After 23 games, Florida is second in the Atlantic Division with a 14-7-2 record

The NHL season is rounding the quarter poll, which generally means it’s becoming easier to tell the contenders from the pretenders.

Of course there are always teams who end up being late bloomers (*ahem) but the overall feel of the standings should continue to have a more consistent look as we get closer to the holidays.

That’s a good thing for the Florida Panthers.

Last season’s Eastern Conference Champions were viewed by many in the national media as a possible-to-probable playoff team, but few thought they could pick up where they left off and repeat last year’s late season success.

They won’t get the same level of goaltending, they can’t sustain that kind of playoff effort and intensity, they won’t survive missing their top two defensemen for a quarter of the season.

Am I missing any?

Well, 23 games into the season, Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice and his players have to be pleased with what they’ve done to this point.

Entering play Friday, the Panthers hold a 14-7-2 record, good for 30 points and second place in the Atlantic Division, three points back of Boston.

No, it hasn’t been perfect, but that’s kind of the point.

Florida endured the injuries – which also turned out to include a key, top-six centermen – they acclimated ten new players who weren’t on the team last season, and they did it while showing steady progress toward becoming one of the better defensive clubs in the league.

It makes sense to think that the Panthers best hockey still lies ahead of them, considering they’re just getting healthy and familiar with one another.

Over the past week, several of the biggest publications that cover the NHL put out their quarter mark power rankings.

Here are where the Panthers currently sit, along with any Eastern Conference teams ahead or just behind, and where each outlet had Florida ranked at the start of the season.

The Hockey News: FLA No. 9 (NYR 1, BOS 3, TOR 8) / Preseason FLA No. 2

NHL.com: FLA No. 8 (NYR 1, BOS 3, TOR 9) / Preseason FLA No. 11

The Athletic: FLA No. 6 (NYR 1, BOS 3, TOR 8) / Preseason FLA No. 11

ESPN.com: FLA No. 8 (NYR 1, BOS 2, CAR 9, TOR 11) / Preseason FLA No. 8

The Fourth Period: FLA No. 5 (NYR 4, CAR 6, DET 8, BOS 11) / Preseason FLA No. 12

Sportsnet: FLA No. 7 (NYR 1, BOS 3, WAS 9, TOR 10) / Preseason FLA No. 16

Bleacher Report: FLA No. 8 (NYR 1, BOS 4, DET 9) / Preseason FLA No. 12

Daily Faceoff: FLA No. 7 (BOS 2, NYR 3, CAR 9, TOR 10) / Preseason FLA 10th team mentioned, among “Playoff Contenders” group

The general consensus has the Panthers as the third best team in the East, behind the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.

That sounds about right.

The Toronto Maple Leafs receive a fair amount of love on the lists, as do the Carolina Hurricanes, and to a lesser extent, the Detroit Red Wings. 

When we reach the midway point of the season in a couple months, it will be interesting to see which teams have solidified or improved their standing, and which will slide down the rankings. 

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