Florida Panthers

Not many understand how long it's been since the Florida Panthers have won a playoff game.

April 17, 1997 is the exact date.

Since then, the Florida (Miami) Marlins won two World Series Championships, the University of Miami Hurricanes won a National Title and the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship in 2006.

Quite frankly, the Florida Panthers have been the laughing stock of the NHL. How could a team go so long without a win in a system that allows over half of the teams in the league to make the playoffs?

Here we are almost 15 years to the date, and the Florida Panthers have won a playoff game. The series between the Devils and Panthers are now tied 1-1, but this win means a bit more to Panthers fans than you think.

Back in 1996, many remember the "Year of the Rat," with a team that included Brian Skrudland, Scott Mellanby, Rob Niedermayer, and fan-favorite John Vanbiesbrouck. Even after getting swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Colorado Avalanche that year, Panthers fans were beyond proud of what they accomplished.

Florida isn't just a place filled with beaches and sand with no access to a hockey rink. There are many youth hockey leagues that participate equally with many northern youth programs.

GM Dale Tallon has done a tremendous job in turning this organization around.

Coach Kevin Dineen did a fantastic job in just his first year of coaching the club while finding away to manage many newcomers to the Panthers such as Kris Versteeg, Tomas Fleischmann, Brian Campbell and Jose Theodore and achieve what they set out to do from the beginning—win.

The Florida Panthers' 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils may seem like a typical playoff win. It tied the series as the two teams travel back to New Jersey for Game 3.

For Panthers fans, this was 15 years in the making.

After showering the Bank Atlantic Center with toy rats following their win last night, it's evident that playoff fever is back in South Florida.

The 6th seeded New Jersey Devils battle the Southeast Champion and 3rd seeded Florida Panthers beginning on Friday, April 13 in Sunrise, Florida. This Quarterfinal series may not be a marquee matchup in the eyes of the NHL, but for die hard fans in Jersey and in the Sunshine state this will be an intriguing series in which both teams look for a way to spring board themselves into a deep playoff run.

The Devils, winners of six straight to close out the regular season, are playing good hockey and after missing out on the playoffs just a year ago, they are extremely poised and prepared to make a big run at the Cup. The Panthers, now having returned to the dance for the first time in 12 seasons, are looking to ride the home ice advantage and win their first playoff series since their miracle run to the Cup Finals in 1996.  

Let's take a look at how these two clubs match up:

Forwards

Devils: Top line of Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk can measure up with the best lines in the game. Secondary scoring will come from the lines of Petr Sykora, Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus, and Alexei Ponikarovsky, Adam Henrique and David Clarkson. Their top three lines consist of five 25-plus goal scorers, including three 30-plus goals scorers.

Thus, providing the Devils with the necessary balanced scoring that will give their opponent fits. This group of forwards has the size, skill, and power to wear down a defense over a playoff series.

Panthers: For the Panthers to win this series, they must get secondary offensive production from other than their top line of Tomas Fleischmann, Stephen Weiss and Kris Versteeg. Their top trio each scored 20-plus goals and provided the majority of their team's offense. Veterans such as Mikael Samuelsson, Sean Bergenheim and Scottie Upshall must be key contributors on the score sheet in order for Florida to advance onto the next round.

However, the Panthers do have plenty of Stanley cup experience within their forward group featuring 3-time champion and former Devil John Madden, two-time champ Tomas Kopecky and Mikael Samuelsson. 

The Devils bring three well balanced scoring lines. The Panthers are too top heavy and lack secondary scoring. The HF Advantage goes to the DEVILS. 

Defensemen

Devils: GM Lou Lamoriello's terrific move to bring in much needed veteran puck moving defenseman Marek Zidlicky from Minnesota may go down as providing the missing piece to the Devils back-line. Zidlicky, paired with defenseman Bryce Salvador, has played big minutes and has added an offensive skill set that the Devs have lacked for many seasons.

