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A few vocal fans near the Florida bench and tunnel were also sent home early by the authorities. Again, they would be considered fortunate.

“We were hanging on for dear life and got outplayed in every aspect of the game,” coach Kevin Dineen said. “We didn’t rise to the occasion.”

Florida was outplayed by the Blues from the start of the night with Tim Thomas keeping his new team in it.

Thomas made 13 saves in the opening period although he couldn’t find a shot from Brenden Morrow with 6:02 left in the period.

Florida had deftly killed off a 5-on-3 power play chance with Scott Gomez and Shawn Matthias in the box, yet with seven ticks left on the Matthias penalty, Morrow followed a shot from Derek Roy and put it into the back of the net for the lone score of the period.

“You don’t like to se a 7-0 score and it’s all our fault,” Jonathan Huberdeau said. “We had a few scores like that last year and we don’t want any of that this year. We’re better than this. We just have to work harder. It was only 1-0 in the first and into the second. We didn’t have a good start or a good game. We need to step up.”

The Panthers came out in the second and things looked markedly different, as Florida began dictating the flow of the game.

The Panthers’ biggest scoring chance come with 12:45 left when Brad Boyes and Aleksander Barkov charged goalie Jaroslav Halak on a rush with Boyes keeping the shot. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Boyes’ wrister rang off the right post and the Blues kept their one-goal advantage.

Instead of the score being tied, the Panthers suddenly found themselves sliding downhill. A few minutes after Boyes’ shot, Vladimir Tarasenko took advantage of a three-Panther pileup in front of the cage and put the puck through for a 2-0 advantage.

Less than three minutes later it was 3-0 after Florida’s Tom Gilbert gave up the puck behind his net. St. Louis’ Vlad Sobotka fired it to Jaden Schwartz, who flicked it past Thomas for a 3-0 advantage.

Roy made it 4-0 with 3:48 left in the period with Alex Steen polishing things off by scoring on a penalty shot with 57 seconds remaining after being dragged to the ice on a break by Alex Gudbranson.

“It went downhill and snowballed quick,” Thomas said. “As a team you have to find a way to break that momentum and we weren’t able to do it for a long period of time. It wasn’t just a couple minutes.”

Although Thomas (23 saves on 28 shots) stayed in through the end of the second, he didn’t make it past that. Jacob Markstrom came in to start the third but couldn’t staunch the bleeding.

The Blues scored twice off their first four shots to open the third and turn a rout into a true laugher.

Markstrom ended with four saves on six shots in the final 20 minutes of play. The NHL, unfortunately, doesn’t have a mercy rule and allow a running clock in situations Florida found itself in Saturday night.

“We have to be better,” Dineen said. “There is still work to do.

“There was ugliness here [Saturday].”

Miami Herald LOADED: 10.06.2013

719741 Florida Panthers

Florida Panthers’ Marcel Goc fitting in on top line

BY GEORGE RICHARDS

Posted on Sun, Oct. 06, 2013

Much was made of how the Panthers would replace Stephen Weiss as top-line center when Weiss left to chase the Stanley Cup in Detroit over the summer.

It turns out Weiss’ replacement might have been here all along.

With a lineup beset with injuries last year, Marcel Goc found himself in a different position as he was centering one of the top two lines. Goc has made a living as a grinding third line defensive player, although the Panthers liked the chemistry he seemed to have with Tomas Fleischmann.

When Florida kicked off Thursday in Dallas, Goc found himself a No. 1 center to start a season for the first time in his nine-year NHL career.

Goc, who still prides himself on his defensive play despite the playmakers surrounding him, scored two goals in Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Stars.

Goc’s first goal was the game-winner as he trailed the play and buried a beautiful feed from Fleischmann. His second came in the final minutes and went into an empty net.

“Last year, I moved up and down the lines because of the injuries,” said Goc, who had scored twice in a game only once before and not in his previous two seasons with the Panthers.

“I play the way I play and I try to do the same things every night. But now I have to keep up with the offensive stuff, but I still have to be responsible defensively. But no question, playing with these guys is fun.”

Fleischmann said he and Kris Versteeg appreciate the defensive prowess Goc brings to their line, one formerly centered by Weiss. Two seasons ago, the Weiss/Fleischmann/Versteeg trio was the most productive line in the league.

