The Panthers held full team practice in Vail, Colorado on Jan. 8 after spending a couple days there during Florida's four-game western road trip. In what’s becoming an annual tradition, the Florida Panthers took a detour during their current western road trip for a couple days of relaxing team bonding. With two days between Florida’s win on Saturday afternoon over Colorado and their next matchup, Tuesday night in St. Louis, the Panthers went from Denver to beautiful Vail for a quick stay in the picturesque mountain town. “It's great for your hockey team,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “The idea would be to change the context of them getting together, and they get a whole lot more out of it. So we're really fortunate we had a break in our schedule, and we're fortunate we have an owner and a GM that'll allow us to do something special like this, because it's easier just to go on to the next town. We felt last year when we had the option of doing it, it was really important to the culture and to the group, and especially I think this has been at least as good this year, and we had a good practice today. So it was great to get everybody together.” Team culture and camaraderie is something that is taken very seriously in South Florida. It’s been a big part of how General Manager Bill Zito and his staff have looked to build Florida’s locker room, and it’s why the team now has a reputation as one of the best, tight-knit groups in the game. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Last year the Panthers spent a couple of days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the year before that they went dog sledding in Banff, Alberta. These opportunities to reset and relax while in the middle of a hockey season can be instrumental to the players, and they were quite appreciative of their time in Vail. “it's an awesome mental break, just coming here, and it's great for our team bonding,” said Panthers forward Sam Bennett. “We had an absolute blast here, tons of laughs and I think it just brings our team that much closer together. It's pretty special to get to do this.” The Panthers arrived in Vail on Saturday night and spent their Sunday off day enjoying the town and everything it had to offer. For some players, that meant indulging in some of life’s more luxurious relaxion methods. “I did some walking around and hit up the spa, got a little massage, steam room, sauna, all that stuff, so feeling good for today,” said Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich. Monday it was back to work, with the Cats holding a full team practice at John A. Dobson Ice Arena. Every player participated, including Bennett, who did not play during the third period of Saturday’s win over Colorado after suffering an upper-body injury. After the skate, Bennett said he felt fine and was good to go for Tuesday’s battle with the Blues. “I’m good, I feel good now,” he said. “No issues, so not worried about it.” Florida arrives in St. Louis riding a seven-game winning streak and looking to wrap up their four-game road trip with a perfect 4-0 record. “We’re playing with all the confidence right now,” Bennett said. “There’s a lot of belief in this group. The power play, the penalty kill, It's all going really well right now, so we're just going to keep trying to build off it and keep playing with that confidence.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Sam Reinhart 'honored' to follow in father Paul's footsteps as NHL All-Star [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/features/sam-reinhart-honored-to-follow-in-father-pauls-footsteps-as-nhl-all-star] THN Archive: Panthers early franchise success easy as 1-2-3 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/features/thn-archive-panthers-early-franchise-success-easy-as-1-2-3] Three takeaways: Sam Reinhart, Sasha Barkov continue making things happen [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/features/three-takeaways-sam-reinhart-sasha-barkov-continue-making-things-happen] Panthers outduel Colorado 8-4, extend winning streak to seven games [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-outduel-colorado-8-4-extend-winning-streak-to-seven-games] Panthers recall Mackie Samoskevich, place Nick Cousins on Injured Reserve [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-recall-mackie-samoskevich-place-nick-cousins-on-injured-reserve] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