The Devils' other top pairing of Andy Greene and Mark Fayne is steady and responsible, often getting called upon to play in key, late-game situations. The bottom pairing consists of physical shot blocking defenseman Anton Volchenkov and Peter Harrold. Rookie Adam Larsson, who can provide some offense, may be re-inserted into the lineup at some point during this series. 

Panthers: GM Dale Tallon made an outstanding move acquiring number one defenseman Brian Campbell from Chicago who has provided leadership and offense from the back-line, particularly quarterbacking the power play. Jason Garrison's 16 goals and heavy shot poses a serious threat from the blue-line. Dmitry Kulikov is another Panther defenseman who can provide offense and plays big important minutes.

Mike Weaver, rookie Erik Gudbranson, and Veteran Ed Jovanovski round out a versatile group of defensemen that will be called upon to not only shut down their opponents but also contribute offensively as well.

The Devils have the edge in experience and better defensive defensemen while the Panthers have the edge in providing much more offense from their blue-liners. The HF Advantage is EVEN.

Goaltending

Devils: Riding a five-game winning streak to close out the regular season, there is no question Martin Brodeur will be in net for Game 1 and beyond for his Devils. Brodeur added another record to his legacy, recording his 14th 30-plus win season, passing Patrick Roy. Martin Brodeur's next playoff shutout will be an NHL record 24th, which will break the tie with Roy as well.

The Devils do have a very capable backup in veteran Johan Hedberg but this is Marty's team, and he will take them as far as he can.

Panthers: Who will be the starting netminder for Game 1? This will be a huge game-time decision for coach Kevin Dineen. Will he go with experience and give the nod to Jose Theodore or to Scott Clemmensen, the former Boston College Standout and ex-Devil who is the hotter goalie at the end of the regular season.

Odds are we will see both goalies at some point during this series. The fact that there is no clear cut number one is a bit troubling at this stage.

The Devils are relying on their veteran, leader, and future Hall-of-Famer Martin Brodeur to have one more playoff run in his storied career. The Panthers hope that whichever goalie they roll the dice with will get hot and lead them to playoff success. The HF Advantage goes to the DEVILS. 

Special Teams

Devils: New Jersey holds the number one ranked Penalty Kill unit succeeding at an impressive 89.6% efficiency rating and scored a league leading 15 short-handed goals. Assistant Coach Dave Barr has done a tremendous job instituting a new aggressive penalty kill system, led by the dynamic shot-blocking duo of Bryce Salvador and Anton Volchenkov and a slew of aggressive forwards, even including Ilya Kovalchuk into the mix. 

The Devils' power play has been coming on strong with Marek Zidlicky and Ilya Kovalchuk manning the points. The return of Travis Zajac gives the Devils another offensive weapon on both the PP and PK, specifically in the faceoff circle. The Devils' power play can throw out two powerful units loaded with goal scorers, such as Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, and David Clarkson.

Panthers: Florida's strength is its power play, which is ranked 7th in NHL at an 18.5 % efficiency rating. The Panthers power play unit is led by Brian Campbell as the quarterback and fellow point-man Jason Garrison, who leads the team with nine power play goals.  

The Panthers can throw out clutch goal scorer Kris Versteeg, set-up man Stephen Weiss and veteran Mikael Samuelsson to form an extremely dangerous man-advantage unit that will challenge the number one ranked Devils' penalty kill. However, the Panthers do have a subpar Penalty Kill ranked 25th in the league at only a 79.5% efficiency rating.

The PK unit led by defensemen Mike Weaver and Jason Garrison must be more aggressive and block shots from the likes of Kovalchuk, Zidlicky, Sykora, and Elias in order to have success. Adding PK specialist John Madden into the fold will help but the Panthers need more contributions from their forwards such as Marcel Goc and Tomas Kopecky.   

Special teams could prove the difference in this series. The Devils come in with the top ranked PK unit and loaded with offensive weapons on their power play. The Panthers bring a top end power play that can pose a serious threat from anywhere on the ice. However, Florida has a weak PK which ultimately may cost them the series. The HF Advantage goes to the DEVILS. 

