Kreps Nets First as Cats Beat Thrash

Atlanta, GA -- Kamil Kreps scored his first career NsHL goal as the Florida Panthers defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 4-1 last night at Phillips Arena.

Florida dominated much of play outshooting the Thrashers 43-24. Thrashers goaler Evgeni Nabokov was valiant in the loss. His counterpart, Brian Boucher took just his second win on the season stopping 23 of 24 shots.

Jay Bouwmeester was a huge factor all night long for the Panthers. Bouwmeester scored the games first goal and then assisted on the other three to finish off as the game first star.

Kreps historic goal came at 13.55 of the first period. Kreps took a pass from Justin Williams and fired a shot through the legs of the Atlanta keeper. "It feels really good," said Kreps. "The coaching staff thought i could help the team. I've had some chances, tonight it shows how important it is to get pucks through to the net. I just have to keep shooting and hope more go in."

And what happened to the puck. "Justin made sure the puck got to our bench," a happy Kreps added. "It's a nice feeling, but tomorrow we play again so you kind of need to forget it for now and keep playing."

Nathan Horton scored his 8th and Williams added one of his own late in the third. Derek Roy scored for the Thrashers as they fell to fifth place in the Southeast Division.

A terrible incident occurred in the game during the second period. Thrashers defender Kevin Bieksa was ejected from the game at the start of the second frame. Bieksa received a major and a game misconduct for being a poo-head. Watch for the NsHL league brass to review the incident and come down hard on more players for being poo-heads. Apparently several GM's in the Eastern Conference encourage their players in this regard and it would be smart to stop this behaviour now.

Panthers Name Captain

Florida -- Peter DeBoer the Florida Panthers head coach announced the club has named Ed Jovanovski as it's captain. Joining Jovanovski as assistant captains will be forwards Evgeni Malkin and Justin Williams.

"Ed was the best choice for our team," said DeBoer. "His leadership and experience are invaluable. He is a natural leader and works like a coach to the younger players in the room."

Jovanovski is playing his 7th season in the NsHL and has averaged 32 points per season. Ed has been a +82 over the course of his career and logged 654 penalty minutes. Jovanovski is playing his third season with Florida after signing as a free agent on October 15, 2007.

Many view newly appointed assistant captain, Evgeni Malkin as the club's future captain. He is the face of the franchise and it's best player. Malkin won the Wayne Gretzky Trophy in '09 and the Teemu Selanne Trophy in '08.

Justin Williams is easily one of the most popular players on the club and now will wear a letter on his jersey. All three leaders were acquired by current Panthers GM IronMike. They were brought in to make a difference and to take the organization to higher levels. This announcement is another step in that direction.

DeBoer and Deboys Finding their Stride

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - When the flurry of coaching changes settled down earlier this season the Florida Panthers were happy to announce the hiring of Pete DeBoer as their new bench boss. The transition from Junior coach to head man in the NsHL has been a rocky road.

"You're trying to get everything done, learning the personnel, going through everything for the first time in the NsHL. It was overwhelming," DeBoer said. "Now that the season is underway I feel much more comfortable in all of those areas."

DeBoer has been called a players' coach by some. “He's a guy who will be honest and fair to you. He's going to tell you the truth,” said Cats winger Justin Williams. “He has an open-door policy and in just a few games the players feel real comfortable playing for Pete.”

"I think the first 10 or 12 games will be a tough transition,” said Deboer. “Keenan was a strong coach and the players were used to his way. Once we establish some accountability and reward for playing time based on merit, I think they will respond."

DeBoer can be hard on his players something the team experienced first-hand after a recent three-game losing skid. But nothing compared to the volatility of Mike Keenan.

"I don't think I’ll change my game," DeBoer said. "An 82-game schedule is a grind and you must use different tactics and techniques. But, I can’t change what has worked for me in the past." So far that formula has worked just fine. Deboer is a two-time winner of OHL Coach of the Year award and coached the Kitchener Rangers to a Memorial Cup victory in 2003.

Caps lucky to meet wounded Cats

Washington -- Easter Sunday is a day the Washington Capitals can count themselves lucky. They get to host a banged-up Florida Panthers squad who would probably rather stay at home in sunny Florida and lick their wounds.

But the schedule must go on and the Southern Cats have made the trip to DC minus three starters. It could not come at a better time for the Capitals as they are making a huge late push for a playoff spot and they need every point.

In what could be a preview of a round one playoff series, Florida meets Washington coming off a 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. A result which also helped the very "lucky" Capitals as the Bolts are one point behind Washington in the playoff chase.

