As Panthers prepare to host Maple Leafs, they’re looking to get their ‘mojo’ back
Aaron Ekblad is trying to look at the Florida Panthers’ situation from multiple lenses.
Yes, Florida is not happy with its record. The Panthers are 12-11-1, their 25 points tied for the second fewest in the Eastern Conference nearly one-third of the way through the season. That’s unacceptable for Florida, which is trying to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup.
But hope is not lost. Florida, after all, has been grinding through this start to the season while dealing with a slew of injuries. The Panthers have learned a lot about their depth and their resolve. They still have 58 games left to turn things around, and the Eastern Conference is tight. Just 10 points separate the East-leading Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes (both 16-7-2, 34 points) and the last-place Buffalo Sabres (10-11-4, 24 points) entering games Monday. Only five points separate last-place Buffalo from the Pittsburgh Penguins (12-7-5, 29 points) for the East’s final wild-card spot.
“It doesn’t bother us because we feel that we can turn this around at any time,” Ekblad said. “But at the end of the day, it should bother us a little bit and should give us some juice to bring into games for the next little while here. We have a lot games and not a lot of days, so I feel like bringing that juice every single night is something we’re going to focus on.
“Being bothered and unbothered at the same time I think is a good way to approach it.”
And it’s a good mind-set to have entering Tuesday’s home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first matchup between the Atlantic Division rivals since the Panthers beat them in seven games during the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on their way to repeating as champions.
Puck drop from Amerant Bank Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Hulu.
“We’re kind of handling every game right now as a little more important,” Panthers center Sam Bennett said. “We know we need to get points right now, and obviously divisional games are our big swings, points-wise. Every divisional game is going to be important.”
Especially with both Florida and Toronto (11-11-3, 24 points) fighting to climb back into contention after sluggish starts. The Maple Leafs have dropped eight of their past 11 entering Tuesday, although two of their three wins have come in the past three games. The Panthers have lost three of their past four, including giving up multi-goal leads in consecutive losses to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday and Calgary Flames on Friday.
The Panthers, for their part, are cognizant that a rough patch at the start of the season isn’t the end of the world, although it does make for a tougher road down the stretch.
“If you think that your playoff dreams are done 25 games in, you’ve got bigger problems,” Panthers veteran winger Brad Marchand said.
It’s why the Panthers are trying to stay loose even through the tough times. They have overcome losing streaks before. They have fought their way to get into the playoffs the past few years. They never expect the road to be easy, but they also are aware that can’t tighten up or grip their sticks too tight when things aren’t going their way.
“We have a lot of experience in these situations,” Ekblad said. “We rely on our coaching staff to draw out a plan for us every single day, and then obviously a long-term view as well, and we trust in it. Like I said, unbothered and bothered at the same time is a great way to approach games and get to our mojo.”
Added forward Mackie Samoskevich: “It allows us to keep growing and keep getting better. We’re maybe not doing so well, and it’s not letting us get comfortable. We got to keep getting better every day and keep fighting for points every night. At the end of the day, yeah, it’s not where we want to be, but I think looking back at last year, at least, all the tough stretches we went through helped us a ton.”
The week ahead
Florida’s game against Toronto is the first of four home games this week to wrap up a six-game homestand and a stretch in which they played 11 of 12 games on home ice.
The rest of the week includes games against the Nashville Predators on Thursday (7 p.m., Scripps Sports), Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (3:30 p.m., Scripps Sports) and New York Islanders on Sunday (5 p.m., Scripps Sports).
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