Florida -- After this mornings skate Nathan Horton was pulled aside and told he was being moved off the number two line. After two sub-par series one would think the Panthers brain trust had finally seen enough of Horton as a top six forward.
But no, Horton was being moved to the first line with Evgeni Malkin and Kyle Calder. The move paid off in game five as the trio combined for 3 goals and 2 helpers as the Panthers beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in double overtime.
53 seconds after Andrej Meszaros went off for slashing, Paul Ranger moved the puck over to Malkin who one-timed a shot through Martin Brodeur. The Panthers now head back to the swamp with a 3-2 series advantage.
Panthers GM IronMike talked about the Horton change. "I talked with the coaches after game four," explained mike. "We thought Horton could add some grit to our top line. He's 6'2 and 220 ... he's a large body who can play a big game. Putting Justin Williams on the second line adds some speed. Lang and Wheeler have performed so well and we knew Williams could bring his strong overall game and make them better too."
The second line opened the scoring for the Cats as Wheeler scored his 4th of playoffs assisted by Williams and Lang.
For some GM's in the NsHL these types of moves are commonplace. Trading and flipping players in and out of the line-up are a staple in the make-up of most NsHL teams.
Not in Florida, "If Cito Gaston took up managing hockey he would fit right in with the Panthers," said hockey insider Pierre Macturd. "Most GM's operate at high speed all the time. always making small moves to benefit the club. IronMike in Florida makes moves at the speed of a glacier."
The Panthers might operate different but the results have been very good in the last few years. Can it continue? According to Macturd, "the 4th win is always the hardest ... especially against Marty!"
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