The Capitals enter the game off a 2-1 loss to the Champion Vancouver Canucks.

For the Panthers, Ed Jovanovski, Branislav Mezei and Marc Savard will all miss the game do to injury. Savard (broken nose) and Jovanovski (bruised heel) are in the worst shape and will miss 2-3 games. Look for waiver claim Karlis Skrastins to make his first appearence in a Panther uniform.

Cats clinch division .. claim Skrastins for playoff run

Florida -- The Florida Panthers defeated the New York Rangers 4-3 last night to clinch their second straight Southeast Division. Kris Draper and PJ Axelsson each had two points to pace the Panthers to the home victory.

The game was undecided going into the final minute of play. Jay Bouwmeester rushed the puck into the Rangers end. Jay pulled up and passed the puck to Kyle Calder in the corner. Calder's pass into the slot was one-timed under the bar by Evgeni Malkin. Giving the Panthers a 4-3 advantage with just 38 seconds to play.

The win moved the Panthers to within one point of the Rangers for first overall in the East. Both teams have eight games left in the regular season. The final stretch should provide some excitement at the top of the table.

Karlis Skrastins Added to Florida Roster

The Florida Panthers added some depth to their roster with the waiver claim of Karlis Skrastins. Skrastins was placed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers and Panthers management were quick to jump in and add Karlis to their team.

"Karlis adds some great depth" said GM IronMike. "We've told Karlis to get settled into South Florida because he will certainly provide a role for our team this season and next. We like what he can bring every night. He's a sound player at both ends of the rink. The coaching staff had no reservations about bringing him onto our team."

Watch for Skrastins to make his debut for the Cats this weekend.
Karlis Skrastins:
Season 6 ... played 21 games for Edmonton and had 3 goals and two assists.
Season 5 ... played 82 games for Nashville and recorded 4 goals and 11 assists.
Season 4 ... played 73 games for Colorado & San Jose and had 1 goal and 4 helpers.
Season 3 ... played 79 games for Colorado and recorded 3 goals and 5 assists.
Season 2 ... played 62 games for Colorado and had 1 goal and 9 helpers.

Cats beat Wild in straight sets: 5-2, 5-2.

Florida -- The Florida Panthers extended their winning streak to five games last night with a 5-2 win at home over the Minnesota Wild.

The game was the back half of a home-and-home series. The Southern Cats took game one by the exact same 5-2 score.

The first game in Minnesota saw the Panthers erase a 2-0 second period deficit with 5 unanswered goals. Kyle Calder powered the Cats with a two goal game. Nathan Horton scored his 18th of the season and it stood as the game winner. Slick Cats defender, Sergei Zubov had a three point night with a goal and two helpers. Patrick Lalime was in goal for Florida and took the win. Ryan Miller was pulled from the game in the third by Wild coach Jacques Lemaire.

The second game was played in front of a sold out crowd in South Florida. The home team pounced on the Wild and held a 3-0 lead after two. Jay Bouwmeester scored his first in a Panther uniform this season and Evgeni Malkin scored the winner. Mike Modano and Derrick Walser scored third period goals for the Wild. Lalime won his second straight battle over Miller. Lemaire had his hook out again as he pulled Miller in favour of veteran Curtis Joseph.

Game Notes: The Panthers are 6-1-1 since the Jason Spezza - Jay Bouwmeester trade....the Cats have 25 sellouts this season from 28 home dates....Malkin and Marc Savard are one-two in the NsHL Scoring race....Malkin came back a little too early from his groin injury (ouch!)....he is expected to play Saturday night in Los Angeles although he will play a much more minor role.

Panthers rout Thrashers 7-1

Florida -- The Florida Panthers made their sold out home crowd happy as Branislav Mezei had two goals and an assist to help lead the team to a 7-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers Saturday night at the Enterprise Car Rental Center.

The Panthers (28-16-5) opened up scoring on a power play at 10:26 of the first period when Marc Savard centered a pass to Mezei who scored from the slot. Nathan Horton and Antti Miettinen also scored first period markers as the Cats jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

“We were flying at the start of the game,” said Head Coach Mike Keenan. “With 18 shots in the opening period it allowed us to take control and never let them get going.”

Horton scored his second goal of the game 5-hole on Atlanta goalie Evgeni Nabokov at 8:19 of the second from the right circle off a pass from Kyle Calder as the Panthers took a 4-0 lead. Panthers defender Braydon Coburn scored his 9^th of the season to make it 5-0 after two.

