The Panthers have a ‘big mountain to climb’ once again. Can they make a playoff push?
The lead-up to the NHL All-Star Break was promising. Three wins against three playoff-caliber teams before an 11-day break. A 13-5 scoring margin in those wins. A sense that, finally, the Florida Panthers might be living up to their potential.
Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon hopes its enough to fuel a turnaround.
The Panthers are in a similar spot as last season coming out of the All-Star Break. Florida rebounded from a slow start in the 2017-18 season to finish with 96 points — the third-most in franchise history but one shy of a playoff berth.
Heading into Friday’s game against the Nashville Predators, the Panthers are 13th in the Eastern Conference with 48 points on a 20-20-8 record.
“I think our guys are starting to believe in themselves and what they have to do,” Tallon told reporters on Thursday. “We have a big mountain to climb, but we know we can do it. We did it last year. It’s basically the same team, but we’ve added some pieces. Now that we’re healthy, we’re going to give it a go.”
Now, there have been bright spots this year. Florida’s power play has been one of the best in the league, with a 26.8 percent success rate that trails only the Tampa Bay Lightning (29.8) and Boston Bruins (27.8). Newcomers such as Mike Hoffman have been refreshing for the offense. The return of Vincent Trocheck from a gruesome leg injury in November helps, too.
But allowing an average of almost 3.5 goals per game will not help the Panthers get to the playoffs. Nor will the lengthy losing streaks — Florida has had four losing stretches of at least three games already this season, including the massive seven-game stretch at the start of January.
“Not happy to be at 48 points,” Tallon. “.500 is mediocrity, right? We need to play like we played the last three games. We need to start doing that with conviction and consistency. ... If we do that, we can make a good run of it.”
They will need to do it quick. Florida has just 34 games left to make another late push after digging themselves into another early hole.
“We have to find a formula that works for 82 games,” Tallon said. “It’s an 82-game schedule, not a 34-game schedule. That’s the message. I’m not going to put up with it anymore. We’ve got to do it all year, right from the get-go.”
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