Of the 20 players Florida has dressed in its first two games, nine were not on the roster last season

It’s been a tough start to the season for the Florida Panthers.

Game one in Minnesota saw Florida run into a very hot goaltender in the Wild’s Filip Gustavsson.

Despite getting off 41 shots and playing a solid defensive game, the Panthers came up short and were shutout 2-0.

Saturday in Winnipeg was a different story.

Florida lost 60% of the faceoffs and struggled solving the Jets’ neutral zone defensive structure while making questionable decisions with the puck.

Two late Panthers goals made that 6-4 loss seem tighter than it actually was.

“It's nice to know we're not going to just roll over and give up games, but I think as a whole it wasn't good enough,” said Panthers forward Even Rodrigues.

The game was actually tied at two goals apiece as it neared the midway point, and both teams ended up with similar numbers in terms of shots on goal and power play chances, yet by the time the final horn sounded, the ice sure felt tiled in Winnipeg’s favor.

“We left a little bit out there,” said Panthers winger Carter Verhaeghe. “I think we need to be harder on pucks and make better plays with it.”

It’s a tough task that Florida is facing to start the 2023-24 season.

Not only are they opening the campaign with three straight road games against team’s that made the playoffs last season, but they’re also doing it without Florida’s top two defensemen and have a roster that 9 of the 20 players are new to the team this year.

There is no denying the talent, even without Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour, that the Panthers dress on a nightly basis.

It just may take a little while for everyone to gel.

“I think we need to build a little bit more chemistry as a team,” said Verhaeghe. “Everyone has got to get on the same page.”

Last season it’s well documented how Florida struggled to lock in the systems being taught by Head Coach Paul Maurice.

If anyone understands the patience and nurturing it will take to get the Panthers engine humming again, it’s Maurice.

Still, he wasn’t particularly happy with what he saw on Saturday.

“We'll deal with all the places in the game at this time that we can get better. It won't be a short video,” Maurice said. “There's a whole bunch that we can be a little bit better at, puck movement, our feet movement wasn’t great, but (Winnipeg) played a good game.”

The Panthers will get their next bite at the apple on Monday night when they wrap up their roadie against the New Jersey Devils.

There is no lacking in confidence in Florida’s dressing room that things will get straightened out sooner rather than later.

“You take it and move on,” said Verhaeghe. “There are lots of areas we can learn from and get on the same page.”

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