Coaching

Devils: Head Coach Pete Deboer, entering his first post season as an NHL bench boss, has a few decisions to make before Game 1 in Florida. Does Coach Deboer re-insert rookie Adam Larsson as his 6th defenseman or keep Peter Harrold, who has filled in nicely since his callup from Albany, in the lineup.

With the unfortunate wrist injury to Jacob Josefson, sidelined for at least the first round, there are a few options here to consider in order to fill the vacancy on the 4th line. Stephen Gionta would be at center, with Ryan Carter going from left wing to center. Eric Boulton would replace him at left wing. Harrold would be used as a winger, which he has done in the past for the LA Kings.

Another Albany callup, such as Brad Mills, Steve Zalewski or Mattias Tedenby, may also be a possibility as the series moves along. My move would be to keep Harrold in the lineup as the 6th defenseman and use Gionta on the 4th line for Game 1 and hope to catch lightning in a bottle.   

Panthers: Rookie Head Coach Kevin Dineen will also be entering his first Stanley Cup playoff series behind the bench. Coach Dineen has had a wonderful first season leading his Panthers to their first ever Division title and returning them to the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

However, unlike his coaching counterpart, Dineen has a much bigger decision to make before this series gets underway. Who will be manning his cage for Game 1? Jose Theodore or Scott Clemmensen? If the coach goes solely on playoff experience, then Jose Theodore is his man, with over 50 playoff games under his belt. However, the smart pick would be to go with ex-Devil Scott Clemmensen, who is the hotter goalie right now and has had previous success against his former club.

In what may be a tip of his hand, Coach Dineen chose Clemmensen to start in net for the division clinching game.

Both coaches have done a tremendous job leading their respective clubs into the playoffs, with important decisions and adjustments to be made for both clubs before and throughout this series. The The HF Advantage is EVEN.

"X" Factor

Devils: Captain Zach Parise has not had much playoff success in his seven year stint with the Devils. In what could be his last run with the Devils, due to his impending free agency, Parise needs to step up and be the leader he is capable of being, scoring the clutch goals and making the big plays when the game is on the line. 

Panthers: Longtime Panther Stephen Weiss has waited nine seasons to play in his first playoff game. It's now his time to lead his team to playoff glory. Weiss is the #1 center on a team that relies heavily on their top line for their offensive production. For Florida to win this series and make some noise, Stephen Weiss will need to be their most reliable and consistent offensive player.

Conclusion

Florida and New Jersey matched up pretty evenly over the regular season, splitting the four games. The Playoffs, however, will be a different story. The Devils hold clear advantages in their Forward group,Goaltending, and Special Teams. Expect to see both Florida goaltenders in the nets over the course of this series and possibly some overtime games as well. But when its all said and done, the Devils come into the series as the hotter and more balanced team and will finally advance past the first round for the first time since 2007. 

HF Series Prediction: DEVILS IN 5

Dmitry Kulikov is the Florida Panthers' exciting 21-year-old Russian defenseman who is already third in team seniority among critical players, behind only veteran center Stephen Weiss and fellow defenseman Jason Garrison.

In the past three seasons the Panthers are 5-3-1, a 61.1 winning percentage in games against New Jersey when Dmitry has played.

They are only 1-2, 33.3 winning percentage, in games against New Jersey when he has been out of the lineup.

In those nine games he has averaged a modest 19 minutes per game, amassed four points and been a +2. One of those points was a game-winning overtime goal January 15th, 2011.

The Panthers have dramatically improved this past season under the guidance of General Manager Dale Tallon and Coach Kevin Dineen. In fact, the transformation has been amazingly and quickly successful. New talent has been brought on board including defenseman Mike Weaver in 2010 and then defensemen Ed Jovanovski and Brian Campbell in 2011. Goalie Jose Theodore as well as forwards Tomas Fleischmann, Tomas Kopecky, Sean Bergenheim, Kris Versteeg and Marcel Goc have all been added in 2011.  Defenseman Erik Gudbranson is a rookie this year.

