Panthers embracing fun in quest to win first Stanley Cup championship
With 10-game winning streak, high-powered offense, Florida feeling like, "It's our time right now"
It's not just that they're winning. It's that they're scoring goals, setting records, reaching NHL career highs. It's the team chemistry and anticipation of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I'm jealous I'm not playing, but I'm lucky to be a part of it," coach Andrew Brunette said. "If you're around them, to see them day in, day out, how hard they practice, how hard they compete, it's been a joy, and I don't know if I'll ever see another group like this. It's special."
The Panthers have won 10 straight games and are 19-2-1 in their past 22 entering their game at the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Already they have 54 wins, seven more than ever before; 114 points, 11 more than any Panthers team; and 314 goals, 50 more than ever before.
With seven games to go in the regular season, they have a chance to pad those totals, set the Florida record for a winning streak [12 games in 2015-16] and win the Presidents' Trophy for the first time. They're two points behind the Colorado Avalanche in the race for the first place in the NHL standings.
Most important, after failing to win a playoff round since they made the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, they have a chance to win the Stanley Cup.
"It's our time right now," said forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who has played for the Panthers since 2012-13. "We have the team. [General manager Bill Zito] did his job, went and got some good players. Now it's our time to show what we have."
Huberdeau has scored 108 points (30 goals, 78 assists) in 75 games, two behind Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid for first in the NHL scoring race. He has tied his NHL career high in goals. He has set NHL career highs and Florida records for assists and points. His 78 assists are the most in a season by a left wing.
But he's one of several Panthers having career-best seasons. Fourteen skaters who have played at least 36 games for Florida already have tied or set NHL career highs in goals. Same for assists. Same for points.
Those numbers almost certainly will grow. Center Aleksander Barkov, for instance, leads Florida with 34 goals, one off his NHL career high, despite missing 13 games because of a lower-body injury.
Now add forward Claude Giroux, whom the Panthers acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers on March 19. He has scored 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 13 games for Florida.
"It's been very fun," said center Anton Lundell, whose 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 60 games are fifth among NHL rookies. "A lot of goals the whole season. When we're playing good we see that it works, so we don't need to change that much."
The Panthers are averaging 5.30 goals during their 10-game winning streak. In the past 35 years, only one other team has scored at that rate during a stretch of 10 straight wins: the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins (5.81 goals during their 16-game winning streak).
Florida (4.19) is the only team averaging more than 4.00 goals per game this season; the closest is Colorado (3.87). Six more goals, and the Panthers will become the first team to score 320 in a season since 1996-97.
"It's going to be huge going into the postseason," forward Anthony Duclair said. "It's just fun to see. It's fun to watch. It just builds everyone's confidence up when you know that if one line's not going, two or three others are going to get going. From a confidence standpoint that's huge."
It's more than that, though.
"Everybody talks about how many goals we score, etc.," Brunette said. "To me it's how hard we compete. We compete on every puck. That's something that obviously we want to continue going through the year."
That's a big reason why the Panthers have the puck more than any other team. They have controlled 56.9 percent of the shot attempts at 5-on-5 this season, best in the NHL.
Florida is allowing 2.85 goals against per game, 11th in the NHL, and acquired defenseman Ben Chiarot from the Montreal Canadiens in a trade March 16 to bolster their defense. Aaron Ekblad, their No. 1 defenseman, has been out since March 18 because of a lower-body injury but hopes to return in the playoffs.
Sergei Bobrovsky, a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL, is 36-6-3 with a 2.66 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and three shutouts in 49 games. His win total is a Florida single-season record and tied with Darcy Kuemper of the Avalanche for second in the NHL this season, one behind Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators.
If there are concerns for the Panthers ahead of the playoffs, they are game management and play away from the puck. But Brunette said he has seen improvement lately.
"Hopefully we continue to build on that, because that's going to be the difference for our group especially, because we are so good offensively," Brunette said. "If we do the right things we'll have the puck more, and if we have the puck more we're as fun to watch as anybody."
The Panthers hope the fun is just getting started.
"Fun season, obviously," Huberdeau said. "It's much easier when you're having success with the team and personally, so it's been a really good year for us. But the fun is yet to come."
