Applying a playoff attitude to their preparation seems to be a winning move for the Panthers

The Florida Panthers went toe to toe with another team that is considered by many to be a Stanley Cup contender on Wednesday night at Amerant Bank Arena.

Florida survived an early onslaught and vicious third period comeback to defeat the Dallas Stars 5-4, snapping a three-game losing skid on home ice.

Several panthers players had standout nights, but the tone was set by Florida’s number one forward line.

The trio of Sasha Barkov, Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart controlled the game when on the ice, combining for 4 goals and 9 points, but one of the three drew a little extra praise from his head coach after the game.

Big night for E-Rod

Over the past couple weeks there has been a noticeable difference in Rodrigues’ game. He may not have been showing up on the scoresheet, but he was making positive plays, supporting the puck and seemingly displaying a better understanding of his assignments and routes.

It appears his hard work is starting to pay off.

Rodrigues scored 2 goals and added a pair of assists Wednesday against Dallas, giving him 3 goals and 7 points over his past three games.

“That was Evan Rodrigues’ best performance,” Maurice said Wednesday. “And we’ll talk about the four points, I just liked all the other stuff that he did away from the puck. He was physical. He was on pucks, he defended real hard, and he got a good payoff.”

Rodrigues now has two separate four-point outings since joining the Panthers. He's up to 6 goals and 20 points on the season. 

Playoff mindset

The Panthers came into Wednesday’s game with a similar approach to how they viewed their recent Canadian road trip.

Players treated each game as though it were a playoff game, with that understanding of what would be expected of one another from both an effort and a production standpoint. 

It helps that a good portion of the players on the roster were a part of the Stanley Cup Final run last season and know that at the end of the day, a win is a win, and exactly what each needs to put fourth in order to obtain that win. 

There aren’t many pretty victories during the postseason, but nobody is confusing the playoffs with a beauty contest. 

“When you play a team like Dallas, you're also not going to own the game,” Maurice said. “They're going to have shifts in your end, and you can't be losing your composure or try to change the game or break the game open. You just understand they're a good team, we're a good team, we're gonna swing at each other a little tonight.”

Mikkola continues to impress

Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola has continued to amaze with his high-end, consistent play. 

Whether he’s an incredibly smart hockey player who can adapt to different styles at lightning speed or he was just built to perform in the exact ways that he’s asked in Paul Maurice’s systems, he’s been a perfect fit since arriving in South Florida.

His defensive play, from his stick work to his skating to the way he closes down gaps, it’s all been fun to watch.

The fact that he’s having a career-best season on the offensive side of things is just icing on the cake.

Mikkola has already matched his career high with 3 goals, and he’s 3 assists and 3 points away from tying those career marks as well.

The Panthers are still only 25 games into the season.

To say that Maurice and his staff have been pleased with what they’ve gotten from Mikkola would be an understatement.

“He can play the entire night and not get a point and be fantastic for us,” Maurice said. “When you look at Verhaeghe’s goal, the third goal, and he kills that play on the wall hard, and it's up the ice and it's in the net. Montour’s up and it's a four-man rush. This is what he does for a living and he's good at it.”

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