Barkov and Bennett are out for another huge game. Here’s how the Panthers must adjust
The Florida Panthers have one of their biggest games of the season Tuesday — they all, frankly, carry this label now — and spent Monday morning at FLA Live Arena to get ready for it before they hustled over to the airport to catch an afternoon flight over to Tampa.
They did it all without Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett, though. As important as this upcoming tilt is for the Panthers, they’ll have to do it without their top two centers, who will both miss their second straight game when Florida faces the Tampa Bay Lightning.
At the worst possible time of the year, the Panthers are reeling again because of injuries.
“We’re just going to look different,” coach Paul Maurice cautioned, “but that’s OK.”
Florida needs it to be alright. The Panthers (29-26-6) started the week three points out of a postseason spot with only 21 games left in the regular season and this is with Florida having played more games than most of the teams it’s competing with for a wild card. The Panthers cannot afford another losing streak, especially with the Buffalo Sabres, who beat short-handed Florida on Friday, now ahead of the Panthers in the standings, despite having played three fewer games.
Florida did enough Friday to at least survive without its top two centers, even in defeat. The Panthers outshot the Sabres, and had more scoring chances and high-danger chances than Buffalo. They did more than enough to win on one end of the ice.
“We generated enough,” Maurice said.
They will have to play differently, though. For Florida to beat the Lightning at 7 p.m. at Amalie Arena, it will take one of those defensive-minded games Maurice has been preaching all year.
“We didn’t need more offense in that game. We needed to give less and that will be the focus,” Maurice said. “When you have those two guys out of your lineup, you probably won’t hang onto the puck in the offensive zone quite as much — they’re both big, strong men — and you’re going to have to battle harder in your own end.
“It doesn’t have to be quite as dynamic, so we’ve got to be considerably smarter with what we do with the puck, make our plays when they’re there and then be more patient when they’re not.”
Barkov’s absence, in particular, has typically been crippling for the Panthers this year. Florida has lost 10 of 13 without its All-Star center, who averages more than 21 minutes per game and plays in all three phases.
With Bennett also out, the Panthers have made Anton Lundell their top-line center — he has mostly played left wing next to Barkov since the start of the new year — and bumped fellow forward Eetu Luostarinen up from third-line center to second-line center.
Barkov has been dealing with an apparent hand injury since blocking a shot Feb. 6; it kept him out for one game, but he was able to return and play six in a row before sitting out Friday. Bennett has missed five straight games with a lower-body injury.
The task will also be tougher at Tampa Bay. The Lightning (37-18-4) is once again a Stanley Cup contender and just got right wing Tanner Jeannot in a trade with the Nashville Predators on Sunday. It’s a rivalry game, so the stakes are always high. The playoff significance only adds another layer.
“It’s always an extremely competitive game,” star defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “We know we always get their best.”
With little time left to make a run, Florida will have to do its best to make it tough on Tampa Bay, too, even with two key cogs out of the lineup.
“We need it bad,” Maurice said, “so we’ll have the energy for it.”
