This season has been different for coach Joel Quenneville and the Florida Panthers.
Much different, meaning 18-5-4 and tied for second with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the eight-team Discover Central Division, one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes.
Different as in more grit, physicality and resilience. The Panthers are 10-1-4 in one-goal games, creating optimism for a sustained run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Florida has advanced beyond the first round once in its history, when it made the Stanley Cup Final in 1996. They missed the playoffs three straight seasons before a four-game loss to the New York Islanders in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers last season.
"It's still early in the season, we're not sure where we're going to fit and sit at the end of it, but there's an excitement around here," Quenneville said. "We're way more competitive and I think the guys are having way more fun than we did last year. There have been a lot of good stories, a lot of positive things that have evolved here right now, and it's been fun to be a part of."
The fun in South Florida has Quenneville the midseason favorite to win the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year, according to a panel of 17 NHL.com writers. His 62 points led all voting totals, ahead of Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour (38), Jeremy Colliton of the Chicago Blackhawks (36), Dean Evason of the Minnesota Wild (26) and Sheldon Keefe of the Toronto Maple Leafs (26).
A strong start is another reason why the Panthers are among the top teams in the NHL. They opened the season 6-0-2 after starting 3-2-3 last season and 2-5-3 two seasons ago. They've lost consecutive games once but still earned points, 4-3 in a shootout Feb. 27 and 3-2 in overtime March 1, each to the Hurricanes. They're better defensively, allowing 2.81 goals per game (12th in the NHL), which is down from 3.25 per game last season (tied for 28th), and allowing 31.1 shots per game (tied for 21st) after allowing 32.3 per game last season (22nd).
Forwards Patric Hornqvist, Carter Verhaeghe, Anthony Duclair and Alex Wennberg and defenseman Radko Gudas, each added during the offseason, have contributed, blending with forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov and defenseman Aaron Ekblad, a core group that's helped the Panthers reap the benefits of a long-term build.
Leading the charge is Quenneville, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Blackhawks (2010, 2013, 2015).
"We got some fresh faces that have brought in some good attitudes with experience of winning and competitiveness," Quenneville said. "I commend [general manager] Bill [Zito]. I think he's relied on the staff here to have a good assessment on some of these guys and he'll bounce them off the coaching staff as well."
Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis): Joel Quenneville, Florida Panthers, 62 points (seven first-place votes); Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes, 38 points (three first-place votes); Jeremy Colliton, Chicago Blackhawks, 36 points (two first-place votes); Dean Evason, Minnesota Wild, 26 points (two first-place votes); Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Maple Leafs, 26 points; Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning, 25 points (three first-place votes); Barry Trotz, New York Islanders, 21 points; Paul Maurice, Winnipeg Jets, 6 points; Todd McLellan, Los Angeles Kings, 6 points; Peter Laviolette, Washington Capitals, 4 points, Dave Tippett, Edmonton Oilers, 3 points; Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins, 2 points
