Panthers Impress After Two Weeks

The Florida Panthers began the first two weeks of the 2011-12 season differently than they have in other seasons since the NHL lockout winning three of their first four games. The team opened up the season with four of their first five games on the road. Jose Theodore, who was acquired as a free agent during the off-season, made 27 saves and picked up a 2-0 shutout over the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum. Stephen Weiss and Jason Garrison scored goals in that game. Three nights later, the Panthers came up short in Pittsburgh falling to the Penguins 4-2. Free agent pickups Marcel Goc and Tomas Fleischmann both got their first goals in a Panthers uniform. The team returned home to the newly renovated Bank Atlantic Center(lower bowl red seats) where team revealed and played in their new red uniforms. Success showed with the new jerseys as they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in a shootout. Florida went 2-for-6 on the power play and got goals with the man advantage from new arrivals Ed Jovanovski and Kris Versteeg. Jovanovski, who was nicknamed Jovocop, played for the Florida Panthers from his rookie season in 1995-96 until 1998-99 when he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Pavel Bure. The Panthers finished the home-and-home series two nights later in Tampa and defeated the Lightning 7-4. Five different players put the puck in the net for the team. They inclued Weiss, Versteeg(2 PPG), Tomas Kopecky, Sean Bergenheim(SHG) and Garrison. The Cats power play was spectacular going 5-for-9. The Panthers were shut down the following night 3-0 in Washington D.C. against the Capitals.