Last year, Weiss and Versteeg missed most of the season because of serious injuries.

“He’s a similar player to me, he sees the ice very well and that may be why we play well together,” Fleischmann said. “Last year, we finished playing together and we find each other on the ice. I kind of know where he is and he knows where his wingers are.”

DAY 2 CHANGES

Coach Kevin Dineen is expected to continue tinkering with his lines in this early going of the season. Saturday saw some minor tweaking, with Krys Barch replacing Drew Shore on the fourth line.

Barch played after sitting out Thursday in Dallas. Matt Gilroy and Joey Crabb joined Shore on the scratch line.

“It’s early in the season and we’ve been blessed with the gift of extra bodies,” Dineen said. “We’re going to take advantage of it. This continues to be a work in progress in trying to find some symmetry. We’ll go from there.”

A day off

The Panthers stayed in St. Louis after Saturday’s game and plan on having an off day in the city Sunday. The team will charter a flight to Philadelphia on Monday morning and practice at the University of Pennsylvania later that day.

Miami Herald LOADED: 10.06.2013

719742 Florida Panthers

Recap: St. Louis vs. Florida

By Sports Network

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Jaroslav Halak stopped all 19 shots he faced to set a new franchise record, as the St. Louis Blues blitzed the Florida Panthers, 7-0, at Scottrade Center.

Halak earned his first shutout of the season and 17th career whitewash with the Blues, eclipsing the mark of 16 previously held by Hall of Fame netminder Glenn Hall from 1968-71.

Brenden Morrow got the Blues going with an early power-play goal and the home team tacked on four more in the second period. Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz and Derek Roy all netted goals within a span of 3:41, while Alex Steen backhanded home a penalty shot late in the period for a 5-0 margin.

Ryan Reaves and Patrik Berglund scored early in the third to produce the final margin.

"We probably don't have that superstar talent, but it's a grinding team that is solid throughout," Morrow said. "Anyone can be the hero any given night."

Tim Thomas, who signed with Florida just prior to the start of the regular season after taking all of last year off, allowed five goals on 28 shots in defeat. Jacob Markstrom took over between the pipes and gave up a pair of goals on six shots.

"We just never did anything to break their momentum once they finally got it," Thomas said.

Morrow led St. Louis down the ice towards the end of a first period power play and dropped the puck off the boards for Chris Stewart, who directed it on net. Derek Roy got a stick on the puck before Morrow sprinted towards Thomas to tap it home at 13:58.

The score remained 1-0 until the 12:31 mark of the second when Tarasenko's tip-in in traffic beat Thomas. Tom Gilbert then turned the puck over in Florida's zone, which led to Schwartz's goal on a feed from Vladimir Sobotka at 15:07.

Only 65 seconds later, Roy found space in front of the Panthers' goal and got off a clean wrister for a 4-0 game, then Steen broke free and got tangled up near goal to earn a penalty shot with 57 seconds remaining.

Steen went to his backhand on the penalty shot and put it past Thomas, chasing him from the contest.

Reaves skated uncontested down the right wing and snuck a wrist shot past Markstrom, who anticipated a centering pass, for a 6-0 edge at 2:44 of the third. Just over a minute later, Berglund tapped in a weak shot by Tarasenko after Schwartz worked hard behind the net to secure the puck for St. Louis.

Miami Herald LOADED: 10.06.2013

719743 Florida Panthers

Blues too much for Panthers 7-0

By STEVE OVERBEY

Posted on Sat, Oct. 05, 2013

Jaroslav Halak knows his hockey history.

He is well aware of the legacy left by former St. Louis goalie Glen Hall.

Halak passed Hall with his franchise-record 17th shutout and Alex Steen scored on a penalty shot to lead the Blues to a 7-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Halak made 19 saves in moving into the No. 1 spot on the Blues' career shutout list.

Hall had 16 shutouts for St. Louis from 1967-1971.

"He was a great goaltender and he's in the Hall of Fame," Halak said. "It's a special feeling. I'm glad I was able to pass him, but I couldn't have done it without my teammates."

Halak posted his 26th career shutout and improved to 8-1 lifetime against the Panthers.

