Florida Panthers

The old Florida Panthers held on to their draft choices as if they were all precious diamonds, no matter what their play might indicate. Dale Tallon has shown a willingness to part with those picks. He dealt the best young Florida Panther, forward Nathan Horton, and another aging prospect, Greg Campbell, to the Bruins for defenseman Dennis Wideman and a third round pick.

Now Tallon has traded a pair of Czechs, winger Michael Frolik and goalie Alexander Salak, for Chicago youngster Jack Skille, and prospects Hugh Jessiman and David Pacan.

Michael Frolik was Florida's first round (10th overall) pick in 2006. The Czech left winger spent two years in the Quebec Major Junior hockey league as an offensive star. At the age of 20 he jumped to the NHL and became a 20-goal scorer as a rookie. A good skater and playmaker, Frolik has a great deal of one-on-one skill. He is also obviously capable of scoring as he had 21 goals in his second season in the NHL as well.

This year, at 22, he has eight goals and 29 points in 52 games. These numbers are comparable to his previous seasons. His skills are likely to flourish in Chicago where he should be a top-six forward with a much more talented group of linemates than he had in Florida.

Once dubbed the "Baby Jagr" the 6'1" 194 lb native of Kladno in the Czech Republic lacks the physical presence of a Jagr. Still, at his age and with his skill set he was the Florida Panther most likely to become great in the next few years. His chance of success has gone up with this trade.

Alexander Salak is a goalie signed by the Panthers from the Finnish league. He had a good season last year for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, the Panthers' farm club. He got in 48 games and had a .910 save percentage and 2.89 GAA.

Salak returned to Europe this year and is now playing for Farjestaad BK of the Swedish Elite League. He currently leads the league with a .925 save percentage and 6 shutouts in 41 games.

Salak is a solid NHL goaltending prospect who finds himself far down the depth chart in a Florida organization that will have plenty of goalies even if Tomas Vokoun signs elsewhere in the offseason.

Alexander Salak addresses a pressing Chicago Blackhawks need for more young talented goalies in the organization. He is likely to be on the depth chart with AHLers Hannu Toivonen and Alec Richards and just behind Corey Crawford and Marty Turco.  

Jack Skille is another high draft pick. He was taken by Chicago in the first round in 2005 (seventh overall). Skille's path to the NHL hasn't been as smooth as Frolik's. He has proven himself to be a competent AHL scorer with 16, 20 and 23 goals in three seasons with the Rockford IceHogs.

Skille is only marginally bigger than Frolik at 6'1" 205 lbs but he is a much more physical player. He is a faster skater with a good shot but doesn't possess the playmaking or stickhandling skills that Frolik does.

In this his fourth season trying out with the Blackhawks he has finally stuck. At the age of 23 he has seven goals and 17 points in 49 games.  

He's a year older than Frolik and not as skilled. He has a Kyle Okposo quality that suggests he could become a top-quality checking winger with a scoring touch in the NHL. Unfortunately the knock on him so far in his career has been that he is a selfish offensive player who won't back-check. That's not the formula for a quality checking forward.

Skille has good offensive talent and he brings a physical dimension to the Panthers. He is not a top six offensive forward at this point in his career. He is still young. If learns to be a better defensive forward or blooms offensively he could be a valuable contributor in Florida. Right now he looks like a guy who will drift down to the third or fourth line.  

David Pacan is good sized (6'3" 189 lbs) center who is currently playing with the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League. 

Only 19, Pacan was a Chicago Blackhawks sixth round pick (117th overall) in 2009. He is a good young prospect, but only that, and Chicago has a glut of young talented forwards in their organization.

Hugh Jessiman, at 26, is a more NHL-ready prospect. He was a New York Rangers first round pick (12th overall) back in 2003. The hulking forward (6'6" 231 lbs) has scored 20 goals or more twice at the AHL level but he has had more than 100 penalty minutes in three separate AHL seasons. 

Jessiman is a big man with skills who has been asked to take on the goon's role at times in his career. Despite his size and strength Hugh is not really a fighter. Hugh Jessiman can bring more size and strength to the Florida Panther roster. He looks to be about as NHL-ready as he is ever going to be. 