Testimony to the improvement in the Panthers and Kulikov's role in that improvement is the following exhibit.

2009/10—New Jersey out-shoots Florida 144-83; Kulikov averages 16.9 minutes.

2010/11—New Jersey out-shoots Florida 118-99; Kulikov averages 19.6 minutes.

2011/12—New Jersey out-shoots Florida 114-105; Kulikov averages 23.9 minutes. 

Dmitry Kulikov adds a physical presence to the Panthers lineup. His 178 hits and blocks in 58 games comes to an average of 3.07 hits and blocks per game. That's second on the team's defense to only Jason Garrison's 3.26.

Mike Weaver: 3.06

Ed Jovanovski: 3.00

Brian Campbell: 2.00

Erik Gudbranson: 1.95

A significant matchup in the series is the Panthers'  fifth-ranked power play which scored on 20.1 percent of its opportunities versus the Devils number-one penalty killing unit which allowed only 10.4 percent goals while they were short-handed. This New Jersey penalty kill achievement is all the more remarkable when one realizes they were 29th in the NHL in faceoff win percentage with only 47.1 percent.

Their top center, Patrick Elias, won only 44.1 percent of his faceoffs. Consequently the Devils' opponents frequently secure puck possession and can set up their offense. Florida's Stephen Weiss excels at faceoffs and should dominate the series even beyond his regular season 53.2 winning faceoff percent.

That New Jersey penalty kill success is largely attributable to star veteran goalie Martin Brodeur. For another indication of how important Brodeur is to New Jersey, consider that the Devils win 72.7 percent of their games when they score the first goal of the game; that percent is only 64.1 for Florida.

When the Devils lead after the second period, their win percentage is 85.3; for Florida that percent is only 72.7. Think of Brodeur as the closer. It is imperative that Florida not end up playing from behind.  

And that's where Kulikov's offensive capability comes into play. His 0.48 points per game exceeds Garrison's 0.43 and dwarfs Jovanovksi's 0.20, Weaver's 0.19  and Gudbranson's 0.11. Only Campbell's 0.65 tops Kulikov.

So Florida's best chance to jump ahead of New Jersey and Brodeur is to get Dmitry Kulikov on the ice, preferably on a power play, early and often so that he can help produce a lead and force the Devils to play from behind. The Devils' win percentage of 42.1 when giving up the first goal of the game pales versus the previously cited 72.7 win percentage when they score the first goal.

It should be a tense, thrilling series because in the past 3-years seven of their 12 games have been decided by only one goal, four have been decided by two goals and the one three-goal game on January 6th, 2012 was skewed by two empty-net goals the Devils scored in the last minute of a 5-2 victory. 

My prediction is that a rejuvenated and recovered Kulikov keys a Panther series win.

The third-seeded Florida Panthers will meet the sixth-seeded New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2012 NHL playoffs. However, the Panthers’ first postseason appearance in 12 years will be a short-lived one because I believe they won’t make it past the first round.

The Panthers have had an amazing season, capturing the Southeast Division title, among other things. The most amazing thing about their season has been their seemingly random assortment of postseason acquisitions. Guys like Tomas Fleischmann, Scottie Upshall, Kris Versteeg, Matt Bradley and Jose Theodore have performed more remarkably as a team than many had expected.

New Jersey’s season has been nothing short of spectacular, too. Yes, they finished fourth in their division, but the Atlantic is arguably the most competitive division in the NHL. They finished with an outstanding 102 points.

The biggest thing working for New Jersey and against Florida is momentum. Momentum is something that is always important to the game of hockey, but it is especially vital in the postseason.

The Devils won the last six games of their season. In that season-ending streak, Jersey owns victories over the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

Conversely, the Panthers were limping down the final stretch of the season. In their last six games of the season, they only managed to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, who were already far out of the playoffs. Had they not won that game, the Washington Capitals would have overtaken the Southeast and the Panthers would have dropped to the seventh seed.

