"Like going into Calgary, we're playing a team here that's been off for a little bit," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said following practice on Wednesday. "They really want to get their game set straight. It's going to be a huge challenge for us. They have two of the best players in the world and a really good supporting cast. We've got to bring our A-game, which we didn't bring last night."
After scoring four-or-more goals in each game of their nine-game point streak (8-0-1) coming out of the holiday break, the Panthers found the back of the net just once against the Flames.
Failing to break the ice for the first time since Dec. 29, the Panthers fell behind 2-0 in Calgary before Sam Bennett, playing in his first game against his former team, scored to cut the deficit down to 2-1 early in the second period. Pulling away after that, the Flames then scored three unanswered goals - including getting a pair from Sean Monahan - to lock down the 5-1 victory.
Sitting at 26-8-5 on the season, Florida has gone 21-3-0 at home and 5-5-5 on the road.
"I thought we've played some good road games," Brunette said. "Our record doesn't indicate it as much, but at the end of the day it's still a .500 record. For us to be an elite team, which we want to do and believe we are, we've got to get our road game straightened out a little bit."
While their record on the road isn't where they want it to be at the moment, the Panthers, as Brunette noted, haven't exactly been playing poorly away from home. Taking a closer look at their 10 losses on the road, eight have come down to the wire and been decided by just one goal.
So how do you flip the script?
Aaron Ekblad believes it comes down to being just a bit better in all areas of the game.
"It's obviously something that we've looked at as a team," the Panthers star defenseman said. "We want to find a way to figure that out. You can point a number of reasons. I think it comes down to us understanding that a road game is a lot harder than a home game. You almost have to play a little bit differently. At the end of the day, I think we just have to be a little bit sharper."
For Ekblad and the rest of the defense, tonight's game will pose a particularly tough challenge.
At the other end of the ice, the Oilers possess two of the top-four scorers in the NHL in Leon Draisaitl (54 points) and Connor McDavid (53 points). Doing the heavy lifting on the offensive side of the puck for Edmonton, that dynamic duo has scored 45 of the team's 115 goals (39%).
"It's going to be a good challenge for Ekky and I, and we look forward to the challenge," Ekblad's defensive partner MacKenzie Weegar said. "It's two of the best players in the world, and we're going to see a lot of them. We're going to embrace it. As competitors, we're looking forward to it. Hopefully we can shut them down and get the two points."
Of course, the Panthers have plenty of firepower of their own.
Scoring a league-best 158 goals as a team, they have seven different players in their lineup with at least 10 goals already this season: Anthony Duclair (16), Bennett (16), Jonathan Huberdeau (15), Aleksander Barkov (15), Carter Verhaeghe (13), Sam Reinhart (11) and Ekblad (10).
Heading to the 2022 NHL All-Star Game, Huberdeau also ranks tied with McDavid for third in the NHL scoring with 53 points, including dishing out a league-leading 38 assists.
"Huby's an elite playmaker, and it rubs off on other guys," Brunette said.
But while the Panthers have found success with a balanced attack, the Oilers have struggled to pick up wins despite their two top-tier talents up front. Of course, some of that might be due to the fact that they've had 10 of their games postponed since Dec. 20 due to COVID-19 protocols.
When they have been on the ice, the Oilers have lost each of their last six games while scoring just 14 goals during that slump. Last taking the ice on Jan. 15, they were on the wrong end of a 6-4 loss to the Senators, who scored five goals in the third period to come from behind and win.
"That is one we let slip away," Edmonton forward Zack Kassian said. "Everybody is pretty upset. We were pretty frustrated with that one. That's a tough way to lose. You are up 3-1 going into the third and you lay a stinker. We are a pretty frustrated group. I think the writing is on the wall."
In between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky, who's 19-3-3 with a .921 save percentage is expected to start for the Panthers, while Mikko Koskinen, who's gone 12-7-1 with a .900 save percentage, is expected to man the opposing crease for the Oilers.
Facing off for the first time since 2019-20, the two teams split their two-game series that season.
"With a team like Edmonton, we have to be aware when their two superstars are on the ice," Brunette said. "They create so much for their group. It's going to be a big challenge, but we feel like we're a really good team, so we worry more about our game than whoever we're playing."
