Kulikov said he didn't get the puck, but luckily for him, one of the equipment guys Chris Moody grabbed it and will give it to him.

"It feels pretty awesome. It's really special to get your first goal in the NHL. I'm one of those kids whose dream it's been to make an NHL team. It happened and I'm really happy about it.

"It was even better than I thought, to score against Washington, one of the best teams in the league."

On how he feels the six games have gone since the Panthers decided to keep him: 

"It's always tough for a player once you make it after nine games. You feel like everything is going great for you and then you kind of relax. That's what happened to me. For the next two or three games, I didn't feel that comfortable on the ice. But then I recovered, and those two games against Washington were really good for me."

Kulikov is a team-worst minus-9 (in part because he was minus-4 Oct 9 at Carolina), but he also is tied for fourth on the team in scoring with the one goal and six assists. 

But I was able to catch up with team captain Bryan McCabe and ask him his thoughts about goalie Scott Clemmensen's critical remarks of the defense. Before I give you McCabe's thoughts lower in this post, a few of my own.

I think there's some truth to what Clemmensen said, but I also think coach Pete DeBoer is right in saying Clemmensen needs to look at his own performance. Sure, the Panthers could be better at protecting the net, but Clemmensen has been out of position at times and has given up some goals he shouldn't have -- four of the seven against the Caps he should have stopped, including three of them five-hole.

One other thing: Yes, the Panthers give up many more shots than the Devils. Yes, the Devils' defense is better. But Clemmensen knew this when he signed with Florida for three years as a free agent this summer. You've got to realize it's just something, at least for now, that you have to deal with.

In fairness to Clemmensen, I want to note this, though:

To those just reading his comments, it may come across like he's ripping the team left and right. But having been there on Saturday night, along with "On Frozen Pond," I can tell you Clemmensen didn't make his comments angrily or condenscendingly. I certainly didn't get the impression he was trying to call out his teammates or embarrass them. I think he was just expressing his thoughts matter-of-factly.

OK, on to McCabe:

I asked him if he or any of the other players were bothered by what Clemmensen said. I got the popular response by athletes: he doesn't read the paper, he said. So I told him what Clemmensen said.

"I'm not going to jump all over Clemmer," McCabe said. "As a group of players, we've got to do a better job. That's the bottom line. ...It just seems like every little mistake we make right now is magnified because it always ends up in our net. For our group to succeed, we have to play mistake-free hockey every night."

As for Saturday's game: "I don't think we were that bad in that game."

McCabe added, "It's not like we're giving up 20, 30 chances a night...but the few mistakes we make seem to always burn us,"

Coach Pete DeBoer said he anticipates all three playing in the Panthers' next game, Thursday in Boston.

Moore skated on his own over the weekend, but today's practice was his first since undergoing nasal surgery on Oct. 29. He said there is still some swelling, and he's going to have to keep the tubes that are in his nostrils for some time, but he feels a lot better. Moore also said he still can't breathe very well, "but you have to battle through it, try to breathe through your mouth as much as you can."

As much concern is his conditioning. He was getting close to being in game shape after signing as a free agent after the start of the regular season when he broke his nose Oct. 24 against the Flyers.  

"It's still going to take some time to get the rhythm and timing of the game, but all you can do is the best you can and hopefully it will come soon," Moore said.  

Kreps told me his bruised foot feels much better, and that for a while it was so swollen he couldn't squeeze it into his skate.

***Defenseman Bryan Allen was given the day off for rest. Ville Koistinen wore a navy jersey and practiced on 'D' in Allen's absence. Unfortunately for Koistinen, practices without Allen will probably be the only time he's ever a defenseman for as long as he remains with the Panthers.

***Forward Gregory Campbell (face) also didn't practice and underwent tests, the results of which weren't yet known, but like Dvorak, Kreps and Moore, "he looked good, too," DeBoer said. (I'm writing a story on Soup's struggles this season so far for tommorrow's paper).

***I saw David Booth (concussion) very briefly. He said he hasn't been told when he can start skating yet, but he's continuing to progress.

He said the puck Gregory Campbell took to the face in last night's game off a Brian Pothier slap shot not only caused a significant cut that needed to be stitched up, but also damaged some of his teeth. Pete said he won't know the extent of the injury until after Campbell undergoes a CT scan and X-rays.

Campbell definitely won't practice tommorrow, Pete said. As for playing in the team's next game, Thursday in Boston, Pete said IF there are no broken bones, with as tough as Campbell is, "you'll have a hard time keeping him out of the lineup."

