SUNRISE, FL – From October through May the most popular thing on ice in South Florida is the stone crab. These tasty crustaceans have long been regarded as the delicacy of choice to consume and are enjoyed annually by locals and visitors alike. But this year, their popularity during this time of year is being equally matched in the form of an exciting hockey club advancing toward a playoff berth for the first time in twelve years. Not since their 1996 run to the Stanley Cup Finals have South Floridians embraced their club as much, a club with an entertaining mix of youthful energy and savvy veteran leadership who have risen to be one of the most-improved franchises this season and with a little luck, are poised for a memorable post-season run. Even though he was not the General Manager of record when the Chicago Blackhawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup, Dale Tallon was a key contributor to their success. When he moved to South Florida, he brought his franchise-rebuilding talents to the Sunshine State and his presence has been felt ever since. You can see the similarities in the maturing process of the current Panthers to the talented Blackhawks from the Windy City. During the Summer of 2011, Tallon retooled the Panthers by making clever trades and ambitious free agent signings and the result has been nothing short of a Renaissance. Asked about where the team is now relative to the overall plan and he will tell you it is the first of several acts to come, which means the process is ahead of schedule. For the first time since 2000, the Florida Panthers are about to secure a playoff spot and are making a valiant run to win the Southeast Division. It will probably take a division crown to win to make the playoffs. Their division rivals, the Washington Capitals, are struggling to hold onto the eight spot in the Conference as they are being challenged by the advancing Buffalo Sabres. The Panthers are currently on pace for 94 points, their highest total since 2000 when they struck 98. Overall, the Panthers sit nineteenth among the thirty NHL teams. Thanks to a perennially week division where twenty-four of the Cats’ games come against Tampa, Winnipeg, Washington and Carolina, Florida is there to seize the third Conference seed. At least three of those will not play an eighty-third game this season, adding to the ease with which a Division crown is probable. Coach Kevin Dineen’s leadership pedigree and reputation as a winner everywhere he has been has been a stabilizing force for this relatively young team who hasn’t used the term “berth” in over a decade. And with a venture into new territory comes unexpected outcomes. A look at the team statistics and nothing stands out that reveals how they have gained success on their own. They rank 26th in goals scored and 12th in goals against, detailing at the very least defense has played an enormous role in their achievements so far. The power play is ranked 12th, but penalty killing is 24th. Whether they score first or allow the first goal, they rank 17th overall in both categories. And when they have a lead, be it after the first period or second period, they rank 23rd and 26th respectively. Shots for or against do not seem to matter either as they rank 19th and 22nd in these categories. So given nearly a full season, what will it take for the Panthers to clinch the Southeast Division and lace their skates long into the playoffs? Below are four things Florida needs in order to secure the third spot in the Eastern Conference and compete for the 2012 Stanley Cup. 1.) Solid Goaltending – Veteran Jose Theodore and young Scott Clemmensen have kept this team defensively competitive in the Southeast Division all year long shutting down Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and Jeff Skinner. In the post-season, Florida will likely face the New Jersey Devils and more goal scoring threats in the form of Ilya Kovalchuk (34), Zack Parise (31), David Clarkson (30) and Patrick Elias (25). The defense will have to be tight. 2.) Improved Penalty-Killing – Florida must improve their penalty-killing efforts. A team that allows a goal on every five penalty-killing situations won’t last long. Of team’s who will likely make the playoffs, the Panthers currently rank 15th among the sixteen post-season teams. 3.) Veteran Leadership – A team who has success in the post season usually does so because key players have gone long into May before, even tasted June champagne from Lord Stanley’s Cup. Four players, Brian Campbell, Kris Versteeg, Tomas Kopecy and John Madden have lifted the chalice at least once with the latter having done so three times. It is up to these four men to indoctrinate the rest of the team into playing deep into April and May. 4.) Timely Scoring – by the time the season is complete, ten players will have netted at least double digits, and three will have reached the twenty-goal plateau (Tomas Fleischman with 26, Kris Versteeg with 22 and Stephen Weiss with 19). With a very stingy defense set, someone will have to step up and score and it doesn’t seem to matter when, just score three goals. Remember Reggie Leach and the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers? Leach had thirty goals in eighty-two games during the regular season and then hit the post-season by registering nineteen goals in sixteen games. Although the Flyers dropped four straight close games to the Canadiens that season, Leach won the MVP of the post season and carried Philadelphia. For a more recent example, remember Dustin Byfuglien and the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks? In a regular season when Byfuglien scored seventeen goals in eighty-two games, he scored eleven goals in twenty-two games and played an enormous role in bringing Chicago their first Stanley Cup in forty-nine years. Who will it be to lead the scoring assault for Florida? There are some other good things going on with the team as they enter the post-season. Crowds seem to be taking notice of their team’s success as average attendance is 16,537 this season, good for 22nd among the NHL’s teams and an increase of nearly 6% over prior year. In a city with competing leisure activities, the successful NBA heat and a new stadium and transformed major league baseball franchise, the Miami Marlins, the Panthers still struggle for attention. Still, this year is one of progress worth experiencing as a fan. This year’s marketing slogan, “We See Red”, seeks to bring an identity to a franchise which has long-struggled to find one. Winning has a tendency to help this process; sustaining it helps establish it. With a payroll of $52,216,607, ranked 19th in the League, the Panthers seek to strike a balance between fiscal responsibility and the talent to be competitive and win now while establishing continuity for future seasons. A trip to the BankAtlantic Center when the ice is laid out over the next few weeks and perhaps longer will be worth it. With a win tonight in Winnipeg, the Panthers will clinch the division giving them the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Florida will want to wrap up the seed tonight because the Panthers visit Washington on Thursday. If things are not settled by that point, then there will be trouble. To add to the challenge, the Panthers need to win outright against the Capitals in overall points as Washington holds favor in all tie-breakers. So for this final week of the NHL season, if you are in South Florida and faced with a choice of buying a hockey ticket or placing an order for stone crabs, choose Panther claws over stone crab claws. You can eat stone crabs every year between mid-October to mid-May. Who knows when this level of hockey excitement might return to South Florida.
Contact Dennis.Morrell@prohockeynews.com