This first-round matchup is a perfect example of exactly how big a difference momentum can make in the postseason. As mentioned before, the Devils have momentum completely on their side. The Panthers have to not only combat that, but they also have to try and regain some of their own momentum.

It seems Florida’s first playoff appearance in over a decade will be an unfortunate one. They’ve had a great season, but I expect the Devils to win the series in five games.

Their marketing theme all season has been We See Red. At times this season they have been red hot and at times very cold, but the prospect of their first playoff berth in 11 seasons looks real. They're just stretching out the process.

The recent string of five overtime sessions (four losses) in six games, plus a regulation loss to lowly Columbus, made the season wind-down more nail-biting. On the positive side, they came away with points in 11 off their last 13 games, which slowly brought them closer to clinching the coveted berth.

Unfortunately, now they have to do what they were hoping to avoid just a few games ago—look at the out-of-town scoreboard. With three games remaining for both the Panthers and their closest pursuers, the Washington Capitals, the final week of the season promises to be memorable.

After a recent 4-0 home stand and 5-0 stretch, they opened up their lead in the Southeast Division and actually were within striking distance of second place in the Eastern Conference.

Timing is everything. 

With the team being about as healthy as they have been all year (334 man games have been lost to injury), scoring coming from more sources and the resurgent Jose Theodore playing his best goal of the season, things look good. 

Even with the line of Kris Versteeg, Tomas Fleischmann and Stephen Weiss cooled from their torrid early pace, Sean Bergenheim and Mikael Samuelsson then heated up. Fleischmann retooled and is now the team's hottest marksman with 26 goals.

Unfortunately, the win streak was followed by a 1-2-4 mark in their last seven—all but one against teams below them in the league standings.

This is not what first place teams are supposed to do.

Their last two regulation wins were against Philadelphia and Boston, so maybe they would prefer more games with superior teams. This wish came true with their last game against Detroit—a hard fought shootout loss but one more point.

With the way things are unfolding, their season may go down to the second to last game—a head to head match with the Capitals in Washington for the division lead.

The race may get even tighter before then because all three combatants for the unsettled spots (Florida, Washington and Buffalo) will be playing their next game against teams below them in the standings.

Fortunately, with the points salvaged from the extra session losses, the Cats only need two points or a Buffalo loss to assure at least the eighth and final playoff spot.

The hyping of the highest finish since 1999-2000 (as of today they have spent 122 days in first place in the Southeast Division this season) is a bit early. Washington hasn't yielded yet and still has a chance of closing the gap with the Panthers.

Buffalo is just about out as far as catching Florida but stranger things have happened. In 2007-08, Carolina led the division with five remaining games and never made the playoffs.

Despite the arduous process and tough OT and SO losses, the team is displaying uncommon confidence for this time of year. After Friday's brutal loss to last-place Columbus, Dineen tried to look to the positive, while admitting his team was tired after back-to-back games and a 2 A.M. arrival in Columbus.

"We'll get some rest, recharge the batteries and move forward," Dineen said. "We've got a lot of hockey to play yet."

He was right. There was a different team in the 2-1 SO loss to the Wings Sunday. 

"There were a lot of positives to build upon tonight," Dineen said.

Center Stephen Weiss, has never been in a playoff game in his ten seasons with the Panthers. He's been through this drill before but usually looking up at the standings.

"It makes it easier when you’re looking ahead instead of looking back at who’s chasing you," Weiss said.

That might be a classic under-statement.

The popular Weiss is the face of the team, and the expanding fan base is rooting for him to break the dubious streak. It's just not coming easy. 

The snowbirds are starting to leave South Florida. For the hockey fans, hopefully the season will not be over soon.

Alan Greenberg is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

For the first time in more than a decade the Panthers find themselves entering the stretch run looking down at who is chasing them rather than looking up at who they must catch for a playoff berth. After a 10 season playoff drought, Dale Tallon's drastically revamped cast is in a position to control their own destiny without looking at the out of town scoreboard.

