"Proving the old adage that practice makes perfect wrong the Panthers began their 17th season and first under General Manager Dale Tallon with a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on Sunday night. However, those not having cable TV issues saw a different Panthers team from years past. Sure, they were still offensively challenged against last season's worst team, missing point-blank shots that should've given them a 2-0 lead after one, instead of a scoreless tie. But throughout the first two periods, Tallon and third-year coach Pete DeBoer watched their charges, including seven newcomers, dominate the game with smothering defense and solid forechecking, but still down by one on deflected goals by Dustin Penner and Ryan Jones, as well as a goal by Shawn Horcoff that appeared to have been kicked in, but stood after a review. "Sometimes you don't get the breaks when you should,'' goalie Tomas Vokoun said. "We definitely deserved a better fate today. We didn't get it. "It looked very clear to me. I don't know what else a kicking motion is. … That's what I saw. … It didn't surprise me they count it. They're trying to get the scoring up.'' The Panthers outshot Edmonton 23-7 after two periods (28-13 overall), but three of the Oilers' second-period shots got past a hard-luck Vokoun. The Panthers, the last team in the NHL to drop the puck to start the season, fell to 7-7-3 in season openers, including 2-7-1 on the road." http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/florida-panthers/fl-panthers-oilers-1011-20101010,0,558629.story
