Florida Panthers looking for a spark after slow start following the All-Star break
Vincent Trocheck didn’t mince words.
The Florida Panthers were just handed a 7-2 home loss Thursday to the Vegas Golden Knights as they attempt to keep pace in the Stanley Cup playoff race. They gave up five unanswered goals over the final 28 minutes. They had no answer for Vegas’ fast-pace offense and seemingly no desire to fight back after going down two goals less than 20 seconds into the third period.
In the middle of a somber dressing room, a visibly upset Trocheck still wearing his full gameday gear called out the team’s “urgency and work ethic” in the final 30 minutes of the loss and how it needs to be remedied quickly.
The question: How does a team fix that?
Trocheck’s blunt response:
“Having heart. Wanting to win. Caring about winning. Not wanting to lose. Refusing to lose. It should be like that every game. It shouldn’t be one game you’re playing hard, one game you’re not. This is the NHL. It should always be that you’re going out there and you’re trying to win the game. Work as hard as you can. It’s embarrassing.”
Thursday was just Florida’s latest skid since having returning from the All-Star break. The Panthers are 1-2-1 in its four games since its 10-day sabbatical.
They’ve been shut out twice, losing in regulation to the Montreal Canadiens and in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and needed a four-goal third period to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs.
And then they looked lifeless on Thursday against Vegas.
“It’s like we stopped playing,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said, “whether it was out-worked or out hustled or out-competed or whatever term you want to use. ... You’re not going to get anything doing that.”
It’s not the mentality Quenneville wants from his team, especially since the Panthers are still fighting for a postseason berth and can only afford so many mistakes down the stretch of the regular season.
The Panthers, 29-18-6 on the season, have 64 points through 53 games. They entered Saturday a point behind the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot with a game in hand. They are also two points behind the Maple Leafs for the third spot in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand.
Their road ahead isn’t getting easier.
Four of Florida’s next five games, starting Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, are against teams with the potential of reaching the postseason.
“This is a tough game to swallow,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said, “but we’ve got to move on, stay positive and look forward to the next one.”
Getting some reinforcements should help. Quenneville announced Friday that top-line center and team captain Aleksander Barkov will return to the lineup Saturday after missing three games with a lower-body injury.
Barkov is second on the team with 54 points and 38 assists while also tallying 16 goals in 50 games.
“It is everything,” Quenneville said. “He is a key guy, our captain, our leader, and he does everything for us. You use him in all situations, and we have missed him in the past three games or so. He can help us in every way.”
But Quenneville isn’t pointing to Barkov’s absence as the sole reason for the Panthers’ struggles over the past week.
“Everybody should be held accountable in their own individual game,” Quenneville said. “Assessing it, the bottom line is you win this league by how you compete. Get back to work.”
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