Florida Panthers come out of long break finally in control of their postseason destiny
Eric Staal has a bad habit, but it’s one he can’t help: The Florida Panthers are in the thick of the postseason hunt and the six-time All-Star can’t stop checking the standings.
“To be honest, I’ve been checking in for a while,” the 38-year-old forward said Monday. “I look daily, usually the night and the morning, probably more than I should.”
Lately, it has been all the Panthers can do and it has been a good time. Florida hasn’t played since Monday and yet its playoff chances are soaring.
While the Panthers took a few days off and used a four-day break to refresh for the final month of the regular season, the Islanders, Senators and Red Wings all took losses, leaving Florida on control of its own destiny with 15 games remaining.
“It helps a lot,” All-Star center Aleksander Barkov said. “You don’t pay attention to that too much, but we know we have a really good chance to make it there.”
Although they entered Wednesday two points behind New York for the second wild card, the Panthers (33-27-7) will go into Thursday having played three fewer games than the Islanders. Although it trails New York in points percentage, Florida has the most possible points remaining of all the wild card contenders, aside from the seventh-place, likely safe Penguins.
It’s all complicated and scoreboard watching, with so many teams still in contention and games left to play, can be maddening. Ultimately, it’s meaningless because it’s all beyond the Panthers control.
At the same time, how could anyone not be excited about it at this time of the year?
“It’s just the reality of it,” Staal said, “but it’s also fun.”
In the broadest sense possible, this is why he and everyone else are in South Florida. The Panthers expected to be playing meaningful games into the spring, only they hoped they’d be more so in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs rather than about getting into them. Now, they’re getting them and expecting raucous environments for the rest of the week at FLA Live Arena.
Florida will close out a seven-game homestand with two more home games Thursday and Saturday, and it’s a major moment in its season. The Panthers have won 3 of 5 — with one overtime loss — to start the homestand, and now finish out with games against the last-place Montreal Canadiens and Stanley Cup-contending Devils. The first one, against the Canadiens (27-35-6) at 7 p.m., is a game they essentially can’t afford to lose; the second is one capable of shifting the balance of power in the wild card race.
They’re both games Florida feels good about, too. The Panthers have won 3 of 4 since centers Sam Bennett and Barkov returned from injuries, with their only loss coming in overtime to the Jets, 5-4, on Saturday. Florida has yet to lose in regulation when its preferred lineup plays together.
In the meantime, the Panthers’ chances to make the Stanley Cup playoffs rose as high as 46 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight, and Florida and New York have virtually equal chances to nab the second wild card.
“Once we got healthy, I think everyone started to feel comfortable in the roles they’re given and the opportunities that they have, and we have good players,” Staal said. “When you have everyone contributing the way they can collectively, you’re going to end up with good results.”
The timing has been perfect for the Panthers.
Florida closes out March with nine games in 15 days, so this miniature break before the end of the homestand sets up the Panthers for a full-strength sprint to the finish line.
“The key piece,” coach Paul Maurice said Monday, “is getting through this thing healthy.”
As long as it can, Florida has confidence.
“We’re playing really well right now, doing the right things on the ice,” Barkov said. “We just have to keep going.”
