Cats Grab 3 of 4 from Bolts.

-FLORIDA-

A midweek double-header between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning saw the Panthers take 3 of a possible 4 points. The Cats won the first contest 4-3 and both teams skated to a 4-4 draw two days later. Florida keeps a little distance between them and the Carolina Hurricanes in the Southeast Division.

The game Tuesday night was a nail-biter. A game Tampa will look back on as one that got away. Leading 3-2 with about 2 minutes to play the Bolts were called for two penalties which turned into two power-play goals for the Panthers. First was a long point blast from Paul Ranger which found its way through a maze of skates and legs. Then with just 36 seconds left on the clock Antti Miettinen scored the game winner.

Ranger was the star on this night for the Southern Cats with a goal and two helpers. Kyle Calder scored his 26th early in the third frame. Joel Bouchard got the comeback started by scoring the only goal in a lackluster second period.

Game two of the short series went Thursday and it saw the Bolts grab another advantage. Leading 4-2 midway through the game, Tampa could not close-out the stubborn Cats. Tonight it was Nathan Horton as the hero with two goals to give the Panthers the tie. Horton now has 24 goals on the season, a career high.

"I thought we played a much better game tonight," offered Coach Keenan. "The other night we took advantage of some power-plays, tonight we really played hard and played a full 60 minutes. We took the body and had plenty of scoring chances."

Patrick Lalime was named the starter for both games and earned the praises of the coach. "We knew these were two huge games for us against a division rival, we called on Patrick and he gave us what we needed."

Game Notes:

The addition of Alyn McCauley has allowed the coaching staff to ice four solid and balanced lines. Mike Sillinger and Jay Pandolfo have anchored the fourth line and are starting to contribute in limited ice-time. Sillinger scored two in a wild 7-6 win over Atlanta. Pandolfo scored a goal against Tampa while playing just 5 minutes.

Nathan Horton has scored three goals in the last three games and is having a breakout year for the Panthers. His play has lessened the mid-season loss of Ivan Novoseltsev.

The Panthers have spent some time recently trying to improve its special teams. The power-play has looked much improved but the penalty killing has not. The opposition has scored a power-play goal in five straight games against the Cats. During those five games, the Panthers have given up 7 goals in the last 16 short-handed attempts. Coach Keenan will no doubt have some not so nice things to say to his PK units.

Up next ... a trip to Washington to face the Caps.