If the Florida Panthers [http://thn.com/florida] are worried about missing Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, they aren't playing like it. Lo and behold, the Panthers have started the season on a 3-1-0 run, and it’s time to ask the question – what were we worried about with this team? Now, it’s understandable why people were concerned for Florida and why the Panthers aren't out of the woods yet. Whenever a team loses one of its core components for a considerable stretch of time, the ripple effect on the organization can be a significant problem. So, to have Tkachuk out of the lineup until December or January and Barkov being sidelined for potentially all of the season, it’s certainly OK to be worried. When we’re looking at the back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Panthers’ all-around depth, you can see why they’ve absorbed the loss of two stars. The NHL's schedule-maker did give Florida soft touches in the Chicago Blackhawks [http://thn.com/chicago] and Philadelphia Flyers [http://thn.com/philadelphia] in Games 1 and 2, although Philly got revenge on Monday with a win at home. But on Saturday, the Panthers pounded the Ottawa Senators [http://thn.com/ottawa] 6-2, showing Florida can rise to the occasion and beat a team that should make the playoffs again. But the Panthers’ depth is reflected in their offensive totals. They may not have a front-runner for the Art Ross Trophy, but they did have 10 players who produced at least two points in their first three games and 11 players after the first four. The Panthers also have six players with three points apiece. The Colorado Avalanche, in comparison, have three players with at least five points and seven players with at least two after their first four games. The Panthers' top six scorers have a mix of stars and depth. While left winger Brad Marchand and right winger Sam Reinhart are stars, they're arguably not the biggest on the team. The other four – Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich and budding top defenseman Gustav Forsling – are making life a lot easier on each other by providing some secondary scoring. Florida is also going full steam ahead with nearly the full defense corps GM Bill Zito put together this season. That means veteran star D-men Seth Jones and Aaron Ekblad are playing alongside Forsling, Niko Mikkola and Jeff Petry and contributing at both ends of the ice. Florida’s defense corps indeed took a blow with the injury to veteran Dmitry Kulikov, but by and large, the ‘D’ corps has looked strong and capable of making a positive impact night in and night out. Finally, Panthers star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has a .925 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against average in three appearances. Bobrovksky was named the third star of the week [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-superstar-goaltender-named-third-star-of-the-week] for his efforts, and that’s a great harbinger of what’s to come in net for Florida this season. Bobrovsky is now in the final season of his seven-year contract worth $10 million annually [https://puckpedia.com/player/sergei-bobrovsky]. He’s got every motivation to play well, given that, at age 37, he could be looking at his final NHL contract next summer. Bobrovsky will be asked to be a workhorse in net and appear in 50 to 60 games once again, and right now, he looks up to the challenge. All things considered, the Panthers are firing on all pistons to start the season. In the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division, they’ll need to be consistently great to stay at or near the top of the standings. But as it stands, Florida is demonstrating it will not go away quietly simply because two stars are out of action. They’re deeper than that. They’re more talented than that. And it’s going to take an even bigger bite from the injury bug to set them back as they push toward Atlantic supremacy once again. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
