Friday, February 13, 2009
So, uh, the Panthers Are For Real?
How's this team doing it? It's easy to just say Bouwmeester, but it's not, people only say that because he's the only guy anyone knows on the roster. It's a lot more than that. It's an experienced back end, a young core (sound familiar?), an able goaltending tandem, and an unheralded coach.
Granted of course Bouwmeester does lead the league in TOI (27:16) and has 28 points from the blue line. But look at what else they've got. They have a veteran blue line, with Nick Boynton, Keith Ballard, Bryan McCabe (I said veteran, not talented), and the ageless wonder Karlis Skrastins. They eat minutes. They pitch in offensively, they're, at times, responsible in their own end. It's a winning formula.
The calmness exuded by the blueline (except for when McCabe is on the ice) helps keep the young offense in gear. Look at some of those names Weiss (25), Booth (24), Horton (23), Campbell (25), Frolik (20), all of them under 25, all of them with over 20 points, all of them drafted in the Panthers system. Bringing up a core within your own system has been a stalwart of a lot of successful teams (especially one's with multiple high 1st round picks, looking at you Pittsburgh and Chicago), with other's like Detroit, Boston, Buffalo, and yes, even Montreal, having success with the talent they've identified and developed. Florida is no different.
Not to say they don't have their fair share of vets up front either, guys I'm sure you've heard of before, Cory Stillman, Radek Dvorak, Richard Zednik, to name a few. I saw an article earlier in the week that essentially said Superstars - Role Players = Struggles. I couldn't agree more. Guys like Ville Peltonen and Dvorak fit that bill to a T.
Goalies? We all know what Tomas Vokoun is capable of when he's on top of his game, like say, 42 saves in a shut out performance last night? While Craig Anderson carried the load earlier in the season, Vokoun has taken the job back with his play of late. When a team doesn't have to rely on a single goalie throughout the stretch run, it only benefits them later. Detroit: Conklin/Osgood. Boston: Fernandez/Thomas. Chicago: Huet/Khabibulin. Florida: Anderson/Vokoun. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin.
Coach DeBoer, I believe earlier in the season, back when the Panther's were still considered the laughingstock of the league, I asked, Who the hell is Peter DeBoer? Well, I'm still asking that question, but one thing we definitely know: Ottawa wishes they got him instead.
But what I think is most impressive about these Panthers is the balance; goals, assists, overall play. It's a balanced lineup. 12 players with over 20 points. 8 guys with over 10 goals. They've got a 117 goals coming from forwards, 37 from the blue line. Buffalo on the other hand, who has 2 more goals on the season, has 145 goals up front and just 11 goals from the blue line. San Jose? 143 up front. 32 in the back. It's simply a balanced attack, that can come at you in so many different ways.
They've got a tremendous power forward in Nate Horton, who's been battling injuries this year. They've got a dangler in David Booth and a playmaker in Stephen Weiss (who I thought was much older than he is), not to mention the stud on the blue line.
Plus with this fans like this behind them, how could they fall back of the pack?
Ok that last one was a joke, that kid just really cracks me up. Recycling Photoshops FTW!But in reality, these Panthers are for ready for the rest of the season. We'll see if people continue to underestimate them going forward. I know I won't. [Lame ending, I know, whatever]
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