A road trip to forget ‘humbles’ the Florida Panthers. How they respond will be key
%20(1).JPG "Florida Panthers celebrate a second-period goal during an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)")
There was bound to be a regression to the mean at some point. The near-perfect start wasn’t going to last forever.
What matters now is how the Florida Panthers respond.
The Panthers won a franchise-record nine games to begin the season and tallied points in each of their first 11 contests, capped by a dominating win over the previously unbeaten Carolina Hurricanes as they asserted themselves as early contenders for the Stanley Cup.
And then, week-long reality check of a road trip.
The Panthers dropped each of their last four games — two in regulation, one in a shootout, one in overtime. They looked like a shell of themselves on the first half of the road trip before returning (more or less) to form but failing to execute at key moments here and there that could have turned close losses that went beyond regulation into wins.
“Sometimes, when you win a lot of games, you get really high and you feel like everything is going your way,” Panthers captain and star center Aleksander Barkov said. “I don’t know if it’s that going on right now, but sometimes it’s gonna go like this. You can’t win any games. No bounces, nothing. It humbles you kind of and then you keep working even harder. We know we have a really good group here and when we play the right way, it’s really, really tough to play against us. That’s how we need to play.”
And, to the Panthers’ credit, they’re still playing high-end hockey.
Through Saturday’s games, the Panthers still lead the NHL with 23 points and are one of three teams with only two regulation losses (also the Hurricanes and Washington Capitals). Their 56 goals still lead the NHL and their plus-17 goal differential is second only to the Hurricanes (plus-20).
They have a half-dozen players who have scored at least four goals and are averaging 34.6 shots on goal per game, the fourth-best mark in the NHL.
“This group competes,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said. “I’m proud of the way they bring it every night. Can we be a little bit smarter at times? Yes, absolutely, and we still have things to work on. We work and we compete. If we weren’t doing that I’d have some concern.”
But the effort and the compete didn’t result in a win this week.
The recap of a four-game trip to mostly forget...
Monday: A 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers in which Florida scored all three of its goals in the final period — and the final two goals in the final 90 seconds — despite having a 45-18 edge in shots on goal.
Tuesday: A 7-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils, during which New Jersey scored its goals in bunches and the Panthers were lifeless after falling behind for good in the second period.
Thursday: A 3-2 shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Florida looked more like its early-season self in this one, but missed opportunities — particularly on the power play — hindered the Panthers’ chances of picking up the second point.
Saturday: A 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. A two-goal flurry in a span of 36 seconds erased Florida’s early deficit, but the Panthers couldn’t get past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy after that and Tampa Bay sealed the win on a Brayden Point breakaway midway through overtime.
They struggled on special teams, going 0 for 9 on the power play, surrendering four goals on 10 penalty kill opportunities and allowing a shorthanded goal.
They held just one lead over the four games, a 29-second stretch in the opening minutes of the second period against New Jersey on Tuesday. The Devils then scored five unanswered goals — two in the second period, three in the third — to seal the blowout victory.
“It is not easy, that momentum thing, especially when you go on the road,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “We have lost a couple games, but we’re still in a very good position, we had a great start. We realize that. We’re not going to grip the stick too hard. We’re going to keep a positive attitude and find a way to win.”
The Panthers now have a chance to regroup with an extended home stay. Eight of their next nine games, starting Tuesday with the New York Islanders, are played at FLA Live Arena, where they are currently 7-0-0.
“We need to simplify things,” winger Anthony Duclair said. “Sometimes when you’re down, you try to do too much, try to do another guy’s job. That’s not working out for us right now. We want to keep things simple; get to the net, get pucks to the net. Grind them out. That’s going to be the key.”
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