How the Florida Panthers improved their defense to become an unlikely Cup contender
The crowd at the BB&T Center rose with each successive body-sacrificing, goal-saving play Noel Acciari made for the Florida Panthers in the waning minutes of the first period Thursday against the Nashville Predators.
He tumbled to his right and flipped onto the ice as he blocked one slap shot from the point. He got up and slid back to his left to block another. When the Nashville Predators moved the puck down to the left side near the faceoff circle, Acciari followed and blocked another shot with his body. By the time his shift was over, Acciari was covered in bruises, the fans were in a frenzy and the Predators’ 5-on-3 chance was over. The Panthers killed off another power play — part of a 3-for-3 penalty-killing effort — in a week full of outstanding short-handed efforts.
“From looking at it on the bench, it gives you a lot of energy,” forward Alex Wennberg said. “Killing that penalty everyone gets an extra push.”
In the moment, the kill was massive, even though Florida (19-6-4) wound up losing 2-1. Less than three minutes after the power play ended, All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau the Panthers’ lone goal to open the game.
The Panthers killed off two more power plays in the final two periods and are now 11 for 11 on the penalty kill in their last three games, 16 for 17 in their last five and 23 for 26 in their eight. They’ll try to continue their streak Saturday when they host Nashville (13-16-1) for the second game of a two-game series in Sunrise at 2 p.m.
Florida now ranks No. 12 in the NHL in goals allowed per game and is up to No. 14 in penalty-kill percentage. Its defensive turnaround, right now, is being fueled by its short-handed excellence.
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“Every time we’re jumping over the boards,” star defenseman Aaron Ekblad said Monday, “we’re a little bit more excited to be out there and make a difference, and change the momentum of the game.”
On Thursday, the Panthers only allowed three power-play shots on goal and none came from in front of the net. In a win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, Florida held the Blackhawks to seven power-play shots and only two in front of the net.
Chicago has the third-best power play in the league, in terms of percentage, and the Panthers held the Blackhawks to 0 for 8 with the extra man in two games this week.
“Everyone’s playing for each other, and we have those plays that make a difference,” Wennberg said. “Not giving any big opportunities kind of helps to win games, and that’s pretty much what this league is all about.”
Florida has the No. 3 offense in goals per game and No. 2 in shots per game, but the Panthers also had a top-five offense last year. Their biggest difference has been on defense, where they’ve jumped from the bottom five into the middle of the pack to become perhaps the best team in the league with more than half of the season over.
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While the number of shots allowed are similar to last year, Florida has significantly limited the opponents’ quality of shots. After opponents lived around their net last season, the Panthers are taking away those clean looks in their second season in Joel Quenneville’s system.
“There’s some more familiarity with it. I think there’s more predictability in the forwards knowing their responsibility, the cohesiveness of the lines, working together and all three forwards doing the right things,” the coach said. “It seems like more five guys are in the picture and all doing their thing, and disrupting and trying to kill plays. But we’ve been cleaner and neater in our own zone.”
