Yahoo Sports Panthers near top of standings after 20 games, but recent performance ‘not good enough’
Did Paul Maurice manifest this?
When the Florida Panthers’ coach spoke on media day ahead of training camp, he made a very specific prediction as the team prepared for its Stanley Cup defense.
“We’re going to get beat in November in a game against a Western Conference team that didn’t make the playoffs last year and probably won’t make the playoffs this year,” Maurice said Sept. 18. “It’ll be assigned as a hangover loss.”
On Thursday, the Panthers lost 3-1 on the road to the Chicago Blackhawks — the only team on Florida’s schedule this month that fits that billing.
The loss is most likely coincidence.
But Florida needs to make sure that defeat — and the one that recently preceded it — don’t manifest into something more.
After starting the season 11-3-1, Florida has dropped four of its past five games. The Panthers were swept at home in two games by the New Jersey Devils, split a home-and-home with the Winnipeg Jets and then dropped the game to Chicago on Thursday.
“We’ve had a five-game block where we’ve only had one that I like,” Maurice said. “That’s not good enough for us.”
The Panthers have shown how good they can be.
Through 20 games, they are in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 12-7-1 record — the exact same record they had through the first quarter of last season when they won the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Florida enters its Saturday home game against the Colorado Avalanche averaging 3.45 goals per game, the ninth-highest in the league this season and the team’s highest through the first 20 games of a season under Maurice. The Panthers’ early success on the power play (23 percent) and penalty kill (81 percent) are also at their highest clips at this juncture of the season since Maurice took over.
But the Panthers have had a dropoff defensively through the first quarter of the season. Florida is allowing an average of 3.25 goals per game, the 10th-most in the league. Florida has only held opponents to two goals or fewer in five games this season and has been outscored 19-7 over its past four losses with a 5-0 win over Winnipeg sandwiched in there.
“Just [get back] on our game,” forward Jesper Boqvist said. “We need to get back to it fast, get heavy on the forecheck, and stuff like that. We just have to come back to our game.”
Who has stepped up
Sam Reinhart: Fresh off a 57-goal campaign last season, Reinhart entered Saturday tied for the NHL lead with 15 goals. He is riding a 12-game point streak that is five games shy of the franchise record.
Gustav Forsling: The star defenseman has a plus-minus rating of plus-13 this season, tied for the 10th-best mark in the NHL. He also has 11 points (three goals, eight assists)
Who needs to step up
Carter Verhaeghe: The winger known for his scoring has found the back of the net just four times through 20 games and also has a plus-minus rating of minus-12.
Florida’s third defense pairing: Uvis Balinskis and Nate Schmidt are holding their own when it comes to their roles on the Panthers’ power play, but their production at five-on-five leaves something to be desired. In about 155 minutes of ice time at full strength with the two on the ice, the Panthers have been outscored 10-4 despite their expected goals against being just 5.12.
