[Cali Panthers Fan]

Yup, I was there and you can't blame fans for staying home when it's the yawn-fest that is the Arizona Coyotes, on a weeknight too. I bet the Dome is only half full for those games. That picture shows that most of the expensive seats are empty, but the other sections were at least half full if not more.

Still, the crowd was loud and into it, lots of chants throughout the night (albeit not necessarily really loud ones), and the fans left happy with a 2-1 win after some atrocious refereeing. The team is starting to win some games playing very solid defense, and as soon as they score some more goals in Gallant's system they'll be around the playoff bubble. Luongo has been better than advertised so far and Pirri has been great. The young talent has yet to break out this year as the veterans are carrying the bulk of the offensive load. This is not a great team, but in the weak East they should be near the playoff bubble.

The farm is doing well, leading their conference so far and scoring the 2nd most goals in the entire AHL. There are signs that the prospects are getting closer to the NHL, which means the veteran placeholders currently on the Panthers team like Kopecky, Fleischman, Upshall etc. will be replaced in a year or two.

The picture doesn't tell the whole story on the state of the franchise. I wish people would stop looking at the attendance numbers in the short term when they aren't going anywhere any time soon (like 10 years).