Florida going through some ‘good adversity’ during four-game losing streak
Panthers' dads joining team on trip to face the Nashville Predators on Monday
It has not been the best of stretches for the Florida Panthers as of late, finishing a five-game homestand with a record of 1-2-2. In their lone win, they had to come back from two one-goal deficits to defeat the Los Angeles Kings in overtime.
Despite not winning in regulation since Jan. 9, they are still tied at the top of the Eastern Conference in regulation wins with the New York Rangers, each team with 24.
The ability to win in regulation speaks volumes as to not relying on three-on-three hockey and open ice to win games. Once teams make it to the postseason, that it out of the picture.
With less penalties called in the postseason, that means a lot of time is spent at five-on-five, which Florida is plus-12 on the season through 45 games.
It’s been an unusual week where the Panthers gave up five power play goals on six opportunities to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. That game alone dropped Florida from sixth in the NHL in penalty kill percentage to 11th. They are now seven points behind the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
The Panthers have been through a stretch prior to this one where they obtained four points out of ten. Florida got shutout back in Mid-December in back-to-back games in Vancouver and Seattle and gave up two shorthanded goals to the Calgary Flames to end the road trip with a regulation loss. Florida was having a hard time finding the back of the net throughout that stretch.
There is not a sense of worry this time around, even though Florida has been without Captain Aleksander Barkov since he left Monday’s contest against the Anaheim Ducks with about five minutes left in the third. Florida is also still without forward Nick Cousins, who has been practicing in a gold non-contact jersey after entering the concussion protocol following Florida’s game in Arizona on Jan. 2.
William Lockwood will also be out of the lineup as he is currently serving a three-game suspension for his collision with Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury on Saturday. Forward Mackie Samoskevich has been called up from AHL Charlotte.
“I like our game way better now than I liked in our last block of five that we were not very good at,” Head Coach Paul Maurice said after practice on Sunday from Amerant Bank Arena.
It’s all about how one responds to adversity, and Florida did just that when they went on a nine-game winning streak from Dec. 23rd to Jan. 11th., the third longest in franchise history.
Things tend to regress down to the mean in a long season. Defensively, Florida is ranked first in expected goals against per 60 minutes, per Jfresh Hockey. It is not common to see the Panthers lose multiple two-goal leads. Also, the chances of outscoring the opposition four to nothing at five-on-five while giving up five goals on the penalty kill is also unlikely to happen again.
Adversity is not new for this group, they did not run from it last calendar year when they could not afford to lose any games before making it into the Stanley Cup playoffs. They are not running away from adversity this time around.
“There’s a little bit of an edge to things that are going on.” Maurice added “It’s a good place to be in this environment. That adversity drives you, it defines you, shapes you, so we are not trying to get out of it.”
That sends a message of the team having a sense of urgency, but not panicking.
Getting out on the road might be the best thing, as the team is currently conducting their annual father’s trip.
“If you don’t play hard, you’re going to have a group full of dad’s chirping you,” forward Ryan Lomberg said. “We are excited to work as hard as we can and come up with two points and make it a good dad’s trip.”
Florida will play three of their next four games on the road, starting Monday in Nashville. Being outside of Sunrise has actually not bothered them. They are currently tied for first in the East in road wins with Philadelphia and New Jersey at 14.
The Panthers have played one only more road game than at home, where the records are nearly identical: 14-7-2 on the road to 13-7-2 at home.
Combining the scenarios of a respectable road record and the fathers coming along, it is an opportunity to respond once again and finish strong prior to the All-Star Break.
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