"He made five or six quality saves in the first period," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He was feeling strong."

Newcomers Brenden Morrow and Derek Roy scored their first goals of the season for St. Louis, which received goals from seven different players. The Blues have outscored their opponents 11-2 with 10 different players scoring goals this season.

Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz also converted against Florida goalie Tim Thomas, who was pulled after the second period. He allowed five goals on 28 shots.

The Blues' seven-goal outburst was their largest since they won at Detroit 10-3 on March 30, 2011.

Florida, which beat Dallas 4-2 in its opener, was looking to start the season 2-0 for the first time in eight years.

Schwartz added two assists and also received a fighting major in the third period to record a "Gordie Howe hat trick," a goal, assist and a fighting major in the same game named after the former Detroit Red Wings great.

The mild-mannered Schwartz joked that his last fight came at Colorado College as a 17-year-old.

He stood toe-to-toe with Kris Versteeg late in the third period. His teammates placed a piece of tape with "Gordie" above his locker after the game.

"I wasn't expecting this to happen," Schwartz said.

Morrow and Roy were signed as free agents in the offseason to add offensive punch. They have also added depth to the attack in the first two games.

"We knew all along that we probably don't have that superstar talent, but we're a grinding team that's solid throughout," Morrow said. "Anyone can be the hero any given night. That makes us really hard to defend."

Schwartz agreed, "Coming in, we knew we had a deep team," he said. "We're not going to have just one line carry us."

Morrow scored his 250th career goal off a pass from Roy to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the first period.

The Blues then broke the game open with four goals in a 6:32 span in the second period. Tarasenko scored off a pass from Schwartz, who converted from close range less than three minutes later to make it 3-0.

Steen beat Thomas on a backhand in the closing minute of the second period to record the Blues' first regular-season penalty shot goal since Patrik Berglund scored on Jan. 24, 2013, in a 3-0 win over Nashville.

Florida managed just six shots in each of the first two periods.

Thomas, who made 25 stops in the win over Dallas, played well in the first period, but struggled in the second period.

"When it started to go downhill, it snowballed quickly," Thomas said. "That's a lesson. That can happen in this league. I was kind of waiting for the momentum to switch over to us, but it never did.

Florida coach Kevin Dineen was disappointed in the effort of his team.

"It was a man's game and we didn't rise to the occasion tonight," he said. "We got outplayed in every aspect of the game."

Notes: St. Louis improved to 10-3-1 at home against Florida, outscoring the Panthers 40-18. ... Florida began the season with four successive road games for the first time in franchise history. ... St. Louis played host to an Eastern Conference opponent for the first time since facing Boston on Feb. 22, 2012. ...The Blues have killed off all 11 penalties this season.

Miami Herald LOADED: 10.06.2013

719744 Florida Panthers

PANTHERS NOTEBOOK: Marcel Goc Digging New Role Uptown ...

Posted by George Richards at 10:13 PM

ST. LOUIS -- Much was made of how the Panthers would replace Stephen Weiss as top line center when Weiss left to chase the Stanley Cup in Detroit over the summer.

It turns out Weiss' replacement may have been here all along.

With a lineup beset with injuries last year, Marcel Goc found himself in a different position as he was centering one of the top two lines. Goc has made a living as a grinding third line defensive player, although the Panthers liked the chemistry he seemed to have with Tomas Fleischmann.

When Florida kicked off Thursday in Dallas, Goc found himself a No. 1 center to start a season for the first time in his nine-year NHL career.

Goc, who still prides himself on his defensive play despite the playmakers surrounding him, scored two goals in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Stars.

Goc's first goal was the game-winner as he trailed the play and buried a beautiful feed from Fleischmann. His second came in the final minutes and went into an empty net.

"Last year I moved up and down the lines because of the injuries,'' said Goc, who had scored twice in a game only once before and not in his previous two seasons with the Panthers.

"I play the way I play and I try to do the same things every night. But now I have to keep up with the offensive stuff but I still have to be responsible defensively. But no question playing with these guys is fun.''

Fleischmann said he and Kris Versteeg appreciate the defensive prowess Goc brings to their line, one formerly centered by Weiss. Two seasons ago, the Weiss/Fleischmann/Versteeg trio was the most productive line in the league.