The Thrashers (21-25-3) got on the board at 10:54 of the third when Mike Cammalleri scored on the power-play. At 17:09 of the third period Patrick Eaves scored as he banked the puck of the back of Ty Conklin who replaced Nabokov to start the third. Mezei capped off scoring at 19:13 when he took a pass from Miettinen and scored glove-side on Conklin, making the final score 7-1 Florida.

“He had a strong game,” Miettinen said of Mezei. “The big guy was a force in both ends of the rink. Hitting, scoring and providing great defense.”

Manny Fernandez had 19 saves on 20 shots to win his 8th of the season. Nabokov had 19 saves on 24 shots while backup Conklin had six saves on eight shots after replacing Nabokov at the start of the third.

Game Notes: Marc Savard had a big game for Florida pitching in four helpers ... Ed Jovanovski played 25 minutes and was a plus four ... Savard leads the NsHL with a plus27 ... He also leads the league with 39 assists ... second year pivot Evgeni Malkin continues to lead the league in points with 59 points ... He’ll need to play the best hockey of his life to lead the league through the second half of the season ... the NsHL is a very strong league and a host of Superstar players are breathing down his neck including teammate Marc Savard.

Panthers sign two

Florida -- The Florida Panthers signed two players to contracts last night. The Panthers signed 23 year-old center Matt Fornataro and 25 year-old right-winger Brandon Segal.

Earlier this week the Panthers made one of the most talked about trades in recent memory when they traded Jason Spezza and Daniel Carcillo to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Jay Bouwmeester and a draft pick. Because they lost two starting forwards from their roster the Panthers management decided it was time to re-stock the shelves.

Both Fornataro and Segal will be sent to the minors to get some added seasoning with the Jacksonville Jokers.

Fornataro, originally from Calgary, Alberta spent four seasons with New Hampshire University where he tallied 118 points in 158 games.
**for you NHL fans, Matt was signed by the San Jose Sharks in 2008 and currently plays with the Worcsheter Sharks**

Segal, originally from Richmond, British Columbia played in the Western Hockey League with the Calgary Hitman. He scored 206 points and had 434 penalty minutes in his Junior career.

**for you NHL fans, Brandon played his FIRST NHL GAME on March 3 for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Segal has suited up twice for TB and averaged about 13 minutes of ice-time.**

Cats get defensive.

Florida -- The Florida Panthers made a shocking trade last night acquiring Jay Bouwmeester from the Nashville Predators. In Jay the Panthers get a 6'4 220 lb defenseman who can handle things at both ends of the rink. The smooth skating Bouwmeester has 18 points in 45 games this season.

The deal was a costly one as the Panthers gave up Jason Spezza. It was the classic deal that helps both teams. The Predators pick up a pivot who will play number one minutes while the Panthers bring the help they need on defense.

The trade breaksdown as follows:

TO FLA - Jay Bouwmeester and a first round pick in this year's draft (ATL)

TO NAS - Jason Spezza and Daniel Carcillo

Panthers GM Ironmike has this to say ..... "It was tough trade to make. Jason Spezza has been the face of this franchise for a number of years and posted big numbers for our club. We thank Jason for his contribution and for what he brought to our team. Daniel Carcillo is a young hard nosed winger who is just starting to make a name for himself in this league. We thank Daniel for his effort this season and wish him well in the future.
This season we have struggled on defense. The team is second in the league in team scoring but near the bottom in team defence. We have regularly given up too many quality scoring chances. It shows up on the scoreboard every night and we wanted to address this problem before the playoffs. Jay Bouwmeester can solidify our defense for years to come. He can shutdown top players and he can join the rush to create scoring chances. He skates and handles the puck well and we think he'll will fit in well with our defense corps."

Bouwmeester will suit up tonight when the Panthers play Montreal. The speculation is he'll be paired with veteran Chris Chelios. Bouwmeester should also see playing time on the power play with slick defender Sergei Zubov.

Spezza on the move??!?

Florida -- The Florida Panthers announced Jason Spezza would not be in the line-up for their Wednesday game at home against their Southeast rival the Atlanta Thrashers.

Spezza is 100% healthy and the speculation is he could be on the move this week. The Panthers did not make any moves during the recent trade summit although they were hard work talking to many different teams.

"Jason will not play tomorrow night," said Panthers GM Ironmike. "We've been in contact with the Spezza camp and they understand we are trying to do what is best for the team and what's best for Jason Spezza. I'm not sure what will happen over the next 24-48 hours. But i can guarantee Jason will have fresh legs and be ready to play at an elite level later this week."

Obviously the whole story is not being released by Panthers Management. It appears the next few days will be vital to Florida Panthers and the rest of the NsHL.