[Cobra Mgr]

Praise be!

Canes finally broke thru a short handed Florida Panthers team w/a 9-1 blowout. A loss last night would have been devastating to the fan base's confidence. If they couldn't beat the team that handed them 2 blowout series losses in the playoffs, that had 2 3rd period comeback wins vs them this season, that was missing Tkachuk, Barkov, Marchand & Seth Jones, then the psychological hold the defending champs have on Carolina would appear iron tight.

Canes took a 3-1 lead into the 3rd. The game was going pretty much like the 1st 2. Carolina looked like the better squad thru the 1st 40 minutes. It was that final 20 that had been the decider. Not just vs Florida, but a number of skates this year. This time though Carolina was able to turn up the pressure instead of have getting put in the cooker themselves. They took advantage of a number of Florida penalties & their red hot power play cashed in. Three goals w/the man, sometimes 2 man advantage doubled their output & the route was on. When the final horn blew, Canes had tripled their 2 period tally.

Nikolaj Ehlers led the way w/a hat trick & 4 points. Six other Canes provided the other goals. Each forward got at least one point. Bussi stopped 15 of 16 shots.

Right now, the Canes have to find some consistency. They lead the MEtro by 5 points & are tied for the East lead w/Tampa & Detroit. But they are 7-7 in the last 14. They scored 9 tonight. And got shut out last game vs St.Louis. Game before, they trailed the Wings 3-0 thru 2, then came back to tie to get cheated out of a point in OT. But many games, it has been the exact opposite where the Canes dominate the 1st 2 periods to allow a comeback.

Some of this can be put on the goalie situation. Having to play Andersen more has meant a porous defense. Not to mention Ghost & Slavin have been dropping in and out of the lineup. But Andersen has been slightly better of late. If Bussi can maintain & if the Canes can return to being a +.500 team w/Andersen in goal, Canes should continue to vie for the #1 seed in the Cup playoffs.

The offense has been a little bit more lethal. The top 3 lines are becoming equally dangerous. Canes doesn't have anyone in the top 25 in scoring. But only the Avs have more w/20 pts. Ehlers & Svechnikov are proving to be consistent playmakers. Stankoven has shown he can handle the center position.

BTW, the East playoff race is cray cray. Five (Panthers, Caps, Sens, Devils, & Leafs) who made the playoffs last year would be out if the season ended today. But each of them are no more than 5 pts behind the final spot. The Rangers look like they are the only team w/o a credible shot of making a run for the postseason. Which could mean the most important place to look as the trade deadline approaches is the bottom of the West. There are going to be few sellers. But w/such an iffy situation in the standings, it could also mean few buyers. Many may choose to sit with what they have, especially if they are in the early stage of a rebuild, or know they are in the final stages w/their current core.