It really didnt come as a surprise that the Florida Panthers fired head coach Kevin Dineen Friday, but its not like a change in the coaching staff is going to magically cure what ails this team. [url=https://www.spurslockerroom.com/Jakob-Poeltl-City-Edition-Jersey/]J akob Poeltl Spurs Jersey[/url] .

It really didnt come as a surprise that the Florida Panthers fired head coach Kevin Dineen Friday, but its not like a change in the coaching staff is going to magically cure what ails this team. Jakob Poeltl Spurs Jersey . Any time a team fails to meet expectations, coaches end up on the chopping block, but that leads to the question: why would there have been expectations put upon the Florida Panthers for the 2013-2014 season? Go back to the 2011-2012 season, when the Panthers won the Southeast Division, with 94 points in 82 games, despite recording 32 regulation and overtime wins, a total that tied non-playoff teams Buffalo, Carolina (who finished last in the Southeast Division) and Colorado for 20th in the league. The Panthers also had a minus-24 goal differential, so anything beyond the point total in the standings suggested they were not really a playoff-calibre team. Consider them a prime example of a team not being what its record is. Then the Panthers proceeded to lose in double-overtime of Game Seven (after losing in overtime in Game Six) in the first round of the playoffs against the eventual Eastern-Conference-Champion New Jersey Devils, making it easy to sell the idea that the Panthers were "this close" to competing with the top teams in the league. It needs to be noted, however, that the Panthers overachieved in 2011-2012, to even generate mediocre results disguised as playoff-worthy. Florida needed to spend a lot of money in the summer of the 2011 season just to get above the salary floor and, as a result, cobbled together a make-shift roster, handing out some contracts that had surprisingly long-term implications. Sure, Florida signed Tomas Fleischmann (four years, $18-million), and he scored a career-high 61 points in 2011-2012, and has generally been a productive scorer since. C Marcel Goc (three years, $5.19-million) has been okay and G Jose Theodore (two years, $3-million) was a low-risk move, but the Panthers also inked RW Scottie Upshall (four years, $14-million), D Ed Jovanovski (four years, $16.5-million) and LW Sean Bergenheim (four years, $11-million), none of whom has provided a decent return on investment. (Injuries have admittedly played a part in their lack of production.) The Panthers also dipped into GM Dale Tallons past and traded for some former Chicago Blackhawks: D Brian Campbell, RW Kris Versteeg and RW Tomas Kopecky. That roster didnt have any business harbouring playoff expectations yet, with Dineen taking over for Peter DeBoer behind the bench, the Panthers defied the odds and reached the postseason, thanks in large part to Fleischmann, Versteeg and Stephen Weiss, their top line that combined for 70 goals and 172 points. Campbell added 53 points while playing nearly 27 minutes per game. That quartet made up the entire list of Florida Panthers to record more than 33 points that season, so there wasnt a lot coming from the supporting cast. The 2013 season brought much worse results, particularly when injuries limited Weiss and Versteeg to a total of 27 games and the goaltending went from decent, ranking 11th with a .914 save percentage, to a league-worst .887 save percentage in the lockout-shortened 2013 season. Those injuries, and subpar goaltending, over a small-sample season may have been what led Tallon to still harbour expectations for this team coming into the 2013-2014 season. Or maybe its because there is a new owner calling the shots that the Panthers couldnt simply see the 2013-2014 season as one for development of their young talent. After all, the Panthers have added some promising young players including LW Jonathan Huberdeau, C Aleksander Barkov and C Nick Bjugstad, who are all playing significant minutes. D Erik Gudbranson, the third overall pick in 2010, and D Dmitry Kulikov, the 14th pick in 2009 are still works in progress, but young enough to be part of what the Panthers are trying to build. G Jacob Markstrom is supposed to be the goaltender of the future, even if the 23-year-old has struggled this year. Forwards Vincent Trocheck and Drew Shore and defencemen Alex Petrovic and Colby Robak have been in the AHL, playing for new head coach Peter Horacheck. Trocheck, who has 11 points in 11 games as a first-year pro and nearly made the Panthers out of training camp, could get his opportunity soon. In the summer of 2013, the Panthers didnt spend big money, but brought in a lot of veterans on low-money deals. Defencemen Tom Gilbert has been a bargain as a top-four defenceman while Matt Gilroy and checking forward Jesse Winchester have been decent. Veteran forwards Brad Boyes and Scott Gomez along with blueliner Ryan Whitney have not been effective and goaltender Tim Thomas hasnt been able to stay healthy in his attempt to return to action after a year off. As a result, the Panthers have the leagues 28th-ranked goal differential (minus-1.36 per game), ahead of only the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres. Unfortunately, the goaltending hasnt gotten any better this season, ranking 28th with an .885 save percentage, and no team can win with goaltending of that calibre, let alone a team that isnt scoring at the other end of the ice and the Panthers rank 29th in 5-on-5 shooting percentage when the score is close. The good news, according to the probabilities of advanced stats, is that the Panthers arent likely to maintain such terrible shooting and save percentages all season, so they are due to get some better results; a little "puck luck" as it were. Of course, being better than their current 3-9-4 record doesnt mean all that much. When those young players start to control play more consistently and the Panthers start getting adequate goaltending, they may turn the corner, but thats going to require patience and the expectations placed on this team dont necessarily allow for patience. Trouble is, when a general manager makes moves that appear to reveal a lack of patience, its fair to start wondering if the next one on the chopping block will be the GM. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Trey Lyles Spurs Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson has a sixth NASCAR championship in hand and two legends within reach. Dennis Rodman Jersey . -- Tony Finau won the Stonebrae Classic on Sunday for his first Web. https://www.spurslockerroom.com/Bruce-Bowen-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Portland won Game 4 Sunday night at the Moda Center and are now up 3-1. The last time the Blazers won a playoff series came in the 2000 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz.Arlington, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Tony Romo erased his label of playoff underachiever. The Detroit Lions werent able to do the same. Romos 8-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams with 2:32 remaining finished off a run of 17 unanswered Dallas points, lifting the Cowboys to a 24-20 victory over the Lions in a thrilling NFC Wild Card clash. Detroit appeared on its way to its first postseason win since 1991 after taking a 20-7 lead deep into the third quarter, but Romo engineered three straight scoring drives to bring Dallas back on a night in which the Cowboys two other offensive stars were mostly held in check by a stout Lions defense. Its how weve responded all year long, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said afterward. With Dez Bryant managing a modest 48 yards on three catches while double covered much of the game, Williams also stepped up to help Dallas advance to a matchup with second-seeded Green Bay in next Sundays Divisional round. The second-year wideout came through with a 76-yard touchdown late in the first half and finished with 92 yards on three grabs. DeMarco Murray added a touchdown run while grinding out 75 yards on 19 carries against Detroits top-ranked rushing defense, and the Cowboys received a boost as well from a controversial call that preceded the game-winning drive. The Lions punted the ball away with 8:10 left following Matthew Staffords incomplete pass on third down, which was initially ruled pass interference on Dallas linebacker Anthony Hitchens but then overturned by the officiating crew. Staffords throw hit Hitchens with the rookies back facing the play as he covered Brandon Pettigrew, drawing a flag that was then picked up after referee Pete Morellis group consulted. I thought it was ridiculous, to be honest, Pettigrew said. (Hitchens) ran through me, pretty much. I was trying to get back to the ball. To me, it was obvious. Sam Martin then shanked the ensuing punt, with the 10-yard boot starting the Cowboys at their own 41 while down 20-17. Dallas promptly moved into scoring range, aided by a clutch 21-yard connection between Romo and Jason Witten on 4th-and-6 that brought the ball to the Lions 21. I give coach Garrett credit for making that call. It shows he trusts us, Romo said. To go to (Witten) in that situation was a no-brainer. A defensive holding penalty on DeAndre Levy shortly afterward negated a third- down stop and gave the Cowboys a 1st-and-goal. Three plays later, Romo fired a bullet that Williams corralled for the go-ahead score. Stafford got the Lions as far as the Cowboys 42 with time winding down, but the Dallas native was sacked by DeMarcus Lawrence on fourth down to seal Detroits eighth consecutive postseason loss. Im not going to sit up here and act like that was the call that made the difference in the game, Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said of the overturned penalty. We still had our chances. Romo, who entered the matchup with a career 1-3 playoff record, shook off six sacks to throw for 293 yards and two touchdowns in a turnover-free 19-of-31 performance. Stafford finisheed with 323 yards, 51 of which came on a first-quarter touchdown pass to Golden Tate, and was picked off once while completing 28- of-42 attempts. Jakob Poeltl Jersey. Tate amassed 89 yards on six catches and Calvin Johnson recorded five receptions for 85 yards for Detroit, which built an early 14-0 lead by getting the game off to a soaring start. The Lions defense forced a quick punt on the opening drive and Stafford fired a strike down the middle on Detroits fourth play from scrimmage, which Tate hauled in and outraced the Dallas defense less than 3 1/2 minutes in. Detroit was pinned back to its own 1-yard line on their second series, which initially went three-and-out but was extended when the Cowboys Dekoda Watson was flagged for running into Martin. The Lions proceeded to march down the field, with Stafford converting a 3rd- and-8 on a key scramble and Reggie Bush capping the 14-play, 99-yard sequence by breaking off an 18-yard touchdown run. Dallas, meanwhile, mustered only 80 yards over its first 25 plays before hitting big on its 26th. The Cowboys picked up a blitz on 3rd-and-12 to allow Romo to connect with Williams, who blew past three defenders after making the catch near midfield to give Dallas a needed spark with 1:37 left in the first half. Stafford was able to use the remaining time to get Detroit in range for Matt Praters 39-yard field goal, however, to send the Lions into the break with a 17-7 advantage. Usually automatic Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey pulled a 41-yard field goal try wide right early in the second half, negating Kyle Wilbers interception of a deflected Stafford pass. Prater then knocked through a 37-yard attempt on the ensuing drive, a kick set up by Johnsons 28-yard catch-and-run. Bryant, held to one catch for two yards at that point, then rose to the occasion on the subsequent drive. The All-Pro receiver cradled in a 3rd-and-10 pass, broke free from Levy and scampered 43 yards before being taken down at the Detroit 7. Murray ended the trek with a 1-yard run on 4th-and-goal to bring the Cowboys within 20-14 with 2:54 left in the third quarter. The score seemed to energize the Dallas defense, which induced a three-and-out before the Cowboys marched 36 yards in seven plays to position Bailey for a 51-yard field goal with 12:16 to play. Game Notes Detroits eight straight postseason losses ties an NFL record also held by Kansas City (1993-present). The Lions havent won a playoff game on the road since 1957 ... Detroits 99-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter was the first in a postseason game since Baltimore did so against Miami in the 2001 AFC Wild Card Round ... Williams 76-yard touchdown was the longest scoring reception by a Cowboy in the postseason since Troy Aikman and Alvin Harper teamed up for a 94-yard score on Jan. 8, 1995 ... Dallas will be facing Green Bay at Lambeau Field in the playoffs for the first time since the famed Ice Bowl game that decided the 1967 NFL Championship ... Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain left in the first half due to dehydration. ' ' '