Despite a furious third-period comeback, the Florida Panthers came up short in Game 7 of their opening-round matchup against the New Jersey Devils. Calder Trophy candidate Adam Henrique eliminated the Panthers with his game-winning goal in double-overtime, sending a dejected sellout crowd of 19,313 inside BankAtlantic Center to the exits, many of them with rat in hand as they commiserated over the gut-wrenching 3-2 loss.
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The NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals playoff series have concluded with three game 7s on Wednesday and Thursday evening. Wednesday saw the Washington Capitals upset the higher seeded Boston Bruins in their own building in overtime. On Thursday, the New York Rangers found victory at home against the underdog Ottawa Senators. In addition, the New Jersey Devils upset the higher seeded Florida Panthers in double overtime.
Moving forward to round 2 of the playoffs, the Rangers will host the Capitals in a best of seven series. The Philadelphia Flyers will do the same for the Devils. The Flyers open the round 2 series hosting the Devils at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, April 29th in a matinee game.
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Florida Panthers fans – welcome back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Twelve years is a long time to be away from anything. The last time the Panthers had a playoffs logo painted on their ice, the world was a different place. The Playstation 2 was all the rage, no one knew who Dora the Explorer was, and we still had faith in Floridians’ ability to count. Oh, right, and Martin Brodeur backstopped his Devils team to a Stanley Cup championship, steam rolling over the Panthers in the first round. Brodeur, along with Patrick Elias and Petr Sykora are the only members of that team still with the Devils. I challenge you to name three players still with the Panthers from last season…
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Flyers: 42-22-8 (fifth in the Eastern Conference, third in the Atlantic Division) v Panthers: 35-23-12 (third in the Eastern Conference, first in the Southeast Division)
The Flyers are coming off a huge 3-2 overtime win over the Pittsburgh that put an end to Pittsburgh’s’ 11-game winning streak on Sunday. Scott Hartnell continued to shine, scoring the game-tying and game-winning goals ( 0.9 seconds left in OT) while continuing to be his feisty self getting under the skin of the pens,taking them out of their game. Ilya Bryzgalov, who started and recorded the win , bryz is 8-0-1 in his last nine starts and has been in net for the Flyers’ last four.
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Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos has always been a talented player with a lethal slapshot and a knack for finding the back of the net. This year, however, Stamkos is proving to be much more than just a pure goal-scorer. On a team that’s struggling, and likely to miss the playoffs, Stamkos’ play has been something to smile about.
As of March 18th; with 11 games to go; Stamkos leads the league with 50 goals. More than that, however, he has 34 assists for 84 total points, good for second in the league behind Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin. He also is equal to last season’s total with a plus/minus rating of plus-3. Stamkos also leads the league in power play goals (10) and game-winning goals (also 10).
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For a guy who has three 20-goal seasons on his resume, it’s hard to believe that Florida Panthers forward Kris Versteeg has been traded four times through the first four years of his NHL career, including three times in a span of just over a year.
For some people, that would already fit the definition of a journeyman. But Versteeg is tired of unpacking his bags, and he’s hoping that he can call Sunrise, Florida his home for many years to come.
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Dale Tallon has done it again.
The Florida Panthers GM, who was arguably the busiest general manager during this past offseason, has made another savvy pickup by signing veteran center John Madden to a one-year contract.
Rumors of the signing surfaced last week, but Wednesday brought confirmation that Madden would in fact be taking part in NHL action for the first time this season. The 38-year-old power forward will be entering his 12th NHL season. Madden has played in 867 games split between his time with New Jersey, Chicago and Minnesota. Madden not only brings a strong veteran presence to a young Panthers team, his three Stanley Cups (two with the Devils and one with the Blackhawks) prove that he has plenty of playoff experience, something the Panthers are hoping will come in handy at the conclusion of the regular season.
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With the first quarter of the 2011-12 NHL season now in the books, there have been plenty of surprises. However, there are a fair share of players who have had great starts to the season that have yet to be recognized for their contributions to their respective teams.
Here are the five most underrated players of the season thus far.
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In the post-lockout NHL, having a solid netminder is a must. However, especially in recent years, backup goaltenders are becoming just as valuable of a commodity. Wins are hard to come by in this league, and if a team’s No. 1 guy in the crease goes down with an injury or just needs a break, it’s important that teams have a dependable backup to fill the void.
Here is a list of five backup goalies who have not only proved their worth thus far, but in some instances, have actually taken over the starting role.
Jacob Markstrom, Florida Panthers
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If there was one theme in the month of October in the NHL, it was to expect the unexpected.
With that in mind, as hard as it may be to believe, the current NHL standings are in fact correct.
So, where to begin?
How about over in the Northeast Division, where the last team you would expect to be at the top would be the Toronto Maple Leafs (7-3-1). However, the only thing that might be more surprising within that division is that the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins are dead last (4-7-0)—not only in the division, but in the entire Eastern Conference.
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