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And So The Long Lost Second Season Begins

April 13, 2012, 9:47 AM ET [23 Comments]
Dan Spiegel
Florida Panthers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
A lot of talk around the Panthers this last week is if there is a goalie controversy. Jose Theodore, who was stellar for most of the season, looked mediocre for multiple starts down the stretch, making the clinching of a division title all that more excruciating.

Scott Clemmensen outplayed him by far, but only has one playoff start in his career. Coach Kevin Dineen had the familiar dilemma in going with the hot hand or experience. It seems like experience won out.

Jose Theodore will start in net for the Panthers' first playoff game in 12 years. They will be at home facing the New Jersey Devils and former head coach Pete DeBoer.

It is hard to wrap our heads around this game happening as Panther fans. We forgot what it was like to not be looking at booking tee times in mid-April. However, here we are, for what will be a very tough test for the Panthers.

Obviously Martin Brodeur brings three Cups and a wealth of experience to the table, but he is definitely older and slower than in year's past. Additionally the Panthers have had some nice success against him over the last few years. For the season, the two teams split the series with the Panthers getting an extra point.

Theodore will have to be strong out of the gate and will surely be on a short leash. This series can get away from the Cats in a hurry if not solid between the pipes. The likes of Kovalchuk, Parise, Elias, Sykora, and Clarkson are very skilled and need to be kept under wraps as much as possible.

The Devils also have the #1 penalty kill in the NHL along with 15 shorthanded goals. The Panthers, while having the #7 power play in the league, need to get this unit amped up again as they were mostly ineffective the last two weeks of the season.

The FlashMob line of Versteeg-Weiss-Fleischmann have been reunited and need to get on their horse like they did earlier in the season to be able to match the Devils' output.

The microscope will be on both teams defensively, and these groups might just decide the series. The Panthers are certainly more offensively potent on the blue line, and if youngsters Erik Gudbranson and Dmitri Kulikov can hold their own and not let the moment intimidate them, the Panthers might live on past the first round.

This is still the utmost of a gut check for everyone on this Florida squad. It has been a long time. A record long time since this organization has made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

For as long as it has been for this franchise, they are not as inexperienced as one would think. Of the 20 players suited up tonight, 15 have played in the playoffs. 8 have played in more than 30 games, 5 have won the Cup, and 2 of them twice. There is plenty of leadership to go around, and hopefully it will be enough to keep the inexperienced alert and consistent about how to play on such a stage.

This series is probably the least sexiest series in the entire playoffs, as no one outside of these specific fan bases will pay close attention. However, just getting through this round will bring a lot of respect, and eyeballs, to whoever survives.

GM Dale Tallon has said they are ahead of schedule in their five-year plan. If the Panthers are to get through this extremely difficult first round matchup, the overachievement of this group might surprise even him.

This series should go at least six games, but just to keep morale up I will predict Panthers in 7. With this second season underway all bets are off and anyone can make some noise. But if you were to ask me how confident I am in that prediction, I'd say not much. Anything could happen in this series, and it should be fantastic to watch, regardless of outcome.

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