Coach calls out young forward after disappointing loss.

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Published 7 years ago
Coach calls out young forward after disappointing loss.
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Rarely will you see a head coach single out one member of his team for a loss, but that;s exactly what happened on Saturday night.

Florida Panthers' head coach Tom Rowe put much of the blame for Saturday night's 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on winger Reilly Smith, who left Jamie Benn alone on the game's winning goal.

“When we’re being selfish and flying the defensive zone and not paying attention to defensive assignments that is what happens,” said Rowe.

When he was asked about the Stars' first goal, Rowe once again used Smith as the whipping boy.

“We went over that exact play in team meeting and we haven’t learned our lesson yet, that is the problem.”

`Again when asked about the game-winner, he used Smith as the target of his frustration.

"[Reimer] played great, but when the top guys are cheating for offense, it doesn’t help. It’s pretty simple,’’ Rowe spit out. "We’re not going to make the playoffs playing like that. … All I know is Reilly Smith is blowing the zone, doing exactly what he’s not supposed to do.’’

It has been a frustrating season not just for Smith, but for the Panthers as well.

The Cats now sit two points out of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 18 games remaining on their schedule. As for Smith, he has just 10 goals so far this season after scoring a career high 25 just last year. 

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Source: Fox Sports