Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour speaks after Florida's 4-0 win in Detroit on March 2. Florida’s season got off to a pretty solid start considering they were missing not one, not two, but three key players right out of the gate. When the Panthers held a 18-11-2 record on Dec. 18, which was almost universally viewed as impressive considering they played a large chunk of those games without Aaron Ekblad, Brandon Montour and Sam Bennett. That, and Matthew Takchuk had yet to regain his form from last season’s playoff run, which some attributed to the process of recovering from the broken sternum he suffered during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] It was right around Christmas that something clicked with Tkahcuk and the floodgates opened. He began racking up points hand over fist and he hasn’t stopped, now up to 16 goals and 45 points in 26 games since Dec. 29. Things began clicking with the Panthers, too. Since Dec. 23, Florida leads the NHL with 23 wins 48 points. They enter Sunday sitting atop the league standings with a 41-16-4 record. It would seem that things couldn’t be going any better for the Panthers. Enter Brandon Montour. Last season’s defensive scoring phenom – he logged a career high 16 goals and 73 points during the regular season and another eight goals and 13 points in the playoffs – got off to a comparatively slow start after missing Florida’s first 15 games while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Over Montour’s first 36 games, he recorded two goals and 11 points. He’s got four goals and 14 points over his past nine games. Considering how well Florida has been humming along over the past couple months, the idea of adding the kind of production Montour is capable of is a little startling to think of. If Panthers General Manager Bill Zito believes that Montour is hitting that gear once again, does that impact how he’s approaching the Trade Deadline, which is coming up on Friday at 3 p.m. ET? It’s a good problem to have, one that many of Zito’s GM colleagues across the league would happy trade places with. We’ll see how things play out over the next few days, but regardless of what Zito does or does not do at the deadline, it’s great to see a confident and prospering Montour racking up the points while patrolling Florida’s blue line. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Three Takeaways: Penalty kill, goaltending key Panthers latest road win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-penalty-kill-goaltending-key-panthers-latest-road-win] Florida shuts out Detroit for the second time this season [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/florida-shuts-out-detroit-for-the-second-time-this-season] Panthers kick off 3-game road trip with divisional matchup in Detroit [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-kick-off-3-game-road-trip-with-divisional-matchup-in-detroit] Gauging Florida Panthers interest in Vladimir Tarasenko ahead of NHL Trade Deadline [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/gauging-florida-panthers-interest-in-vladimir-tarasenko-ahead-of-nhl-trade-deadline] The Hockey Show: Previewing the NHL Trade Deadline with David Pagnotta and Darren Dreger [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/the-hockey-show-previewing-the-nhl-trade-deadline-with-david-pagnotta-and-darren-dreger] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
