A knee injury stunted the start of Scott Clemmensen's third season in Florida but when goaltending injuries piled up, he became a reliable temporary starter. That has shown the Panthers he can be the steady backup they need.

"Obviously, (Clemmensen) was good and worked hard to keep the goals-against off the board," coach Kevin Dineen told reporters after Clemmensen's season debut. "We've got three goalies. I've got some excellent choices in net. I love it when they make it hard on me to make the next decision."

However, in the past two weeks, the Panthers went from three goalies to one. While Jose Theodore made his return Wednesday after his New Year's Eve knee injury, the first few weeks of 2012 put Clemmensen front and center. Last week, Clemmensen was left with even less support in the net after backup Jacob Markstrom went down with a knee injury that required surgery.

With goaltender injuries stacking up, Clemmensen, a perennial backup, suddenly became the Panthers' go-to guy in net. "Jose has deserved the majority of starts this season. You have to play well when you get the opportunity," Clemmensen told reporters. "This is the best league in the world. Hopefully, this is an opportunity for me to get some starts and get some consistency going."

Despite the worrying situation, the Panthers had every confidence that Clemmensen could lead. After announcing the Markstrom injury, Panthers goaltending coach Robb Tallas told the Sun Sentinel, "Clemmensen is a great goalie, and everybody has 100 percent confidence in him to carry this team right now."

Backed up only by rookie Brian Foster, who has never played an NHL game, Clemmensen rose to the challenge. Though the Panthers went 1-1-2 while he manned the crease, he performed well, posting a .934 save percentage and a 2.42 goals against average, a span which included a 38-save effort in an overtime loss to the New York Rangers January 5.

Perhaps Clemmensen's best game came in a 2-1 win over the Northwest division-leading Vancouver Canucks. Though the Panthers' defense held the Canucks to two shots on goal in the second period of that game, Clemmensen faced a 14-shot barrage in the third period. The Canucks had their chances, including a Ryan Kesler breakaway, but Clemmensen remained impermeable. He was named the first star of the game with 21 saves.

"It hasn't been an easy year for Scott, he got dinged up early, came back, and played well. He's really done a job for us and I think his result is really indicative of his play this year," Dineen told reporters after the win over the Canucks. "You can look at different games and different scenarios, but in the overall picture he's had a really solid year for us."

"(Clemmensen) stopped everything. He was there when we needed him. We know we can count on him every night. He was great today," Marcel Goc added to reporters.

Even in the losses he faced in net, Clemmensen performed admirably with the best example being Monday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins. Clemmensen made 33 saves in the loss, keeping it a tight game and boosting the confidence of the offense, who put 40 shots on Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. "We need efforts like that on a consistent basis to win in this league," Clemmensen told reporters. "We were right there."

Theodore has returned after his injury, and played in a 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday night, but the adversity gave the Panthers a good look at what Clemmensen can do. He's now played in 13 games this season, but after his strong performances in the face of injuries, he may see his ice time rise.

Notes

The Washington Capitals got their chance at revenge against former Flame Rene Bourque Wednesday, facing him for the first time since his elbow knocked Nicklas Backstrom out of the line-up with a concussion. Bourque, now a Montreal Canadien, answered the bell when Matt Hendricks challenged him on his first shift of the game. Bourque may have won the fight against Hendricks, but the Capitals won the war as Michal Neuvirth recorded a 3-0 shutout win. There is still no timetable for Backstrom's return, though reports indicate that he is feeling better. However, the team is remaining cautious and don't want to rush Backstrom back into the line-up. ... Jets RW Blake Wheeler had an assist in his return Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres after taking a shot to the throat on Saturday. Wheeler was immediately taken to the hospital, but all tests were negative, and he was released the next day. Wheeler knows that he is extremely lucky that he was not more seriously hurt. "I feel fortunate to have just missed a couple games," Wheeler told reporters. "The doctors were being cautious and it's kind of a sensitive area, but I'm 100 percent and ready to go." ... Jeff Skinner returned Sunday against the Washington Capitals after being cleared from his concussion. He was a minus-1 in that game, but performed better two nights later against the Pittsburgh Penguins, recording an assist and a plus-1 in the Hurricanes' 2-1 shootout loss. However, concerns mounted during the game after Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik laid a huge hit on Skinner, who had to be helped off the ice. Luckily for the Hurricanes, Skinner later returned, and participated in the shootout. ... The Tampa Bay Lightning lifted themselves out of last place in the Eastern Conference Wednesday after a big 5-3 win over the Boston Bruins. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Lightning, but their performance didn't indicate a team that had been losing. "They had lost seven in a row? I didn't know that," Bruins goalie Tim Thomas said to the media. "They didn't look like that against us." Five different Lightning players scored two points in the win.
Photo by Getty Images

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