The Chicago Blackhawks seem to have gotten the best player in the deal with the very talented Mr Frolik. They also acquired a quality goalie who has proved himself AHL- and Swedish Elite League-ready and fills a team need.

In return, Chicago has given up two prospects, one deep on their depth chart and the other unlikely ever to make the team in Chicago. Jack Skille the best player going to Florida in the deal was wearing out his welcome in Chicago. The blazingly fast American-born skater still has a load of potential.

Florida has picked up the physical Skille, the goonish Jessiman and potential in Pacan.  

Michael Frolik and Alexander Salak are both restricted free agents next year. Jack Skille is also and RFA next year but should be much cheaper to sign. Hugh Jessiman is an unrestricted free agent who can be released if he doesn't work out. This is one deal at least that doesn't seem to have a huge financial component to it. 

Chicago has to be seen as the winner of this deal right now. Frolik should blend nicely in a top six that features Patrick Kane, Jonathon Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp.

Jack Skille will get a chance to play on the top two lines in Florida. He brings a physical presence. If his offensive skills continue to develop and he starts to play more responsibly this deal could seem much more even in a couple of years.

Florida certainly gets more physical in a hurry, especially if Jessiman gets an early NHL tryout.

The Florida Panthers and Dale Tallon are open for business and ready to deal. Those are both good things for a team like Florida that has been out of the playoffs for as long as they have. Is this the right deal for Florida to make? It doesn't look good right now.    

Stephen Weiss has been on a bit of a streak.

His three assists Tuesday night helped the Panthers to their OT victory over the Washington Capitals, Southeast Division rivals. He's scoring at just over a point a game clip for the last 17 games. The streak has him leading the Panthers in points (29) and tied with David Booth for the team lead with 13 goals.

The Panthers have shown tangible improvement this year. Playing in what is a tougher and tougher Southeast Division, they still are hanging in at .500. The Panthers finished last year with a 32-37-13 record and 77 points, the third-worst record in the league.

Despite better opposition in their own division, the Panthers sit with 42 points in 42 games on track to earn 82 points this year. They currently have the sixth-worst record in the league. It's a tiny bump, true, but I believe a lot of their improvement is masked by the fact that Atlanta and Tampa Bay have both taken huge steps forward.

The NHL's unbalanced schedule insures that a team's success in the regular season is dependent on those 32 games they play in their own division. Thirty-nine percent of your schedule is against your division rivals, a fact that any of the Northwest Division teams need to be grateful for and that the Central division teams have to constantly curse.  

So far this season the Southeast has been the third-toughest division in hockey by a long shot.

That doesn't help a struggling developing team like the Panthers.

The other tangible improvements have been mostly defensive. Florida still has its shots against count down after years of leading the league to a still-bad 32.4 shots per game and 23rd overall. Tomas Vokoun helps them build on this, though.

Florida only gives up 2.62 goals per game, 11th-best in the league. They're the best defensive team in the Southeast division. Their penalty kill is a stellar fifth-best in the league, an improvement over last year's 23rd-best kill by a full 5.5 percent.       

The offense has been mediocre. They score the 16th-most goals per game in the league at a rate of 2.71 per game. The team still lacks that offensive superstar that will make his teammates better and the depth chart just that much more skilled.   

Still improved or not, this is translating into a team that's not quite good enough. Five hundred in the overtime/shoot-out NHL is a bad record. The average winning percentage for a team in the NHL last year was .561. Five-hundred hockey isn't even close to being average.

Dale Tallon has brought about most of this improvement in Florida with a series of small and one large player moves. He's currently trying to negotiate a contract extension with linchpin goalie Vokoun.

Vokoun is one of the best goalies in the league and has the best cumulative save percentage in the league since the lock-out. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/544116-ryan-miller-the-nine-other-best-save-percentage-nhl-goalies-since-the-lockout.

He's 34, and so probably due to decline in the next few years. Still, he's crucial for Florida to be as good as they are now. If the Panthers lose him now, they could spend years searching for another goalie even half as good.

