Resilient Panthers remain in a Wild Card spot despite tough loss to Flyers
The Florida Panthers have been playing their best hockey of the season lately.
In a year that has been full of ups and downs, the Panthers have come together at the right time and the results have been there.
Even after Tuesday night’s loss in Philadelphia, Florida has still gone 7-2-1 in their past 10 games, the team’s best stretch of the season, and remain in one of the two coveted Wild Card spots.
Nobody is going to let a hiccup in Philly derail what the team has been building over the past several months.
“You just get the hell off the carpet, get back up and get back in the fight,” said Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. “The teams that get in the playoffs are resilient.”
Looking at just the scoreboard, one might think the Flyers had their way with Florida Tuesday night. The final was 6-3, after all.
Looking deeper into the analytics of the game tells a bit of a different story.
Florida had more high danger chances (18 to 15), a higher expected goals for (4.62 to 3.66) and controlled puck possession, per Natural Stat Trick.
“We had by far enough offense to win that hockey game,” Maurice said. “We were loose at times defensively but not to the point of giving up 40 shots. They finished on the ones they had a chance. We spent most of the time in their end of the ice and their guy made a whole bunch of saves. We lost the game; we leave it here and we move on.”
It’s been the same story for most of the year.
Florida has had several games where they finish with more shots, more opportunities, more high danger chances, more expected goals for, but ultimately don’t come out with a win.
The better team on paper doesn’t always emerge victorious.
“We’re not going to win every game,” said Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour. “Obviously (Philadelphia is) a team that’s on the outside and we want that one back, but we lost that one and we move on to the next.”
As Maurice and Montour indicated, the resounding message from Florida’s perspective after the game was a simple one.
As Bill Belichick famously said, “We’re on to Cincinnati.”
With only 11 games left on the schedule, there is no time to dwell on the negatives.
“It’s tough, you’re going to go through moments like that,” Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. “We move on, and we get ready for the next one. It’s never easy losing at this time of the year, but we’ve been on the run we have (and) it’s almost good to lose and learn from it and move on from it.”
Moving on has been something Florida has become exceptional at during the past three months.
Since Jan. 1, the Panthers have a sparkling 11-1-1 record in games following a loss. It’s how they’ve been able to claw their way back into a playoff spot following a less-than-stellar first half of the season.
Now Florida will head home to face two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and the New York Rangers on Saturday.
“You want to play against the best teams,” Reinhart said. “I think that’s brought some good hockey out of us. We’re excited about the challenge. Every one is a big one for us right now.”