Speedy rookie hasn't produced offensive spark Cats expected 
DAVID J. NEAL 
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ivan Novoseltsev's NHL debut seemed almost perfect. With star right wing Pavel Bure injured, Novoseltsev, similarly fast, reckless and single-minded near the goal, scored twice in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. 
Nobody expected it to still be, 39 games and 15 months later, the highlight of his NHL career. 
Going into Wednesday night's game at Anaheim, Novoseltsev had two goals and three assists -- just five points in 26 games. His last goal was Nov. 17. 
On a good team, which is what the Panthers (7-19-7-5) were expected to be this season, Novoseltsev's poor output could be easily dismissed as a bearable liability. On a bad team, which the Panthers have been, it's glaring. 
It's especially conspicuous with fellow rookie Denis Shvidki being sent down to Louisville Nov. 28 after scoring three goals in six games. 
``It's really disappointing that I can't score this year,'' Novoseltsev said. ``But I'm still working hard every shift, every game. If I go like that, the goals are going to come.'' 
Panthers coach Duane Sutter, a Florida scout until a week ago, saw Novoseltsev in Louisville -- home of the NHL team's American Hockey League affiliate. 
``A lot of it has to do with his ice time,'' Sutter said. ``The situations he has been put in on the ice. He has always had good stats in junior, and they were decent last year [in Louisville]. But he was playing more on the power play and more in important situations.'' 
``Anytime you get a right wing playing behind a key guy like Pavel, you're not going to get quite the quality of ice time you wish for.'' 
For his part, Novoseltsev said the lack of ice time doesn't bother him. 
``It's OK for me,'' he said. ``I want to play here. I don't want to play in Louisville. It doesn't matter if I play in Louisville and score goals. It doesn't mean I can come back here and score.'' 
It wasn't just that Novoseltsev hadn't shown the breathtaking goal-scoring skill that got him labeled as a potentially special NHL player coming out of junior. After all, he's still a 21-year-old rookie. But he hasn't even shown flashes of it. 
Too often, his speed works against him. The little, instinctive moves he makes to open areas around the net aren't quite what they were even last year. 
``Down in the minors, he got in a little bit of trouble because it almost appeared he didn't want to play a team-oriented game,'' Sutter said. ``He'd try to beat guys one-on-one in the entries. If you're doing that, you're slowing down. You're not using your speed. We'd like to see him get it behind the defense, take the puck to the net when he has half a step.'' 
That would undoubtedly draw a few holding penalties, and eventually make some of the meeker goaltenders skittish. Novoseltsev is a sturdy 6-1, 183 pounds, and has a drag racer's disdain for brakes. It's almost not a Panthers-Hurricanes game until Novoseltsev runs over Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe at least once. 
Novoseltsev opened Wednesday night's game centered by Viktor Kozlov, returning after missing nine games with a shoulder injury. Serge Payer was on the opposite wing. 
``It's more of a scrambly game in the [AHL], so it's hard to judge the skill guys,'' Sutter said. ``They need to be with better guys, and that may be part of Ivan's history, too. Playing with a guy like [Kozlov], maybe that'll help short-term.'' 
One of the knocks against former Panthers coach Terry Murray was his tendency to act as if he believed only half of what he clearly saw. When asked earlier this season if any pair of forwards under the first line seemed to be working well together, he responded ``Marcus Nilson and Ivan Novoseltsev.'' 
That was true. It was also true that Murray had broken up Nilson and Novoseltsev in one of his line scrambles several games before.