Vokoun is at the point in his career where he wants ones more pay and a chance to win a cup. To sign him, Tallon will have to pay him and convince him that Florida is not more than two or three years away from being a top-quality NHL playoff team.

That might take some convincing.  

The Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers or even the Pittsburgh Penguins would all likely be hugely improved with a Tomas Vokoun in the lineup and offer a better chance at winning a Stanley Cup. All those teams, however, would run in to huge cap problems trying to sign Vokoun.

The Panther prospect pool is still deep, though they do seem to lack that superstar that would give them instant respectability. The World Junior Tournament in Buffalo this Christmas featured five under-20 Florida Panther prospects.

They were all good—all could potentially be NHL players—but none of them had that great tournament you'd like to see from your prospects.

Eric Gudbranson was the big shut-down defenseman for the silver medal-winning Canadian team. He showed a good point shot, scoring three goals and five points in seven games for Canada.

The big man had trouble, though, dealing with the fast Russian, Swedish and American forwards in the tournament. He may be an old-model defenseman for a new NHL.        

Joonas Donski for the Finns is projected as a skilled playmaker and responsible two-way forward. His three goals and six points in six games put him third in scoring on a good Finnish team. He's still only 18 and looks more like a quality prospect every time I see him.

Quinton Howden had a good tournament for Team Canada. He was tough and tenacious. He managed five points and a couple of key goals.

Nick Bjugstad is another 18-year-old who at times looked lost on the Bronze medal winning US team. The big kid (6'5") may just have to grow into his size. A big man with soft hands, he had two goals and two assists for what proved to be an offensively challenged Team USA.

Drew Shore was the last Panther prospect. He had two goals in six games for team USA. He looked like he had some NHL skills as well at the tournament and was often dangerous.

Throw in goalie Jacob Markstrom, defensemen Keaton Ellerby, Colby Robak, Jason Garrison and forwards Michael Repik, John McFarland and Evgeni Dadonov, and Tallon shouldn't have trouble convincing Vokoun that there is still plenty of NHL-quality talent on the horizon.

The trick will be convincing him that all this depth adds up to a better team.

Florida needs to draft, develop, trade for or sign that one ineffable talent that allows them to step out of the muck they have been stuck in for the last decade. Right now, they look to me like a team that is just that close.

If they can keep Vokoun on board and find that talent, I can see Florida in the playoffs next year and contending for a cup, not a playoff spot, for at least five years after that.

If Florida can grow from within this year and build on what they've already done, they could be a playoff team this season. They are 11th in the East right now—nine points behind Atlanta for that fifth playoff spot.

However, they have four games in hand on Atlanta. They have a game in hand on Buffalo and Carolina, two on Montreal and three on the Rangers and Washington.

The time has come, though. They need to win all those games now. If the Florida Panthers can go on a winning streak, they could be fighting for a playoff spot in another couple of weeks. If they continue to win, they'll finish the season likely 11th or 12th in the East.

The time for the Florida Panthers is now, or their season will be over.                      

Dale Tallon was rewarded for putting together the best young team in hockey by getting fired by the Chicago Blackhawks. Florida Panther ownership stepped in to sign him.

The Florida Panthers have drifted since Alan Cohen put together a group to buy the team in 2001 for a reported $101 million. Throughout that, despite a lack of success, Panther management insisted on paying, often over-paying, their own draft picks. Somehow a team that has been out of the playoffs since 2001 and has managed to carry one of the most expensive rosters in the league year after year. The money was spent on a roster of high-priced young talent that was either never evaluated properly when they were drafted or not developed properly by the organization.

Florida general managers seemed terrified to lose "any" of their draft picks, perhaps fearing embarrassment or unemployment, if struggling Florida youngsters shone in another market. Worse still there seemed no mechanism in place to separate the wheat from the chaff. There seemed to be no analysis of what the team's actual needs were and no effort made to fill them.  

The Florida Panthers were the weakest defensive team in hockey for the last decade. Despite the huge shots against count in Florida defense was never addressed in a meaningful way. No triage of the existing defense or system of play that allowed such unbalanced shots against numbers ever seemed to take place. They finally put a finger in the dike with Tomas Vokoun, when they got him away from the Nashville Predators  for a first and second round draft pick in 2008 and a second rounder in 2007. The defense though was ignored for the next three seasons.

