Sunday Night Hockey: Florida Coaching Change, Helmet Guy

Florida Fires Coaches

Friday was an eventful one for the Florida Panthers, as they fired head coach Kevin Dineen and assistants Gord Murphy and Craig Ramsey. In their places are Peter Horachek (head coach), Brian Skrudland (assistant coach) and John "Not the Football Guy" Madden (assistant coach).

It's hard to fault Dineen and his staff. For one, it's the Florida Panthers. Not to dig into them too much, but just going through their roster, it's easy to see this is a team that will end their season in early April. The one good thing about the roster is that they do have a good core of young players still developing (Huberdeau, Bjugstad and Barkov to name a few) so they could be competitive in a few years. It also doesn't help that they operate on a shoestring budget. The Panthers are last in the league in spending. I'm normally one to disregard the "spend to contend" notion, but if there was ever a need to spend to bring in talent and not bodies to hit the cap floor then this would be it. Maybe Horachek does turn the team around (a loss against Ottawa though isn't the start he probably had in mind), but he'll have his work cut out for him.

Chicago Likes To Pardy Hard

As a fan you usually have a shot at getting a puck go out of play. You may even be lucky enough to receive a players stick if they are willing to part with one after the game. A helmet though is something unheard of...until Wednesday when one drunk brave Blackhawks fan yanked the helmet off Adam Pardy. I do have to hand it to him though, glass was down and he jumped at the opportunity to take home free memorabilia and become a blooper highlight for years to come.

Lineup Notables

New York Islanders vs. Montreal Canadiens

New York I: Thomas Vanek (upper body), Lubomir Vishnovsky (concussion), and Brian Strait (upper body) are out. Kevin Poulin is in net.
Montreal: Daniel Briere (concussion), Brandon Prust (shoulder), Alexei Emelin (knee) and Davis Drewiske (shoulder) are out. Carey Price will start.

Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks

Edmonton: Steve MacIntyre (knee), Tyler Pitlick (knee), Justin Schultz (groin/ribs) and Richard Bachman (groin) are out. Devan Dubnyk is expected to start.
Chicago: Michal Handzus (upper body), Brad Mills (lower body) and Michael Kostka (lower body) are out. Corey Crawford gets the start.

San Jose Sharks vs. Winnipeg Jets

San Jose: Raffi Torres (knee), Adam Burish (lower body) and Brent Burns (upper body) are out. Antti Niemi gets the start.
Winnipeg: Jim Slater (hernia), Mark Stuart (hip), Jacob Trouba (upper body) and Paul Postma (blood clot) are out. Ondrej Pavelec will probably start.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Anaheim Ducks

Vancouver: Jannik Hansen (upper body), Dale Weise (lower body), and Jordan Schroeder (ankle) are out. Roberto Luongo will be in net.
Anaheim: Saku Koivu (NOOOOOO!), Jakub Silvferberg (hand), Matt Beleskey (upper body), Sheldon Souray (wrist) and Viktor Fasth (lower body) are out. Jonas Hiller starts tonight.