Panthers fire Gerard Gallant, name general manager Tom Rowe interim head coach

Gallant went from hero to zero Sunday night, after the Panthers’ 3-2 loss to Carolina dropped them to 10th in the Eastern Conference – quite a difference from the division title to which Gallant guided the team last season.

The Florida Panthers chose to change direction with the surprise firing of successful coach Gerard Gallant Sunday night and general manager Tom Rowe takes over on an interim basis when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. In his first season, he led the Panthers to a 38 win campaign and 91 points.

Rowe met with the leadership group at the team hotel Monday, a day off for the players in Chicago, and spoke to the full team before the morning skate Tuesday. By the 8:49 point of the second, Carolina had vaulted past Florida with three goals en route to a 3-2 win. “He made some great saves”.

Before the Hurricanes departed for their trip, backup goalie Eddie Lack sustained a concussion in practice, putting in motion the call-up of Leighton from Charlotte of the American Hockey League.

“We have to use our speed and get some momentum”, Panthers defenseman Jason Demers said.

“We hold ourselves to a high standard, and everyone in here knows that”, forward Derek Ryan, who scored the game-winning goal, said. “We think we have a very good team”, Rowe said, per the Sun-Sentinel. As Leighton put it, “We came out flying”.

Plus, Jaromir Jagr has just three goals so far this season – after leading the Panthers in scoring a year ago.

“We want to go into more of an area zone coverage type system”, Rowe said.

But play on the ice has been inconsistent at best. Defensively, the Florida Panthers are allowing 2.6 goals per game and are killing 81.3 percent of their opponents power plays. They’re in a better position than they were at this point last season. It snapped a streak of 25 straight penalty kills dating back to late October.

Ekblad extended Florida’s lead at 9:51 when he was credited with a goal after the puck popped up and over Leighton while he attempted to scoop the puck in midair with his trapper.

Playing with one less body, the extra effort of the fourth line paid off when Stalberg pulled the Hurricanes within one at 5:21 into the second.

At 7:12, Skinner tied it on a breakaway, taking a lead pass from Rask and roofing the puck past Reimer glove side. We got the right guys to help us get going. “We need to keep building”. “We found a way to dig deep and get the result”. The Hurricanes are in the midst of a stretch during which they play nine of 11 contests away from home.