Analysis: Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks Engage In Post-Game Brawl
The Florida Panthers took the ice against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at the BB&T Center. The game featured Jonathan Huberdeau’s long-awaited first goal of the season, as well as strong performances by Vincent Trocheck and the team’s fourth line. While the team played a solid game, the Panthers lacked the desperation that they had in the final four minutes of the game. That lack of desperation throughout the game costed them in a 3-2 loss to Buffalo.
The Florida Panthers would travel to Anaheim to play the Ducks in their first meeting of the year. There would be goals, saves and a strong willed Fredrick Anderson. The Panthers would blow a lead late in the 3rd period and eventually be stunned in the shootout. Continue reading RatCap: Fredrik Anderson Stones Florida Panthers In 3-2 Shootout Loss
After their three game mini road trip, the Florida Panthers were back home to take on the Colorado Avalanche. The special team’s seemed to be ever so special for the Panthers, as they would score three power-play goals and one shorthanded goal to defeat the Avalanche 4-1. The win brings Florida’s record to a solid 5-3-1 (11 points) and comes at a good time, as the Boston Bruins (9 points) will be marching into Sunrise on Friday after a 6-0 shutout of the Arizona Coyotes. While early in the season, the game will serve as a hypothetical four-point game for the winner of that game so it will be pivotal that the Panthers come away with the win to put some distance between both teams in the standings.
Continue reading RatCap: Florida Panthers Special Teams Dominate In Win Over Colorado Avalanche
After being outplayed and outmatched their previous game in Chicago, the Florida Panthers seemed to play with a chip on their shoulders. The team would also be without first line center Aleksander Barkov due to a wrist injury suffered Thursday night during the Chicago Blackhawks game. To add some more intrigue to the match, Florida coach Gerard Gallant would tab backup goalie Al Montoya as the Panthers starter in net. After a delay of game penalty drawn by Alex Petrovic, the Stars would capitalize on the ensuing power play and score the first goal of the game. For a brief moment, it seemed as though the Panthers and fans watching at home would be in for a long night. However, the Panthers would step up their intensity and score the next four goals of the game. Newly formed first line of Huberdeau, Bjugstad, and Jagr would connect for 2 goals and a total of 6 points in contest. Overall, a very good game played by the Panthers.
Continue reading RatCap: Florida Panthers Cool Off Red Hot Dallas Stars 6-2
Note: This was written before the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 20, 2015
Even though one week out of a six month long season is a very small sample size, Panthers fans should be nothing but excited about the product on the ice thus far. As we head into the 2nd week of the season, the Panthers do not need to change much in their game. Instead they have to focus on consistency and rebounding after inevitable losses that occur during every NHL season.
Continue reading Florida Panthers: Some Positives and Negatives Through The First Five Games
After suffering a shutout loss the night before against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Florida Panthers once again found their scoring touch. After scoring 2:01 into the game against the Hurricanes, it would not be until late into the third period before the Cats would light the lamp again, courtesy of Connor Brickley. The rookie once again played a physical game throughout and was awarded for his efforts with his first career NHL goal, which also ended up being the game winner. Earlier in the game, Brickley had scored a beautiful goal, but had it called back as the referee had blown the play dead during a delayed penalty call against the Hurricanes. Overall, the Panthers played a very good game that saw a lot of forechecking and cycling in the opponents corners.
On Monday night, the Florida Panthers threw 31 shots towards Michal Neuvirth. At the end of the night, that was not enough.
The Philadelphia Flyers would avenge their 7-1 loss against the Florida Panthers with a 1-0 shutout to open up their barn in Pennsylvania for the season. Brayden Schenn would score the only goal for the Flyers, as the Panthers would continually miss the net and that would cost them when the clock struck zero.
Rats N' Pucks 