After eking out win at home, ‘the tough part is now’ for Panthers with another road trip
Sergei Bobrovsky was already ready to move on a few minutes after his Florida Panthers pulled them within five points of the New York Islanders against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
It was just about the only attitude the Panthers could take afterward. They came dangerously close to blowing a third-period lead for the second straight game, did just about nothing on offense for the last 15-plus minutes and Bobrovsky, before he shut the door with a flurry of saves in the last few minutes, gave up three of the worst goals he has all year.
“I don’t want to think too much. I just want to enjoy those two points and move on,” the star goaltender said through a smile Saturday.
It was sort of a mess of a win for Florida, but all that mattered was getting a victory in one of its few home games of January.
After four straight games on the road, the Panthers returned to Sunrise this weekend, but only for one game. On Monday, they’ll start another three-game road trip at 1 p.m. against the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center in New York. After splitting four games on its most important road trip of the season so far, Florida (20-20-4) took care of business — barely — in its one game at FLA Live Arena before embarking on its next most important road trip of the season this week.
The Panthers’ win pulled them within five points of the New York Islanders for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference — they closest they’ve been to playoff position since before Christmas — and the Sabres (21-18-2) are one of the teams Florida will have to fight with for the No. 8 seed in the second half of the season.
The Panthers’ message as they get ready to head up to Buffalo was the same as it has been for much of the last month.
“Two points is crucial for us and this is the time,” Bobrovsky said. “We have to bear down, we have to find a way to close the deal.”
There’s one key difference right now, though: Florida, for the first time in two months and only the third time all year, has four wins in its last six games, finally beating up on bad teams like the Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes, and competing with good teams in the manner the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winner should.
There’s a lot to like about the way the Panthers have played lately — their power-play percentage is up to No. 16 in the league and they still lead in the NHL in shots per game — and those strengths have outweighed some of their glaring flaws in the last week or so.
The entire gamut was there for Florida on Saturday, with the Panthers scoring two power-play goals and playing two excellent periods, only to nearly blow a lead by managing just one shot in the final 15:37 and giving up their league-worst 65th third-period goal.
After a win, Florida was happy just to take the two points and move on.
“A win’s a win,” star defenseman Aaron Ekblad said Saturday. “We did it tonight. We held a lead in the [third] period and won the game.”
The next few are going to be tougher. Vancouver is one of the worst teams in the league and the Panthers’ next two are against the playoff-contending Sabres and Stanley Cup-contending Toronto Maple Leafs on back-to-back days, and with goaltender Spencer Knight still hurt, Bobrovsky could face a heavy workload.
With a thin margin for error, they’re two more games Florida can hardly afford to drop.
“This is actually the easy part of the tough part. That all starts in Buffalo,” coach Paul Maurice said Saturday. “The tough part is now.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2023 at 9:00 AM.