***Also today, the Panthers sent center Jeff Taffe and winger Michal Repik back to AHL Rochester. Repik scored his first goal of the season and the third of his career last night in Washington.

The Panthers have the day off today. They'll return to practice tommorrow.

Forward Radek Dvorak, who tore an MCL in his left knee a few weeks ago, skated with the team today for the first time and while he won't play tonight against the Capitals, he may play tomorrow night.

He is wearing a brace on the knee and said while it slows him down a tad, isn't feeling pain.

Meanwhile, centers Kamil Kreps (foot) and Dominic Moore (nasal surgery) didn't skate and won't play tonight.

The Panthers weren't upset to hear that Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, the league leader with 14 goals in 14 games, won't play tonight or in tomorrow's game in Washington with a shoulder injury sustained last Sunday against the Devils. Ovechkin watched the morning skate from the bench in shorts when I was there, although my cohort was told by a Washington Post reporter that he took a few light shots earlier on in practice before putting his stick away.

"Most dynamic player in the leauge,'' coach Pete DeBoer said of Ovechkin. "I could tell you when you're having a team meeting and you talk about the Washington Capitals, no disrespect to anyone else, they have a lot of weapons over there but a lot of the meeting's focus is on containing him and taking away his options and what he does best. I think the general feeling around the league is in order to beat Washington the first thing you have to do is try to slow him down, then concentrate on the other guys they have.

"I think it's dangerous to focus on that because they have a lot of world-class players [Alexander Semin and Mike Green and on and on], they're a much deeper team than people give them credit for.''

Of course, Tomas Vokoun will be in the nets seeking his third straight shutout. DeBoer hasn't decided who will start Saturday but it's a safe bet it would be Vokoun if he has another shutout.

HF

But Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post, one of the NHL's best beat writers, was there and told me Alexander Ovechkin said after the practice that he likely won't play against the Panthers either Friday or Saturday because of his injured left shoulder. Ovechkin told reporters that his shoulder has improved considerably, but not enough that he can play this weekend.

"It's still a little sore," Ovechkin told reporters after practice. "I feel a little bit better, but there is still a little bit pain. From last night to today, I feel much better. It's not disturb me."

According to Tarik, Ovechkin took a few light shots for the first 10 minutes or so of today's practice, but then put away his stick and skated the rest of the session without it.

He said he feels a whole lot better than the last time we talked to him, too. The news: Booth said he is expected to be cleared in the next couple of days to start doing some light exercise, probably 10 minutes on the bike, he said. For now, all he's done is go for a walk or relax in the pool.

He doesn't have the regular headaches, and said he feels great in the morning, but by late afternoon he does start to get a little bit of a headache.

He said the effects of the concussion aren't completely gone yet. Told me he's been thinking a lot about the game against the Red Wings in Detroit on Nov. 20 and will do everything in his power to play in his hometown that night. The last time the Panthers traveled there, Booth went on the trip but couldn't play because of an injury.

***Forward Kamil Kreps didn't practice today because of a bruised foot, Coach Pete DeBoer said. Kreps took a shot off his skate in last night's game against Carolina. Pete said he wanted to give him the day off. He's probable for tommorrow's game against the Capitals, but we'll wait and see. Center Dominic Moore didn't practice again today. He's still having complications from nasal surgery and it doesn't look like he'll play tommorrow.

***Speaking of the Caps game, tommorrow will mark defenseman Bryan McCabe's 1,000th career game. It's not quite the achievement it once was, but it's still pretty impressive.

McCabe will become the seventh player to reach the milestone in a Panthers' sweater and the first since Chris Gratton on March 22, 2007. The other players to do so while playing for the Panthers are: Lyle Odelein, Greg Adams, Kirk Muller, Mike Foligno and Scott Mellanby,

***Check back later in the day on the website to read stories on Booth and McCabe with their comments (about to go into the doctor's appt. to check on my surgically repaired shoulder -- so far so good thanks to Dr. Manish Gupta -- but will write those when I get out)...

***One more note: with three games in four nights last week, Pete used both Tomas Vokoun and Scott Clemmensen in goal. But if Vokoun, who has two straight shutouts, plays another impressive game Friday, Pete might go with Vokoun the next night in Washington, too. Pete said he'd decide after tommorrow's game who he'll go with Saturday. If Vokoun plays well, I expect he'll go again Saturday.