Dale Tallon in his first few minutes in town made a couple small adjustments to personnel that have produced a measurable defensive improvement in Florida. After giving up the most shots against for the last three years in a row Florida is now 20th in the league in shots against. Baby steps to be sure, yet for three years in a row the existing brain trust in Florida either couldn't see the problem or couldn't fix the problem.

Despite having one of the best goaltenders in hockey the Panther penalty kill was 23rd in the league last year. It's currently 12th and 3.7% points more successful.

You can't plan a parade around these numbers but a hockey guy has been put in charge. He has identified problems and moved to solve them.

Now the biggest problem in Florida is the offense. That will need either a collective development by current roster members, the drafting of that next great offensive star who will carry this team of under-performers forward by himself, or a big quality free agent signing or trade.  

Unfortunately before that's likely to happen Tomas Vokoun will become an unrestricted free agent. He is in the last year of a $5.7 million a year contract.

Vokoun, currently 34, has been one of the top five goalies in the league for the last half decade. Vokoun, Tim Thomas, Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo are the league leaders in save percentage among goalies who have started at least half of their team's games during that five and a quarter season stretch. Tomas has the best save percentage in the league for that period of time with .92144.  

Tomas Vokoun is a top echelon veteran goalie with a great track record. How much is that worth in the NHL? The average starter in the league this year is making $3.65 million a year. The top six cap hits among goalies according to hockeybuzz.com are Henrik Lundqvist at $6.875, Cam Ward at $6.3, Ryan Miller at $6.25 million, JS Giguere at $6 million, Kiprusoff at $5.83 million and Vokoun at $5.7 million. He is going to want to be paid in this price range or higher.

Florida has the cap space for him. The question becomes how much will you pay for him and for how long? Veterans can be expected to see their play drop off. Some like Dwayne Roloson or Dominic Hasek are able to play forever. Others see a huge decline in their play and it can happen fast. Older players tend to be more susceptible to injury as well. 

During the last five seasons Vokoun has been the soul of consistency. Playing with Nashville in 2005-06 he was in 61 games and had a .919 save percentage, 4 shut-outs and a 2.67 goals against average. Last year in Florida he played in 63 games. He had a .925 save percentage, 7 shut-outs and a 2.55 goals against average.  

If the team can sign him for four to five years in the five to six million dollar range then he probably solves the goaltending problems in Florida for a half decade. This will provide time for another year of seasoning in the AHL for Jacob Markstrom, if he needs it. It should not represent an onerous cap hit.

If Florida manages to improve their defense and solve that scoring problem they will already have the Stanley Cup capable goalie in their line up. One piece of the puzzle will be in place. 

More money or more years than that, represents a huge risk with an aging goalie. Tallon already has one huge goaltending blunder on his resume from when he signed the erratic Cristobal Huet to a long expensive free agent contract. He may be reluctant to sign a 34 year old long term.   

The second option is to try to trade Vokoun now or at the dead-line for draft picks. That kind of move is likely to demoralize the line-up. It will probably represent a huge step backwards for a franchise that has not managed many steps forward since their early success in the NHL. Scott Clemmenson has not flourished in Florida and calling up Markstrom before he masters the AHL seems like a mistake.

Florida would then have to go find another goalie to carry the load. Florida's improved defense might make it easier for an average goalie to succeed there now. More picks or prospects equal greater potential future depth. Perhaps the Panthers can unload Vokoun and yet succeed in another year or two with Markstrom or another goalie doing the job in nets. The $5.7 million in cap space could be used to sign that top quality offensive player that they seem to be lacking.

This problem is similar to the problems he left behind in Chicago. He'll need to make the right decision to keep things going forward in Florida.     

Tonight, the New York Rangers will take on the Florida Panthers, hoping to bounce back from a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.

Here is a brief overview and pregame for tonight's Rangers-Panthers game.