It was not an easy journey. After a start to the season which went so well that even the team's mascot was recognized for excellence, reality set in when as many as seven forwards were out injured. When some forwards came back the defensemen started going down.

Veteran Ed Jovanovski, a much matured Dmitry Kulikov and the surprising high scoring d-man Jason Garrison were all out at the same time.  While this was happening, all three goalies, Jose Theodore, Scott Clemmensen and Jacob Markstrom, did time on the injury list.

The opposition also solved what at one time was the league's highest scoring line in Stephen Weiss, Kris Versteeg and Tomas Fleischmann, forcing first year coach Kevin Dineen to intermingle his first line with second liners Sean Bergenheim, Mikael Samuelsson and Marcel Goc.  Versteeg has been out recently with an undisclosed injury, complicating the line combinations even more.

Thanks to the early play which thrust the Cats into first place in the weaker Southeast Division, they are still in good position but by no means assured of a berth. In reality, once the team cooled off after the first third of the season they were seldom more than a shootout loss away from ninth place in the east (They are a distressing 5-12 in post-regulation this year). Fortunately for Florida, Washington has been in a prolonged funk.

The Cats have lost 291 man games to injury thus far, forcing numerous realignments and a host of AHL callups. Tallon, who is thinking long term, didn't make panic deals and at the trade deadline made but two acquisitions for their specialties.

Wojtec Wolski  who came over from the New York Rangers is a streak scorer and shootout specialist while Jerred Smithson, acquired from Nashville, is a faceoff specialist. 

Wolski paid immediate dividends with a game winner in his first game. Significantly, it snapped a four game losing streak and ignited the Panthers to a three game win streak which enabled them to maintain their precarious first place position.

Dineen navigated the team through the injuries to the point where they are now almost healthy, save for Kulikov (knee surgery) and Scotty Upshall (sports hernia) who are "at least a few weeks away."    

He acknowledged to The Fischler Report that several of his healthy mainstays kept the team competitive when injuries were at their peak. "The guys who've been there on a daily basis, like  Stephen Weiss, Brian Campbell and Tomas Kopecky continuously just show up and play hard.  Shawn Matthias has been a good healthy player this year. He's been an important piece of what we're doing and has done a good job for us."  

Matthias is a third year man and primarily a third line grinder who comes up with timely goals. He is one of the few mainstays from last season and from a player's perspective, appreciates the team's competitive position.

"The last two years were terrible at the end of the year. You're going to the rink for nothing, knowing you're not making the playoffs.  It's hard to be motivated, but now every game is so intense that I feel like I'm already in the playoffs.  Right now is the most fun I've ever had playing hockey. If you can't get motivated there's something wrong with you."

With 17 games remaining, primarily against conference rivals, the mix changes every day. "We're looking for more consistency," according to Dineen (The Panthers have relinquished the first two goals in six of their last eight games). "We have 14 healthy forwards now. I have options every night. There are guys fighting for spots right now. They can count. It's easy for them to figure out how many bodies are options for us to use. It's a good situation for a coach." 

With Marco Sturm back from the injury list and Versteeg, Upshall and Kulikov at least within planning range, the situation will get more crowded. 

Stay tuned. It's been a while since there was this much late season hockey interest in this part of Florida.

Panthers fans, don't expect much activity before the trade deadline.

Unlike last season, when GM Dale Tallon cleaned house in order to generate cap space for a summer shopping spree which resulted in 13 new faces opening day, this time around, if anything, Tallon indicated he will be a buyer just to tweak a few parts but remaining attentive to the long-range objectives.

Just like the strategy in his successful rebuilding of the Blackhawks, Tallon will not mortgage the future for short-term gains.

Earlier in the season, Tallon looked like a genius, given the Panthers' quick start and the great performances of new acquisitions such as Brian Campbell, Kris Versteeg and Tomas Fleischmann, the resurgence of Jose Theodore in goal and the improved performances of D-men Jason Garrison and Dmitry Kulikov.

