CLEMMENSEN HAS SURGERY: Backup Goalie to Miss First Few Weeks of Camp

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It appears 25-year-old goalie Rob Madore will get an invitation to Panthers training camp after a combination of a solid showing in prospect camp as well as Florida's lack of depth at the position.

General manager Dale Tallon said Sunday that Scott Clemmensen had minor knee surgery last week and will miss the first three weeks of camp. The Panthers have their first practice Thursday morning in Coral Springs.

Clemmensen is projected to be the backup to 23-year-old Jacob Markstrom when the season starts. Tallon said Clemmensen should be back for the season opener Oct. 3 in Dallas. Michael Houser, 20, is currently second on Florida's depth chart with Clemmensen out.

"He earned it. He's a great kid who works hard,'' Tallon said of Madore, who has spent the past two seasons playing for various minor league teams after finishing at the University of Vermont.

With Houser playing the entire 60 minutes, Florida dropped the finale of its three-game prospect tournament 2-1 to the Lightning on Sunday afternoon.

The Panthers (1-2) took a 1-0 lead on Nick Bjugstad's fourth goal of the tournament but saw Nikita Kucherov score twice to give Tampa Bay its second win of the weekend.