Last year, Weiss and Versteeg missed most of the season due to serious injuries.

"He's a similar player to me, he sees the ice very well and that may be why we play well together,'' Fleischmann said. "Last year we finished playing together and we find each other on the ice. I kind of know where he is and he knows where his wingers are.''

DAY 2 CHANGES

Coach Kevin Dineen is expected to continue tinkering with his lines in this early going of the season. Saturday saw some minor tweaking with Krys Barch replacing Drew Shore on the fourth line.

Barch played after sitting out Thursday in Dallas. Matt Gilroy and Joey Crabb joined Shore on the scratch line.

"It's early in the season and we've been blessed with the gift of extra bodies,'' Dineen said. "We're going to take advantage of it. This continues to be a work in progress in trying to find some symmetry. We'll go from there.''

-- The Panthers stayed in St. Louis after Saturday's game and plan on having an off day in the city on Sunday. The team will charter to Philadelphia on Monday morning and practice at the University of Pennsylvania later that day.

Miami Herald LOADED: 10.06.2013

719745 Florida Panthers

SMOKED IN ST. LOUIS: Panthers Beaten Down in 7-0 Loss to

Posted by George Richards at 10:10 PM

ST. LOUIS -- The Panthers had to feel extremely fortunate to escape the first period of Saturday night's game down just one goal.

Their fortune changed for the worse in the second as things got so bad all the team wanted to do was flee the scene of this accident.

St. Louis tore open a once close game by scoring four times within a span of seven minutes to blow the Panthers out of the Scottrade Center 7-0.

Soon after the Blues scored twice in the opening 4:09 of the third, fights began breaking out all over the ice.

A total of 15 infractions involving 12 players were called with most of the players given penalties with more time on them then on the clock. Those players would be considered the lucky ones as they got to head to the locker room early and avoid watching the end of this dreadful contest.

A few vocal fans near the Florida bench and tunnel were also sent home early by the authorities. Again, they would be considered fortunate.

"We were hanging on for dear life and got outplayed in every aspect of the game,'' coach Kevin Dineen said. "We didn't rise to the occassion.''

Florida was outplayed by the Blues from the start of the night with Tim Thomas keeping his new team in it.

Thomas made 13 saves in the opening period although he couldn't find a shot from Brenden Morrow with 6:02 left in the period.

Florida had deftly killed off a 5-on-3 power play chance with Scott Gomez and Shawn Matthias in the box, yet with seven ticks left on the Matthias penalty, Morrow followed up a shot from Derek Roy and put it into the back of the net for the lone score of the period.

"You don't like to se a 7-0 score and it's all our fault,'' Jonathan Huberdeau said. "We had a few scores like that last year and we don't want any of that this year. We're better than this. We just have to work harder. It was only 1-0 in the first and into the second. We didn't have a good start or a good game. We need to step up.''

The Panthers came out in the second and things looked markedly different. Florida began dictating the flow of the game.

The Panthers' biggest scoring chance come with 12:45 left when Brad Boyes and Aleksander Barkov charged goalie Jaroslav Halak on a rush with Boyes keeping the shot. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Boyes' wrister rang off the right post and the Blues kept their one goal advantage.

Instead of being in a tie game, the Panthers suddenly found themselves sliding downhill. A few minutes after Boyes' shot, Vladimir Tarasenko took advantage of a three-Panther pileup in front of the cage and put the puck through for a 2-0 lead.

Less than three minutes later it was 3-0 after Florida's Tom Gilbert gave up the puck behind his net. St. Louis' Vlad Sobotka fired it to Jaden Schwartz who flicked it past Thomas for a 3-0 advantage.

Derek Roy made it 4-0 with 3:48 left in the period with Alex Steen polishing things off by scoring on a penalty shot with 57 seconds remaining after being dragged to the ice on a break by Alex Gudbranson.

"It went downhill and snowballed quick,'' Thomas said. "As a team you have to find a way to break that momentum and we weren't able to do it for a long period of time. It wasn't just a couple minutes.''

Although Thomas (23 saves on 28 shots) stayed in through the end of the second, he didn't make it past that. Jacob Markstrom came in to start the third but couldn't staunch the bleeding.