Anyhow, if you haven't heard by now, center Jeff Taffe has been recalled from AHL Rochester and will be in the lineup tonight against the Hurricanes. Taffe will fill in for Dominic Moore as he did the past two games. Moore was expected to be ready after undergoing nasal surgery last Thursday, but he's still not able to go, so Taffe is the guy, Coach Pete DeBoer said.

That's the only news out of this morning's skate. Big week for the Panthers. If they can beat the Hurricanes tonight, and somehow sweep the back-to-back against the Capitals this weekend -- it'll definitely help that Alex Ovechkin won't play in either game because of injury -- they'll be 7-7-1 and back on track this season.

If they stumble during these three games, though, the progress they made last weekend will be meaningless. I think they need to get at least three of the next six points.

Defenseman Bryan Allen didn't practice. Coach Pete DeBoer said there's nothing wrong with his knee -- "no red flags."

He just wanted to give him "a maintenance day" after Allen played three games in four nights -- including back to back games Friday and Saturday -- for the first time this season, and said Allen would be back at practice tommorrow. In Allen's absence, Ville Koistinen put on the navy jersey and practiced as a D for the first time since training camp.

Pete said Allen "has been pushing to ramp up" the stress he puts on his surgically repaired knee. "He feels he needs that for his timing," Pete said. "He played real well in Dallas and felt good after the game, so we decided if he woke up and felt good the morning of the game in St. Louis, that he would play."

***Center Dominic Moore also missed practice. Pete said Moore, who didn't make the two-game trip because he had nasal surgery on Thursday, is still feeling the efects of that procedure. We'll know more tommorrow about his status, but he's still expected to play Wednesday against Carolina. Pete said right now it's still tough for Moore to breathe.

***Winger Radek Dvorak skated for the first time since injuring his knee against the Flyers on Oct. 24. He came out onto the ice as practice was wrapping up. An MRI a few days after the injury revealed Dvorak suffered a minor tear in his knee, and was expected to miss a few weeks. Dvorak said today it's too early to really talk about returning, but his knee did feel pretty good after skating.

"That's a great sign," Pete said. "He obviously is making a quick recovery here. He's ahead of schedule. We'll see how he does this week."

***Update on David Booth: He's coming along slowly and is expected to be at Incredible Ice tommorrow, but still has some post-concussion symptoms.

"It's going to be baby steps here as we go forward," Pete said. "It's too early to really be testing him on anything. With any kind of concussion like that, the first thing to do is to get rid of all the symptoms. Once he's symptom free you can start trying some different things and we're not to that stage yet."

***I asked Pete about winger Victor Oreskovich's NHL debut Saturday. He played him more than 13 minutes Saturday, in part because he said he's comfortable with him having coached him in juniors:

"He's a big, fast guy, finishes his hits, gets in on the forecheck. We don't have a ton of that in the lineup. It's great. For me, the more of that on your third and fourth lines, the better. ...He was a real welcome addition."

Pete said what will be key for Victor is continuing to do what he did playing on adrenaline in his first NHL game. Victor called Saturday's game "an awesome experience." He said his family watched it on TV back home in Ontario (his dad and uncle are expected to be at Wednesday's home game).

Of the considerable ice time he got, Victor said, "I I was pretty tired, actually. It was great. I played a ton. It was great to play with Campbell and Krepsie. I was a little surprised -- almost 14 minutes of ice time. That was probably more than I've been playing in the American League even."

Victor said he clearly knows the role he needs to play while he's up here with the Panthers: "I have to use my size and my speed to create turnovers, take the puck wide and to the net, finish all of my checks and just be a presence on the ice...get in on the forecheck hard and create a little bit of panic for the other team."
 

One of Taffe's eyes wasn't looking too good. It was black and almost completely shut from a puck to the face early in last night's game, but he was in good spirits, optimistic like he always is. ...So back to AHL Rochester for the trio.

....I feel bad for Ellerby, who left Rochester at 5 a.m. yesterday to fly here only to be a healthy scratch. But his time will come. I can see him making his NHL debut before the end of this season.

Taffe was heading back anyway because Dominic Moore will return Wednesday against Carolina after missing this two-game trip because of nasal surgery.

For now, Victor Oreskovich stays with the Panthers. I thought he looked good last night on the third line with Kamil Kreps and Gregory Campbell. He offered a physical presence, recording three hits in the first period. ...That's all for now. Gotta go catch my flight to Cincy, so I can connect to go home.