Henrik Lundqvist OR Martin Biron

Tonight's starting goalie has yet to be determined by the Rangers head coach, John Tortorella; but a decision is expected to come during this morning practice.

Line Changes?

According to Jesse Spector (New York Daily News), the Rangers had several line changes during Thursday's morning skate.

Thursday's morning skate lines were:

Brandon Dubinsky—Derek Stepan—Marian Gaborik

Ruslan Fedotenko—Brian Boyle—Ryan Callahan

Alexander Frolov—Artem Anisimov—Brandon Prust

Sean Avery—Erik Christensen—Todd White

The lines are expected to be finalized after today's morning skate.

Derek Boogaard and Michal Rozsival

Derek Boogaard will be out day-to-day with a shoulder injury, according to Jesse Spector, and Rozsival is not expected to play tonight, though that may change after morning skate.

Marian Gaborik

After yesterday's morning skate, Marian Gaborik was asked about his current slump, and he answered:

"I [need to] make the opposing team be miserable. That's the way I've been successful, and it's what I need to do. And I will do that." (Quote courtesy of Jesse Spector.)

Gaborik was pretty much invisible Wednesday night against the Lightning, and he did not play well against the Calgary Flames Monday night, either.

Hopefully he, along with Lundqvist, can jump out of his current slump very soon.

Thanks for the read. Feel free to comment below.

Fans of the orange and black must have been wishing that it was April 13, not November 13.  Otherwise, the home team gave their fans very little to complain about in a 5-2 thrashing of the outclassed Florida Panthers.

Riding two goals apiece from captain Mike Richards and emerging star Claude Giroux, the game's outcome never seemed to be in doubt after 12 minutes of the first period.  Richards, off a nice feed from linemate Ville Leino, scored a goal-scorer's goal to get the team off to a 1-0 start, and a lead that they would never come close to relinquishing. Brilliant rookie netminder Sergei Bobrovsky was credited with his first ever assist on the play.

From there, the Flyers continued to carry the play, with Scott Hartnell scoring another even-strength goal just three minutes later.  The Flyers, 11-4-2 and unbeaten in their last nine, outshot the Panthers (7-8-0) 18-11 in the first period, and would end up peppering veteran goalie Scott Clemmensen with 42 shots, tying a season high.  The total could have been much higher if not for a lackluster third period that saw the Panthers tilt the ice back a little, outshooting their hosts 12-5 in the frame.

The beauty of the 2010-11 edition of the Flyers is that thanks to Bobrovsky—and how many of us even heard of him before this year's training camp—the orange and black can afford to play a more wide-open style with full security that "The Bob" will be there to erase any mistakes.

Indeed, the Flyers have built the type of squad that can beat you 1-0, or win a 6-5 shootout. 

Offensively, they have a stable of forwards who can, in hockey parlance, put the biscuit in the basket. The second period featured the exploits of two of them: Richards and Giroux.  Working with a two-man advantage, Richards one-timed a Chris Pronger feed from the right faceoff circle to beat Clemmensen high to the short side. 

While this comment may not be popular with Flyers fans, or with the captain, he seemed to channel his inner Sidney Crosby, finding the sharp angle while his knee hit the ice.

The Flyers extended their lead to 4-0 with a one-man advantage off a scrum that developed in front of the Panthers net. 

Two questions resulted:  Would the goal be overturned as the net appeared to come off the moorings around the time the puck crossed the line?  No. 

Would Richards get credit for the goal, completing his hat trick?  A few Flyers fans threw caps on the ice to honor the apparent hat trick. But no, again, as the goal was credited to Giroux—his first of the evening.

The ultra-talented Giroux would strike again on his next shift, after blocking a puck at his own blue line.  He corralled the puck and raced end to end, eventually beating Clemmensen with a deft move to his backhand. The superb effort was even more impressive when you consider that the puck never sat down for him. 

Halfway through the game, the orange and black was now up 5-0, and truth be told, did not play a brilliant second half of the game.  Nor did they have to. 

The Panthers got one back right away when Corey Stillman deflected a Keaton Ellerby shot past Bobrovsky. Television replays showed that Stillman's stick appeared to be above the crossbar, and may have been overturned if reviewed by Toronto's replay officials.  It didn't, and it was 5-1 after two periods.

