What’s wrong the Panthers’ power play? Florida has lost ‘some confidence,’ coach says
The Florida Panthers were in the middle of one of their signature comeback bids in the third period Tuesday when a whistle blew and they got some bad news: They were going on the power play.
This isn’t how it’s supposed to be, but it’s how the first few weeks of the 2022-23 NHL season have gone for the Panthers. An extra-man advantage has consistently been a bad situation for Florida, and its third-period failure against the Chicago Blackhawks left the Panthers with a 4-2 loss in Illinois.
“It’s probably more frustrating now because if we had got one, especially at the end, it’s a different hockey game,” All-Star right wing Matthew Tkachuk said Tuesday.
Florida (4-2-1) is now just 2 of 33 on the power play so far this season — the third-worst mark in the NHL, entering Wednesday — and both of its goals came in one win against the Philadelphia Flyers last Wednesday.
Maybe a rematch with the Flyers (4-2-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is just with the Panthers need, especially since coach Paul Maurice doesn’t currently see this as a strategic or personnel issue.
“What happens [is] you lose some confidence and now it’s slow as heck, and that’s the problem with it now,” Maurice told WQAM’s “The Joe Rose Show with Zach Krantz.” “It’s just way too slow.”
Right now, it’s the biggest reason Florida is only a middle-of-the-pack team in the first month of the season. The Panthers are averaging 3.56 goals per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 time — the fourth-best rate in the NHL. On the power play, the number drops to 2.03 — the third worst in the league.
To a certain degree, Florida can chalk some of its issues to bad luck and a small sample size. The Panthers rank seventh in the NHL in power-play scoring chances per 60 minutes and sixth in high-danger chances per 60. Over a full season, scoring chances provide a good indication of how effectively teams will score.
At the same time, Florida’s scoring chances have dropped since star defenseman Aaron Ekblad went out with a lower-body injury Oct. 17. The Panthers only put four shots on goal in 10:15 of power-play time against the Blackhawks and two of those came during a 5-on-3 advantage. As much as it believes it has the talent turn around its power play, Florida also knows the current approach isn’t working.
“We just need a shooter’s mind-set with guys at the net. It’s very simple,” Tkachuk said. “We’ve got lots of talent out there. We’re making good plays and getting in fine. It’s maybe too many one-and-dones. Puck recoveries aren’t great right now and that’s on us. That’s on guys like me around the net. We’ve got to get those pucks back and bury a greasy goal one of these days.”
Maurice agreed with his star winger’s assessment.
“We’re moving the puck, so we’re going to have to get some ugly, greasy power-play goals, where we funnel pucks to the nets, we put lots of bodies there and whack at it,” he said, “and then once the confidence gets back, our speed comes back, then you’ll see the skill.”
There’s no reason this group shouldn’t work, even with Ekblad out. Tkachuk made the NHL All-Star team last year and is one of the best net-front players in the league, even scoring on a 5-on-5 deflection in the third period in Chicago. Star center Aleksander Barkov is gifted as a passer and a shooter, and can play anywhere from the middle of the ice to the point on a power play. Even forward Sam Reinhart, who hasn’t scored yet this year, averaged more than a point per game and led Florida in power-play goals last season.
Right now, Maurice faces a similar quandary to the one former interim coach Andrew Brunette did during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, when he stuck with a proven, talented power-play unit even when it wasn’t working, trusting it would click eventually. It never did and the Tampa Bay Lightning swept the Panthers out of the second round.
The stakes, of course, are not as high now, which Maurice posits might be a good thing.
It doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating, though.
“Having it happen at the start of the year is almost, in some ways, a good thing,” he said. “It’s made our 5-on-5 game really strong and it’ll come.”
