Panthers lead the NHL with eight road wins and six overtime wins during the postseason
The Florida Panthers flew home from North Carolina on Sunday feeling pretty good about themselves.
That’ll happen when you’re a road team in a playoff series that just collected two wins in your opponent’s barn.
It’s a feeling the Panthers may be familiar with.
That’s because 16 days ago Florida was in the exact same position, flying home from Toronto after winning consecutive games to start the series.
The Cats ended up closing out that series in five games.
What happens in the conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes remains to be seen, but what has become clear is that the Panthers are not only playing an excellent brand of playoff hockey, but they’re also surviving and excelling in the game’s most crucial moments.
Not bad for the team with the least amount of points to qualify for a playoff spot. Remember, the eight-seed Panthers didn’t clinch their spot in the postseason until game 81 of 82.
The late-season surge that pushed Florida into the playoffs has proven to be a major asset. The Panthers showed up for the playoffs battle tested and ready to fight, because they’d already been dealing with must-win situations for weeks.
“I think the last two months of the season we were playing high pressure situations,” said Panthers forward Nick Cousins. “We’re comfortable in close games. It’s the playoffs, every game is tight.”
Close games are becoming Florida’s specialty.
Following Saturday’s win over Carolina in Game 2, the Panthers are now 7-1 in one-goal games during the playoffs.
“It’s about will,” said Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. “It’s great, it’s happy. A win is a win.”
The Cats are becoming the team to beat, and they’re doing it by taking down opponents who are viewed as not only the betting favorites in their respective series, but also, at the time, for the Stanley Cup.
Boston was the Cup favorite entering round one, Toronto was favored win it all prior to the second round and Carolina had the shortest odds to hoist the Cup before the conference final began.
Not that any of that matters to the Panthers. They have proven to be quite content playing in high-pressure situations.
“It's not an underdog mentality, but we played a month and a half of those,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “And you can say it's the regular season, but it wasn't for us. If we lose those games, we're done.”
The comfort level in any and all situations has held true for Florida when games have gone to overtime.
It’s a good thing, too. Each of the Panthers last three games have gone to OT, including one that went four overtimes and lasted five hours and 44 minutes.
“It’s been a lot of hockey the last two games,” laughed Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk after Game 2 on Saturday.
The Panthers have played past the third period six times during these playoffs, with five of those coming on the road.
No matter.
Florida has emerged victorious in each and every one of them.
“I feel like in games, we get better as they go,” Tkachuk said.
It certainly has looked that way.
All but one of the Panthers six overtime wins during the playoffs have come during the first OT, with the majority ending after just a few minutes.
“Seems like when we get to overtime, we’re even more comfortable,” said Cousins.
As for the road element, Florida is one of several teams enjoying a higher than usual amount of success while away from home.
Entering Monday, visiting teams have gone 43-34 during the playoffs.
The Panthers dropped Game 1 of the opening round in Boston over a month ago.
They haven’t lost on the road since.
Florida leads the league with eight road victories. No other team has more than four.
“I don't think it matters whether we're at home or on the road,” said Panthers center Sam Bennett. “We're a confident group no matter where we're playing.”
When you reach the point where the only options are win or go home, the building in which you’re playing in doesn’t seem to matter as much.
Combine that mindset with the growing belief in the Panthers locker room that they can beat any team in any rink on any night, and you can see how this amazing run that Florida is on has blossomed.
“We've been doing it for so long now, you do get to a comfort level on the bench. It just feels the same,” said Maurice. “And yes, the pressure amps up because it's the playoffs, but the feel of the bench is the same.”