The main drama of the last frame involved whether Richards or Giroux would complete the hat trick.  It was not to be, even as they both had a chance or two midway through the third. On the other end, the Panthers were firing lots of black rubber at The Bob, who made several brilliant saves.

The visitors eventually nabbed a garbage-time tally on Mike Santorelli's terrific wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that seemed to catch the rookie by surprise.

But alas, the final score was 5-2 in favor of the orange and black, who are arguably the hottest team in the NHL.  Now, they just have to get through another 65 regular season games relatively injury-free, and maintain their balance and chemistry.

Memo to Flyers fans: If you're planning on seeing this high-powered bunch play at the Wachovia Center, bring an extra beat-up Flyers lid or two just in case.

Gold Notes

Right winger Andreas Nodl, who assisted on Richards' first goal, left the game with an apparent injury to his right foot after blocking a shot. While his foot was quite swollen, x-rays were negative.

Jeff Carter, fresh off a hat trick and an 11-year, $58 million extension, had a relatively silent game, being credited with two shots and one assist on the evening. Such is the team's firepower that they could still dominate without much from Carter or Danny Briere (no points).

A curious moment came during a stoppage in play to review the first Giroux goal. Seemingly 10 minutes into the stoppage, the "lead zebra" announced that the play was being reviewed.  Gee, we never would have guessed as much.

It is hard to believe that veterans Carter and Richards are both only 25. With Giroux and Bobrovsky at age 22, the future indeed looks quite bright for the Flyers and their rabid fans.

Reprint from HabsAddict.com

Playing back-to-back games in two different cities is never an easy feat for any team. But doing it when the second of the back-to-back games is your fourth match in six nights is even harder.

So, when the Montreal Canadiens stepped onto the Bell Center ice against the Florida Panthers last night, it was not surprising to see what looked like a slow, sluggish team.

The Canadiens had moments where they were moving their feet and when they did, they tilted the ice towards the Panthers zone.

The problem for the Habs—who welcomed star defenseman Andrei Markov back into the fold—was that once the Panthers scored their first goal, it was difficult for them to maintain a high level of energy.

Instead, they oscillated between looking flat and playing with vigor.

Despite out-shooting the opposition 41 to 31, the Canadiens were disorganized for long stretches of the match and really looked like they needed a nap.

The end result was that the fresh Panthers took advantage of turnovers and missed passes to put this game away.

Final score: Panthers 3, Habs 1

Habs scorers: Mathieu Darche (2)
Panthers scorers: Michael Frolik (1), David Booth (4), Shawn Matthias (2)

Three Stars

1. Thomas Vokoun

2. David Booth

3. Mathieu Darche

Game Notes

1. Carey Price Was Excellent but Tomas Vokoun Was Better

For some reason, players who used to play for the Canadiens tend to put on their best efforts when facing their former team.

Last night was no exception as Tomas Vokoun did his best impression of a brick wall in shutting down the Canadiens. The one goal that did get by him was the result of hard work from Mathieu Darche, but on the replay you could see that it squeezed under his arm and would be slotted in the "slightly weak" category.

For his part, Price was yet again solid in the Habs net. In particular, he continues to make key saves at key times and gives the Habs a chance to win every game.

Last night, when the score was 1-1, Price made two great saves from in close just when the Habs' energy level looked like it was at its lowest. Time and time again this season, Price is making those key saves and giving his team a chance to win.

2. The David Booth Goal Was Not Jaroslav Spacek's Fault

The Habs defense looked slow and tired for most of the game and made a ton of bad decisions with the puck, which often lead to turnovers. Hal Gill, Jaroslav Spacek, Roman Hamrlik and others were continually throwing the puck into harm’s way and many of those plays led to scoring chances against the Canadiens.

None was more egregious than the play that led to the David Booth penalty shot though.

On the play, Hamrlik tried to skate the puck through the Panthers trap, lost it and found himself skating back to try to cover up his mistake.

