When the Panthers and Ducks met in Anaheim on November 16th, the Cats came through with one of the more surprising games of the year, a 6-2 win.
While the Panthers were patting themselves on the back for a complete effort, word out of Ducks camp were a lot of excuses. The most notable excuse being they had just finished a "brutal" home and home with the Kings over A 3 DAY SPAN, and it was a "trap game" to play Florida on a back to back after expending such emotion against L.A.
Every team deals with back to backs, and it's not like L.A. is truly an away game, so not really sure how this reasoning holds up. But at the time the Ducks were tops in the NHL in points, and as they arrive in Sunrise tonight they are 2nd overall behind the team the Panthers just played, the Nashville Predators.
Excuses or not, teams and players don't forget when they receive a whooping, and tonight should be a prime example of that. Not only are they looking to get back at the Panthers, they are also angry after losing two straight to Washington and Tampa on their road trip.
The Panthers have to be ready to play from the opening puck drop.
Although Florida dictated most of the play against Nashville Sunday afternoon, they only were able to squeak out a point as they lost in a shootout. They were up 2-0 going into the 3rd and outshot the Preds 15-4 in that frame. But the Panthers took two bad penalties and Nashville converted on both power plays, sending the game to overtime.
It wasn't the first time the Panthers had left valuable points on the table in a game they should have won. On previous occasions it was the ineffectiveness of Florida's power play that kept them from winning the game, not the penalty kill. Both units need improving if there is any chance at the playoffs.
At a point in the season where Florida is looking to get back into Wild Card contention, every point is like gold. Not earning the deserved two points against Nashville was especially painful after a great team effort for 65 minutes.
As you can imagine, the anti-shootout crowd was screaming loud and clear how horrible it is for games to be decided with an exhibition contest. I'll leave that for another day.
7 of the next 8 games are on the road for Florida, so it is imperative the Cats focus and try to get an all-important win against a slightly slumping Ducks team tonight. Like their last few games the Panthers don't have to worry about giving their opposition points in regulation, so there is slightly more room for error if needed.
Florida players were not happy after the game Sunday. They know they deserved better. If it wasn't for the shootout perhaps they ultimately prevail. We shall see if their frustration from Sunday results in an excellent effort tonight.
Dan Spiegel... Florida Panthers Media