Mar 16, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in the second period against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. (Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/c6c2f18f-a2e3-42ee-a571-545766e64130.jpeg] Mar 16, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in the second period against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. (Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images) The Florida Panthers are working their way through a tough stretch. Currently, the Panthers are in the middle of a season-long six-game road trip. So far, the Cats have dropped three of four on their extended roadie, suffering crushing defeats in which they surrendered a multi-goal third period lead twice. Between playing on the road and missing several key players from the lineup, Florida is clearly in a “down” section of an up-and-down season that has had more ups than downs. That’s why these next few days are so key for the Panthers. They may be in the midst of a grueling road trip, but the schedule has them with three days between Sunday’s loss on Long Island and their next challenge, Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Instead of spending those days living out of their suitcases and sleeping in hotel rooms, the Cats returned home for a couple days in a much more comfortable and familiar setting. “I would’ve traded the four of seven days we’ve got off for a flattening of our schedule, but we’ll take what we can get,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. Now that they’re back in South Florida, the Panthers will take Tuesday off to recharge their batteries, spend time with loved ones and enjoy sleeping in their own beds. They’ll get back on the ice for a practice on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale before boarding a flight up to Columbus, where they’ll resume their road trip on Thursday night against the Blue Jackets. “I think we have some good time now just to get home and get some rest,” said Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov. Before heading out on the road, Florida had won six straight games by a combined score of 20-5. To say the Cats have gotten slightly off track would be accurate. Fortunately for Florida, it generally doesn’t take very long for them to snap back into form when they hit a rough patch. A quick, rejuvenating trip back home may be just what the doctor ordered to help the Panthers slide back into form. Florida plays in Columbus on Thursday before wrapping up the road trip on Saturday against the conference-leading Washington Capitals. “Going home for a couple days is going to be nice,” said Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen. “Just take it easy a little bit and then go at it again.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Three takeaways: Panthers going through it, breakaways remain an issue [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-going-through-it-breakaways-remain-an-issue] Panthers surrender another late 2-goal lead, lose on Long Island 4-2 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-surrender-another-late-2-goal-lead-lose-on-long-island-4-2] Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov leaves Panthers game early after suffering upper-body injury [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/defenseman-dmitry-kulikov-leaves-panthers-game-early-after-suffering-upper-body-injury] Panthers challenging road trip continues with stop on Long Island [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-challenging-road-trip-continues-with-stop-on-long-island] Three takeaways: Panthers struggle again with Montreal, Maurice quite unhappy with result [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-struggle-again-with-montreal-maurice-quite-unhappy-with-result]