The problem was that the puck ended up on David Booth's stick and he had a clear break away. Spacek, who is not the most fleet-footed defenseman on the team, couldn't catch Booth and had no choice but to haul him down.

On the subsequent penalty shot, Booth scored the game-winning goal and the Twitterverse was alight with calls for Spacek's head.

While I agree that Spacek looks terrible so far in this still young season, he was not to blame on that play. That entire situation happened because Hamrlik made a foolish decision with the puck. Rather than passing it off or trying to dump it in, he tried to stick-handle through the Panthers trap. That was a foolish play by a veteran defenseman who should have known better.

The rest you know.

3. If Tomas Plekanec's Line Does Not Score, the Habs Don't Win

I've been saying for a while now that despite the Canadiens success so far this season, they have a lot of holes on their team. One of the biggest holes, aside from their impotent power play, is the lack of production from the Scott Gomez line.

What I had also said is that there will come a point where the Plekanec line does not score and in games like that it will be very difficult for the Habs to win.

Last night's game illustrated that point perfectly.

The Habs only goal-scorer on the night was fourth-liner Mathieu Darche. While the offensive contributions from the bottom six are a welcome addition to the team, the Habs must get consistent offensive contributions from the second line.

Last night, the Plekanec line also looked tired and disorganized at times. At other times, they had their mojo going and came close to scoring on a few occasions. They didn't, however, and since Gomez is still lost in a fog, the Canadiens had no offensive thrust to speak of despite their 41 shots on goal.

It is when the Canadiens lose that we can see how big of a problem the second line is.

Jacques Martin and Co. need to figure something out quickly because with games against the Flyers, Bruins, Kings and others this month, the margin for error will only get smaller.

4. Andrei Markov Was Back but the Power Play Still Fired Blanks

Markov, playing his first game after recovering from offseason knee surgery, looked a little tentative last night. He didn't seem to have his game timing where he needs it to be. Also, he and P.K. Subban looked like they need to get used to playing together.

Both are very dynamic players and it will take a few games for them to find their rhythm. When they do, however, they will become a formidable first pairing for the Canadiens.

The duo also struggled on the power play where Subban fired the puck as often as he could but often missed the net or had his shot blocked. Subban will have to learn that he doesn't have to shoot the puck as hard but that he does have to get it on net, à la Josh Gorges.

The coaches made a strange decision when the Habs had a 5-on-3 power play for 1:25 to start the third period. On the ice were Tomas Plekanec, Michael Cammalleri, Andrei Kostitsyn, Brian Gionta and P.K. Subban.

You would think that a 5-on-3 would be the best opportunity for Markov to do his thing. But no, the coach had four forwards and one defenseman on the ice for the entire time and they were unable to score the tying goal.

It’s kind of hard for Markov to help fix the power play when he is sitting on the bench.

5. Gomez Continues to Be an Island

All night long, Scott Gomez was trying to rush the puck all the way up the ice by himself. And, when he would get to a wall of Panthers sweaters at the offensive blue line he would either turn the puck over or just toss it to the Panthers players.

He has been doing this all season and it is getting a little tiresome.

On another play he passed the puck to Gionta on near the right offensive zone faceoff circle and then, instead of stay at the side of the net, he positioned himself behind it.

The result was that Gionta's pass to the vacant wing sailed into the wind as Gomez watched what would have been a sure goal, from behind the net.

Gomez is making bad decisions with and without the puck and is completely ineffective for the Canadiens as a result.

His partner, Gionta, is working hard and leads all Canadiens players with 40 shots on net, but he is completely snake-bitten.

On the Habs' third-period 5-on-3 power play, Gionta had the tying goal on his stick and couldn't put it into the empty net. Instead, he somehow managed to hit the defenseman's skate on the play, keeping the puck out and the score 2-1 Florida.

With each game that passes, Gionta is getting more and more frustrated and is squeezing his stick a little tighter.

The Canadiens second line is just a disaster right now.

Standings and Next Game

The loss drops the Canadiens to 7-3-1. Their 15 points in the standings mean that they are still in first place in the Northeast Division.

The team now has a couple of days off before taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus on Tuesday.

Maybe they can get their power play going during this two-day reprieve.

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