FORT LAUDERDALE – Even on the road, the Cats feel at home.
One of the top road teams in the NHL this season, the Florida Panthers will try to earn their ninth straight road victory when they kick off a three-game trip against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.
During their current eight-game streak, the Panthers have outscored the opposition 33-14 while converting on 33.3% of their penalty kills and a staggering 97% of their penalty kills.
Shutting the door, 16 of their 33 goals during the run have come in the third period.
“I think the style of game that we’re best at is a road game,” head coach Paul Maurice said following Tuesday’s pre-flight practice at the Baptist Health IcePlex. “That’s not a sit-back game at all for us. Road games are very simple. When we play them, we just play fast.”
But even before their current tear, the Panthers were a tough out on the road.
Taking a step back to look at the big picture, they’ve posted a 17-7-2 record on the road while enduring a road-heavy first half of the campaign that featured multiple long trips.
Doing far more than survive their challenging schedule, the Panthers have outscored the opposition 81-58 on the road while looking dominant on the defensive side of the puck.
In addition to allowing a league-best 2.23 goals per game on the road, they also rank first on the road on the penalty kill (87.8%) and in fewest shots allowed per contest (26.7).
An elite possession team, Florida also ranks third with 55.68 CF% at 5-on-5.
“We bring that underdog mentality,” said Aaron Ekblad, a key piece on the team’s top-defensive pairing. “The road’s never easy. I think our game gets really tight. I feel like our game travels well."
Like Ekblad said, the Cats also love to have a chip on their shoulder.
On the road, that comes built in.
One of the few teams in the NHL that can both beat and beat up their opponents outside of their own barn on a regular basis, the Panthers, who have become must-see TV, rank fifth in league in hits per 60 minutes (24.82) and second in total penalty minutes (348) on the road.
“We have a pretty physical brand of hockey and on the road that’s not necessarily appreciated by the home crowd, so there’s an energy that comes to the games on the road,” Maurice said. “I think we play our best for sure in those games. The players that we have are wired to play road hockey.”
Looking at some of those players, the Panthers boast three skaters that are producing at better than a point-per-game on the road. Sam Reinhart tops the list with 32 points, while Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk have logged 31 and 30, respectively.
Hitting the road just one goal shy of his first 40-goal campaign, Reinhart, an All-Star this season, has found the back of the net in each of his last nine road contests, which is the longest such streak franchise history and the longest by any player in the NHL in 2023-24.
A whopping 16 Panthers also possess a positive plus/minus rating on the road, with defenseman Gustav Forsling sitting atop the leaderboard at a very impressive +13.
Looking back to last season, it was arguably comfort on the road that helped the Panthers push through the playoffs as they went 8-4 on the road en route to the Stanley Cup Final.
With that mentality still intact, it’s a skill they won’t have to re-learn this season.
“Feeling comfortable on the road might be the most important attribute that you want to build over the year,” Maurice said. “Whether you’re the underdog or the favorite, you’ve got to win road games. We feel good on the road.”
BOB GETS THE NOD
After practice, Maurice announced that it’ll be Sergei Bobrovsky in net against Pittsburgh.
Named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week on Monday, the 35-year-old veteran has really been in the zone since returning from the All-Star Game. In two games since he got back from Toronto, he’s posted a 2-0-0 record while turning aside 56 of 58 shots (.966%).
In his last start, he made 35 saves in a 4-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
“He always makes that big save when we need it,” defenseman Brandon Montour said.
In 38 appearances this season, Bobrovsky has gone 25-10-2 with a .913 save percentage.
Standing on his head in two starts against the Penguins this season -- one at home and one on the road – the former Vezina Trophy winner has gone 2-0-0 with a .952 save percentage.
To listen to Bobrovksy on this week's Territory Talk podcast, click **HERE**.
TUESDAY’S PRACTICE LINES
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Nick Cousins – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Will Lockwood – Steven Lorentz
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
