FORT LAUDERDALE – The path to the playoffs isn’t without a few potholes.
After winning 18 of 21 games to shoot up the standings, the Florida Panthers are now trying to get back to that level after dropping three straight games for the first time since January.
While it’s not their first bit of adversity, the hope is that it’ll be their last.
“We’ve had these sections of the year,” head coach Paul Maurice said after Friday’s practice at Baptist Health IcePlex. “These are really, really important. This is what we hope would be our last bit of learning that we need to do before we get our game right to head into the playoffs.”
Seeing their skid hit three games with a 3-0 loss to the streaking Nashville Predators on Thursday at Amerant Bank Arena, the Panthers have been outscored 15-7 during this current slump while being shut out twice. In the 21 games prior, they outscored the opposition 77-36.
So, who are the Panthers?
Are they the nearly unbeatable juggernaut that topped power rankings around the NHL for several weeks or are they this current team that’s struggled a bit to find a full 60 minutes?
Maurice believes the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
The Panthers clearly have the pieces – and the recent track record of success and dominance – to claw their way to the Stanley Cup Final again, but in order to do so they’ll need to get back to being a well-oiled forechecking machine.
“Neither of those two teams are permanent,” Maurice said. “You have to earn it every day.”
Looking ahead, Maurice said he knows this change won’t happen overnight.
While it’s easy for the wheels to sometimes fall off, it can be difficult to get them back on right away.
And with both Aaron Ekblad and Aleksander Barkov – two of the team’s most-important players – currently sidelined by injuries, the task is just that much more of a challenge.
But as we’ve seen time and time again, the Panthers always find a way to rise to the occasion.
“I’d like us to take a small step back to the right path of hockey that we’ve been playing,” Maurice said. “I’m not looking for it to get fixed right away. I think we’ve got to go through a little more pain here before we can get to our game. One step at a time. It’s a good thing.”
Still only trailing the Boston Bruins (41-15-15) by three points for first place in the Atlantic Division with a pair of games in hand, the Panthers (45-20-4) will face three current playoff teams over their next three contests, starting with the New York Rangers (46-20-4) on Saturday.
With each game, they just hope to take another step forward.
“We want to build,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “We’ve got a lot to work on. We want to build our game and our consistency. I feel like it’s going to be a very good challenge here over the last couple of weeks.”
BARKOV UPDATE
Still dealing with an injury that kept him out of Thursday’s loss to the Predators, Barkov might be sidelined once again when the Panthers take the ice at Madison Square Garden.
"I don't have Barkov in the lineup tomorrow, but trainers will tell me if something changes," Maurice said.
Better than a point-per-game player this season, Barkov has logged 66 points (18 goals, 48 assists) in 62 games. A potential finalist for the Selke Trophy, he’s also the team’s top-defensive forward and is winning a career-high 57.4% of his faceoffs.
With a focus on the big picture, the Panthers won’t rush their captain back into action.
Stay tuned for more updates on Barkov following Saturday’s morning skate in New York.
TRYING NEW THINGS
In Barkov’s absence, the Panthers tried out some new lines during today’s practice.
One of those changes involved Eetu Luostarinen sliding up to the top line to play alongside Anton Lundell, who’s become the team’s regular stand-in for Barkov, and Sam Reinhart.
No strangers to one another, that trio has spent 158:13 of ice time together at 5-on-5 over the past three seasons. Typically working well together, the Panthers have controlled 58.70% of shot attempts and 56.48% of expected goals during that time, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Other changes included Kevin Stenlund centering the third line and Steven Lorentz setting up shop in the middle of the fourth line. It also appears that Kyle Okposo could potentially be getting back into the lineup soon on the fourth line, but we’ll have to wait and see.
When asked about trying out some new combinations, Maurice noted that he’s also looking at "potential future combinations” for when the team is hopefully back to full health in the near future.
Concrete lineup information should be available following tomorrow’s morning skate.
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Even though it was just practice, cheers still erupted from the stands this morning.
With the ribbon officially being cut at the Baptist Health IcePlex earlier this week, Panthers fans flocked to the new state-of-the-art facility to attend the team’s first open practice.
“I think you can see we have more and more fans here,” Forsling said. “It’s cool to see.”
To stay up to date on future practice times, visit FTLWarMemorial.com/Practice.
