The Florida Panthers’ biggest name (and highest-paid) defenseman Brian Campbell is still in the mix, but some difficult injuries on the blueline have affected the team on the scoreboard.
The Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Harvey Fialkov discusses how much the team’s offense has “sputtered” without hard-shooting Jason Garrison (who leads the league’s D-men in goal scoring with 13) and smooth-passing Dmitry Kulikov. Panthers coach Kevin Dineen hopes that Florida can add some diversity to its offensive mix in light of these issues.
“You can’t be a one-trick pony, get offense from one source; it can’t be one style,’' Dineen said. “You have to have a little diversity to your game. There’s numbers of ways we’re exploring [in practice].’'
The Panthers remain first overall in the Southeast Division and the Carolina Hurricanes might maintain that lead as they’re up 2-0 against the Washington Capitals. Despite the fact that it doesn’t really seem like anyone is stepping up in the Southeast, Florida is going to have to get its act together - without some of its best catalysts.