Three takeaways: Rough week for Panthers ends with power play struggles, team ready to move on
Florida and its second-ranked power play went 1-for-7 with the man advantage against Tampa Bay
Some things just aren’t meant to be.
The Florida Panthers put up 50 shots on goal while allowing only 16 and went on the power play seven times on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amerant Bank Arena.
Alas, Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was spectacular, finishing with 47 saves and helping hold the Panthers to just one power play goal while helping his Lightning defeat Florida 5-3.
The Panthers remain at the top of the NHL standings, but they’re heading into a break in the schedule that seems to be arriving at a good time.
Let’s get to the takeaways…
Responding well to adversity has been a theme
It’s been a rough week for the Panthers.
They’ve fallen behind by multiple goals in three straight games, which is a stark difference from how they’ve performed during the majority of the season.
Despite the recent struggles, Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice isn’t overly concerned, at least not yet.
“I’m not frustrated because it’s not like you’re (playing) right or at your A or B game and you’re down four and there’s some problems that need to get fixed, but you’re better off getting it both barrels, right?” Maurice said. “So it’s three on Dallas, basically three on Carolina because the empty net, than three again tonight. We’ve been really good at learning from those kinds of things and going on runs and playing our best hockey, so when I say I’m fine with it, don’t get me wrong, you’re not in a good mood, you don’t like losing games, but if you’re going to lose, you better learn. So we can learn, we’re all right. I’m more comfortable where I am tonight than I was after the Dallas game. Far more.”
A tough night on the power play, nothing more
There was a reasonable expectation that the power play goals would be coming fast and furious on Saturday night.
When the teams with the top two power plays in the league lock horns, you’d think they’d be lighting the lamp fairly often when given the opportunity.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday.
Tampa and Florida both went a paltry 1-for-7 while on the man advantage.
Asked about it after the game, Maurice was fine with how Florida looked on the power play Saturday, despite the lack of results.
“We put up 20 shots on the power play,” he said. “We missed a bunch and hit some posts, but the power play is fine.”
Time to reset, refocus
Not to steal a line from Sergei Bobrovsky, but that’s exactly what Maurice and the Panthers are looking to do this week.
Florida has four days between games, not hitting the ice at Amerant Bank Arena again until Thursday night when they host the Nashville Predators.
Considering the season the Panthers have had to this point, they’ve earned the right to say a rough few games are just that, as opposed to the start of a downward trend.
“We've got four days of rest, which we need a little bit,” Maurice said. “It's not an excuse…we had 50 shots, we weren’t too tired, but we need to get our mental edge back.”
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