Off colour Panthers face Edinburgh double-header

IT was an off-night in the truest sense of the word – off colour, off target and . . . off the top of the table.

And assistant coach Bruce Richardson hopes Nottingham Panthers' first home defeat of the season to Newcastle in midweek is not a sign of things to come.

Panthers have an immediate chance to respond, with back to back games against lowly Edinburgh, tomorrow at the National Ice Centre (7pm) and Sunday in Murrayfield (6pm).

But losing four games out of the last six is hardly the form of potential champions, despite their second place in the Elite League table.

After a one-sided opening when Newcastle were lucky to still be in it, Panthers suddenly seemed devoid of ideas.

It didn't help, of course, that a depleted Newcastle outfit succeeded in making it a low-key game to take the sting out of Panthers superiority, both in numbers and possession.

And it is likely Edinburgh will also play that way, relying heavily on goaltender Cody Rudkowsky and breakaways featuring leading scorers Simon Lambert and Owen Fussey.

"Edinburgh are not playing bad hockey. They are competing," said Richardson.

"They had beaten Sheffield twice as well as Hull before losing in Belfast.

"But we know what to expect from them.

"No team is going to hand us two points just because we're at home.

"We'll look at the video of the Newcastle game to see what went wrong.

"It was unacceptable. Why do players change the game-plan when we're leading?

"I don't know if the guys switched off, but they suddenly started making cross-ice passes.

"And they were not getting the puck quickly in the corners for a good transition."

But Richardson – man of the match against Newcastle – insists Panthers will bounce back.

He said: "The standings are tight and all teams will lose games they are expected to win at some time this season.

"We've lost our first game at home but it's a long road and we are not going to give up on anything.

"We will make sure we get back on track in the best possible way."

He added: "When you have a dream you have to wake up to fulfil that dream.

"If you stay asleep and you're still dreaming, you'll win nothing.

"Dreaming is not enough to win titles."

This weekend's fixtures:

Tomorrow – League, Newcastle v Coventry; Panthers v Edinburgh (7pm). Challenge Cup, Sheffield v Belfast; Hull v Cardiff.

Sunday – League, Coventry v Cardiff; Edinburgh v Panthers (6pm); Newcastle v Hull. Challenge Cup – Belfast v Sheffield.