Then the injuries hit and reality set in. At one time, seven starting forwards were on IR. Then Garrison, Kulikov and veteran defender Ed Jovanovski went down with extended injuries, forcing the team to enlist a host of rotating AHL fill-ins while they trod water.  Despite the hype about the longevity in first place in the weaker Atlantic Division, they were never much more than a shootout loss from a non-playoff position.  They are a dismal 4-12 in overtime, with a 3-7 shootout record.

Tallon repeatedly uses words like "patience" and "big picture" in assessing his strategy, considering the stockpile of draft picks and prospects such as scoring whiz Jonathan Huberdeau in juniors and goalie heir apparent Jacob Markstrom in the AHL. 

Given that assessment, the Cats can certainly still use a scorer now to bolster their anemic offense beyond the top line and break the 10-year playoff drought. Tallon has not indicated he will join the Rick Nash sweepstakes, however, with the Panthers coming off of four straight losses at home (three regulation, one shootout), during which they scored a total of five goals.

Tallon might now be rethinking his policy of avoiding rental players. He acquired veteran center Jerred Smithson from Nashville for a low-round draft pick, then picked up Wojtek Wolski from the Rangers. Neither are breakout offensive threats, but Smithson carries a 55 percent faceoff success record and Wojtek is as good or better than any of the Panthers' shootout specialists.

One intriguing possibility would be bringing back Panthers' all-time leading scorer Ollie Jokinen as a rental.

Last season at this time, the Panthers were hopelessly out of playoff contention, so a sell-off was in order. Buyers this time of year are usually looking for insurance or a missing piece for the playoff thrust in return for an expendable part. Despite Tallon's silence on the issue, look for him to pull the trigger again.

After being accused of using a racial slur in a game against Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban, who is black, Florida Panthers forward Krys Barch was suspended for one game. I personally feel as though the one-game ban is a fair punishment.

George Richards of the Miami Herald reports that Barch was given the suspension on Thursday morning on a conference call that also included Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen. Despite the discipline, the Panthers enforcer maintains that what he said wasn't meant as a racial slur.

'I stated my case; I know myself and what I said. It may have been inappropriate but it was nowhere near a racial slur nor that intent,' Barch said after Florida’s morning practice at Chelsea Piers. 'The things I said were pretty explicit and maybe not for kids’ ears, so that’s why I can’t repeat it. My grandma wouldn’t want to hear it, let’s put it that way.'

Whatever Barch said earned him a 10-minute and game misconduct penalty, so the officials certainly thought he crossed a line.

While only Barch and some of those on the ice at the time may truly know what he said, Richards says that sources are reporting that Barch asked Subban if he "slipped on a banana peel" when he fell to the ice after being punched by rookie defenseman Erik Gudbranson.

That may seem racial in nature due to the fact that Subban is black and because of a preseason incident that saw a fan throw a banana peel on the ice to mock Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds. At the same time, though, slipping on a banana peel is a metaphor many use when somebody falls down clumsily.

If that is, in fact, what Barch said, it would be irresponsible to suspend him for more than one game. I don't want to totally discount that Barch might have made that comment with the purpose of attacking Subban's race, but I feel like it was more of an unfortunate coincidence.

Whatever the case, some sort of suspension is still warranted because Barch needs to be more mindful of what he's saying. I understand that not everybody thinks things through in the heat of the moment, but Barch and every NHL player has a responsibility to conduct themselves in a professional manner.

According to the article, Barch was told by NHL vice president Colin Campbell that he would have received a suspension between five and 10 games if it was deemed that he did utter a racial slur.

I think the NHL made the right move in not overreacting to the incident. It doesn't seem as if anybody corroborated the notion that what Barch said was a racial slur, including Subban, who didn't even hear what was said. Bringing the hammer down on Barch would have given him the label of a racist, and that isn't something that should be done unless there is 100 percent certainty.