Florida Panthers looking for ‘the balance right now’ amid trying start to season
The Florida Panthers are dealing with a bit of an identity crisis. They have been trying to find their way for some time now as they maneuver through injuries, lineup changes and inconsistent play more than a quarter of the way through the season.
It’s seen in the standings.
The Panthers, who have dropped three of their past four, enter their Tuesday home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m., ESPN+/Hulu) with a 12-11-1 record. Their 25 points through 24 games are tied for the second-fewest in the Eastern Conference — ironically enough with the 11-11-3 Maple Leafs who they host next at Amerant Bank Arena — and one point ahead of the Buffalo Sabres for last in the east.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice is tried a little bit of everything to get the team on the right track.
There has most notably been more emphasis on offense compared to their usual defensive grind-it-out style that makes them insufferable to play against in the postseason.
It has resulted in a different type of grind, one that has the Panthers searching for answers as they try to fix things on their quest for a third consecutive Stanley Cup before it gets too late.
“We understand that we’re on a bit of a different journey right now, trying to expand in some parts of our game that we need to develop with the situation that we’re in,” Maurice said. “You grab something, you usually have to give something up. Trying to find the balance right now.”
With all that said, the Panthers aren’t playing poorly, per se. They are still among the league leaders when the game is played at full strength in terms of controlling shot attempts (52.31%, eighth in NHL). They are outscoring opponents 51-48 at five-on-five.
But around the margins, there are definitely areas to improve.
They are struggling on special teams — 17th on the power play (19.3%) and 23rd on the penalty kill (78.5%). They haven’t been able to maintain leads as of late, most recently watching multi-goal leads disappear in a 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday and 5-3 loss to the Calgary Flames on Friday. They are in the middle of the road in both goals scored per game (3.08, 15th) and goals allowed per game (3.17, 19th).
Starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, meanwhile, has a 2.88 goals against average and .882 save percentage through 17 games, 21st and 31st among 40 goaltenders who have played at least 10 games this season.
“The other teams have been capitalizing,” forward A.J. Greer said. “It’s a matter of inches. I don’t think we’re necessarily playing bad hockey. The results aren’t there, and we have to find a way to clean up those little mistakes.”
Added defenseman Gustav Forsling: “We’ve been trying to find our offensive game. I think sometimes you forget a little bit what made you good, and that’s our defense. It’s something we want to get back to.”
Of course, Florida is doing this far from being at full strength. The Panthers are up to seven players out long-term in top-line center and captain Aleksander Barkov (ACL and MCL surgery), star winger Matthew Tkachuk (torn adductor muscle/sports hernia), middle-six forward Eetu Luostarinen (lower-body burns), fourth-line forwards Tomas Nosek (knee) and Jonah Gadjovich (upper-body) and depth forward Cole Schwindt (broken arm) plus defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder).
There’s an uphill climb to be made, and there is still time to make it. The Eastern Conference standings are still incredibly close, with six points separating the top wild card spot and last place entering play Sunday.
And the Panthers have shown time and again over the years — and specifically this season — that they’re not going to back down from a challenge.
The latest challenge is upon them.
“You know our team is always going to fight right until the end,” forward Sam Bennett said. “We have that character in this room to do that.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM.
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