David Booth Will Play vs. Islanders

ARLINGTON, Va. -- It appears the wait is over.

David Booth, out since Oct. 24 with a concussion, is expected to play Sunday against the Islanders.

According to Pete Pelegrin, Booth said that he will lace 'em up and make his comeback on home ice.

More when I get it although that may take a bit; we're in line to de-ice and could be in the air by the time I get some quotes from Pete.

Booth, as you know, was Florida's leading goal scorer last season and was a big part of the top line. It will be interesting to see if he goes back up to the top of the heap or starts out on the third line.

Michael Frolik hasn't scored much of late, so it's very possible Pete DeBoer may want to get that line going and Booth could be an answer.

But, Booth is by no means a cure-all for the Panthers offensive woes. He only had two goals and an assist before getting blindsided by Philly captain Mike Richards. In a sense of irony, it appeared Booth was just warming up. One of his two goals came in that Philly game. He had been getting tons of chances, but hadn't been finding the back of the net.

So Booth scored in the first game of the season and what has been his last. And that's been it.

But this anemic Florida offense sure could use something.

After Friday's loss, DeBoer was asked if it was good to see Stephen Weiss get off his scoring slide, DeBoer rolled his eyes.

 “Yeah,’’ he said. “If you’re looking for a silver lining, there isn’t much. There’s a lot of guys I’d like to get going. Steven Reinprecht doesn’t have a goal in [12] games, Michael Frolik has one in [13]. We could go on and on.’’

Weiss tied a career-high by scoring his 20^th goal in the second period of the Washington game, his first goal in seven games and second in 15. But, as DeBoer tersely pointed out, Weiss isn’t the only player the Panthers need to get hot.

In Florida’s past six games, it has scored just seven goals. With Tomas Vokoun playing lights out, the Panthers have survived their scoring slump.

You can read all about David Booth here, here and here.