The Florida Panthers are more or less a .500 team with Tom Rowe behind the bench (2-3-3) as they were when Gerard Gallant got fired (11-10-1), but the difference, now, is that they’re a lightning rod for analytics debates.
For those who want to pile on the Panthers - either for the way they fired Gallant, their seemingly nerdy approach or both - Tuesday was pretty sweet.
The Minnesota Wild won 5-1, collecting their fifth consecutive win as Devan Dubnyk made 29 out of 30 saves. By continuing this mediocre-at-best work, Rowe and the Panthers took some serious heat.
Here’s a small sample of the reactions:
I'm sure Tom Rowe's fancy stat boys can explain how a 5-0 loss is really a huge Corsi/Fenwick win.
— Jack Todd (@jacktodd46) December 14, 2016
The Tom Rowe Era...
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) December 14, 2016
Tonight in St Paul, 5-1 loss to the Wild...
2-3-3 in 8 games...
Out scored 24-14 in those 8 games...
Live look at the @FlaPanthers Season pic.twitter.com/DVH50gMc9h
— Joey (@TroWasTraded) December 14, 2016
Some of that is merely stating the facts (with a smile, maybe?) while others are a little closer to proclaiming that the sky is falling. But there’s no doubt that things were a little tense tonight.
Consider how Rowe was losing it on the bench:
Tom Rowe absolutely red hot on the Panthers' bench: pic.twitter.com/h8jgXEBa4g
— Cats On The Prowl (@Cats0ntheprowl) December 14, 2016
While Roberto Luongo was in no mood for funny tweets:
Does any of this prove anything one way or another? Well, that might hinge on who you ask ...