The small camera placed near the ceiling of the Panthers locker room rarely offers much excitement.

During breaks, Fox Sports will show players milling around, sipping a cold drink or wrapping sticks.

Sometimes, however, the bird's-eye view of the locker room brings some excitement. Friday was one of those nights.

With the Panthers trailing the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 after one period, the FSN camera captured coach Pete DeBoer in full animation. There was no volume, but the view was plenty.

DeBoer, standing near the middle of the room, was pointing at one player after another, calling out his team for a listless period of play -- one in which the Panthers were fortunate to only be trailing by a goal.

``We were flat in the first,'' defenseman Keith Ballard said. ``We didn't come out like we were desperate and that's what we need to be. We needed a spark. We needed something.''

Said Stephen Weiss: ``We got a little kick in the rear by the coach. A few guys said some things. We knew we could be better. We had gone through 20 minutes. There was plenty of hockey to play. Guys just needed to pick up the slack.''

The Panthers were a different bunch in the second period, scoring two goals to go into the second break tied. The period didn't start off like Florida had hoped as Philadelphia went on a break, but goalie Scott Clemmensen made a sliding save to keep the score 1-0.

Soon after, Gregory Campbell took on the much bigger Dan Carcillo in a fight near center ice.

Less than a minute later, Bryan Allen also got into the fighting act, trading blows with Ian Laperriere.

The Panthers were more enthusiastic after that, and Weiss tied the score with a power-play goal two minutes after Allen's bout.

``When you have lost some games, you start gripping the stick too tight and start second-guessing everything you do,'' Weiss said. ``Good teams just keep their heads down and keep pushing, knowing better days will come.''

DeBoer's tirade and the two fights gave the Panthers a jolt of energy that was needed.

Florida opened the season with one win in its first five games, and the team just seemed to need something to get things in gear.

What happened in the locker room and on the ice early in the period seemed to be just what they needed, and they won 4-2.

``We were 1-4, and we didn't come out like we needed this win,'' Ballard said.

``Pete gave it to us a little bit, yelled at us. The guys knew that's not how we want to play. Then Campbell and Allen go out there and fight; they did a great job. That let us know we were going to compete that period. It set the tone. It was huge.''

ELSEWHERE

• The Panthers were rumored to be taking the weekend off, and after the win, DeBoer confirmed it. Florida did not practice Saturday and will not practice Sunday. The team reconvenes Monday morning in Coral Springs in preparation for Wednesday's game against the red-hot Buffalo Sabres.

• Florida was much better in the faceoff circle Friday than it had been in a while. Newcomer Dominic Moore is good on the drop and was Friday, winning five of his seven draws. Steve Reinprecht (67 percent) and Weiss (53 precent) also were good. Florida won 54 percent of its faceoffs against Philadelphia.

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