So much for the lockout allowing guys to stay strong and healthy. The number of banged up Panthers continues to grow, and an already offensively challenged unit will have to dig deeper to keep the season from spiraling out of control in the first two weeks.

The 1-3 Panthers are already in a must-win situation when the Flyers visit Saturday night. While goaltenders Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen have looked relatively sharp thus far, he has not had any offensive support from his teammates. The Cats have mustered two measly goals over the last 196:25, which is an obvious recipe for disaster if the trend continues.

As if that weren't bad enough, players keep dropping like flies. While the status of Stephen Weiss is not clearly known, he is out with a lower body injury. Kris Versteeg may return Saturday but has not played yet this season. Tomas Fleischmann did not participate in practice Friday because of an injury, and Marcel Goc and Sean Bergenheim both remain out with lower body injuries. Erik Gudbranson should be close to returning after offseason shoulder surgery, but still has not been cleared.

Bergenheim is believed to be the most serious. He hurt himself playing in his hometown of Helsinki during the lockout, and his whereabouts and return are unknown. Head coach Kevin Dineen was very short and slightly irked when asked again about Bergenheim's status. Something says management is not very happy with Bergy right now.

To supplement all these players, Drew Shore, Mike Santorelli, and now Quinton Howden will likely be seeing more playing time while the squad heals. Alex Kovalev would have been hard pressed to earn a job on this squad if everyone was healthy, but by default he is here to bridge the gap to health.

But in a 48 game season the healing needs to happen quick or the Panthers will find themselves in a deep hole by mid-February.

With all the assets in the organization and just plain bad luck regarding injuries one shouldn't expect GM Dale Tallon to start wheeling and dealing out of desperation, but he surely is miffed at the current situation. Patience might be the best virtue right now.

Most of the top forwards out, and down a potential top 4 defenseman has left the Panthers in a lurch. You won't find two guys in the league who show every emotion like Tallon and Dineen. The scowls on their faces will be deeper and angrier very quickly if this team doesn't pick itself up and put forth a solid 60 minutes against Philadelphia.

The managerial fireworks will sure be interesting if another clunker becomes reality.

Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this, press "like" above and feel free to comment.

Dan Spiegel...
Connect with me on Facebook at www.faceboook.com/dan.spiegel.7

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