The Blues scored twice off their first four shots to open the third and turn a rout into a true laugher.

Markstrom ended with four saves on six shots in the final 20 minutes of play. The NHL, unfortunately, doesn't have a mercy rule and allow a running clock in situations Florida found itself in Saturday night.

"We have to be better,'' Dineen said. "There is still work to do. There was ugliness here [Saturday].''

Miami Herald LOADED: 10.06.2013

719746 Florida Panthers

Panthers singing the Blues in 7-0 thumping

By Harvey Fialkov, Sun Sentinel

11:06 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2013

ST. LOUIS — —

Well, the Panthers will not go undefeated this season and they certainly won't enjoy the St. Louis Rams-Jacksonville Jaguars game on their day off as much as they had hoped for.

Unable to gain any momentum against the Blues' smothering penalty-kill units or solve long-time net nemisis Jaroslav Halak, the Panthers were thumped 7-0 Saturday night in the Scottrade Center.

Frustration spilled over in a chippy, fight-filled third period that included an overzealous Blues' fan and three Panthers getting tossed via 10-minute misconducts.

While the 1-1 Panthers showed progress on their power-play units, they were 0-for-3 with a man advantage in the opening period and 0-for-7 overall (0-for-11 after two games).

"Our power play was a downer for us tonight,'' said Panthers coach Kevin Dineen. "We were hanging on for dear life and got outplayed in every aspect of the game.

"I'd rather win some puck battles and board battles instead of fighting for pride at the end. …You move forward hang out as a team and get ready for the next one. …

"You balance out the character and effort we showed in game one and the ugliness that was part of tonight.''

The 2-0 Blues, who boasted the second best defense in the NHL last season, have now killed off 28 straight penalties against the Panthers. Florida hasn't notched a power-play goal in St. Louis since March 27, 2003.

After the Panthers thwarted a short two-man advantage, longtime Stars winger Brendan Morrow batted in a rebound of a Derek Roy shot with seven seconds left in the power play at 13:38 for a 1-0 Blues' lead after one. It was Morrow's 250th career goal.

That would be all the help Halak would need, as he made19 saves while improving to 8-1 with a sub-1.80 goals-against-average versus the Panthers, dating back to his days in Montreal.

With the game still tight, former Blues winger Brad Boyes, who enjoyed his best seasons here with 106 of his 168 goals, had two huge scoring opportunites, with the first thwarted by Halak but the second kept out by the left goal-post. Halak robbed Scott Gomez in the third to preserve his 26th career shutout and a franchise-record 17.

Then the Panthers were granted another power play in which they held the puck for nearly the entire two minutes, but too many passes and not enough shots had them still seeking their first PPG of the young season.

Just 28 seconds later, botched clearing attempts by defenseman Erik Gudbranson and Marcel Goc ended up on the stick of 2010 first-rounder Vladimir Tarasenko, who snuck up from behind to slip it past Tim Thomas. Thomas gave up five goals with 23 saves saves in his first loss and hook as a Panther.

"It started to go downhill and snowballed real quick. That's a lesson you have to learn in this league and we didn't do it for quite a long time,'' Thomas said. "I couldn't continue to keep it closer for us to come back. The game got out of hand.''

Jacob Markstrom started the third period and immediately gave up two goals on the first four shots he faced, including a non-screened wrister by Ryan Reaves and a snap-shot by Patrik Berglund to complete the rout.

Anyone for Scott Clemmensen? The Panthers third goalie had his first rehabilitation start in San Antonio Saturday.

The floodgates opened with three more Blues' second-period goals in a span of 3:56, as a turnover by defenseman Tom Gilbert led to point-blank wrister by Jaden Schwartz over Thomas' glove at 15:07. Just 65 seconds later, Chris Stewart roamed behind the Panthers' net before setting up Roy, as the former Sabres star scored his first goal for St. Louis.

With the Panthers desperately cheating up ice, Blues left-wing Alexander Steen broke away but was tripped behind by a diving Gudbranson for a penalty shot that he would convert with a clever deke and backhander over a frustrated Thomas at 19:03.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 10.06.2013

719747 Florida Panthers

Panthers coach Dineen tinkers with lineup even after season-opening win

By Harvey Fialkov, Sun Sentinel