Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad speaks after Florida's 7-4 loss to Colorado on Nov. 23. Things are starting to get a little funky around the Florida Panthers. Not in a good way. Florida put up four goals on home ice Saturday night but still came up way short against the Colorado Avalanche, losing 7-4. The loss was the Panthers’ fifth over their past six games. Considering this rough patch has come on the immediate heels of a seven-game winning streak, there was a feeling at first that it was simply a bump in the road. Alas, Florida’s struggles are very real and they’re going to have to figure out a way to get back on track, and quickly, because as the defending Stanley Cup champions, they’re going to get their opponents’ best effort every single night. Here are Saturday’s takeaways: CAN’T GET BACK TO THEIR GAME For whatever reason, the Panthers are having a very difficult time finding their way back to how they have grown accustomed to playing. They are struggling to break the puck out of their zone, but there are also issues with zone entries at the opposite blue line. The Panthers are known as a physical and aggressive forechecking team, but they’re having a hard time getting their forecheck going because they can’t get into the offensive zone with any kind of symmetry. Defensively, it’s also been a bit messy. During their past five losses, Florida has been outscored 26-11. So yeah, plenty of options to choose from. “In a game like that, there's not a single issue with your game,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “We're struggling, without a doubt, but there wouldn't be a (situation where) if we fix one thing in tonight's game, we'd have been much better.” NOT GOING TO BE A QUICK FIX Maurice didn’t get into too many details about what he’s not seeing and what he’d like to. One thing he did say was not to expect an overnight fix. It’s taken a few weeks for Florida to dig themselves into this hole and it will take some hard work, focus and dedication for them to get out. Fortunately, if there is one thing we know about this team, it’s that they’re more than willing to put in that work. “We've got our theories here, but none of which is going to help us the next night,” said Maurice. “We've got a structure that we need to play. I don’t know that we're that far off that, but there's certainly some execution challenges that we have.” THEY’VE DONE IT BEFORE, BUT… Over the past several seasons under Maurice, Florida has not been invulnerable to a rough patch here and there. It’s hockey. It’s inevitable. You’d think that past situations where you’ve shown an ability to overcome these challenging times would lend some confidence for the current situation, but Maurice was quick to squad that concept. “It never makes you feel better,” Maurice said. “Certainly, you learn over time, and it becomes who you are, but when you're in the difficult stretch, it doesn't feel any better because you've clawed your way out of it in the past. We're not taking the day off tomorrow to not prepare for the next day, because you got to work your ass off to get out of these.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Rough patch continues, Panthers downed by Colorado 7-4 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/rough-patch-continues-panthers-downed-by-colorado-7-4] Struggling Panthers open challenging homestand against Colorado [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/struggling-panthers-open-challenging-homestand-against-colorado] Panthers look to turn things around during upcoming homestand [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-look-to-turn-things-around-during-upcoming-homestand] Three takeaways: Florida looks off again, Cats officially in funk [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-florida-looks-off-again-cats-officially-in-funk] Mrazek brilliance leads Chicago to stunning defeat of Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/mrazek-brilliance-leads-chicago-to-stunning-defeat-of-panthers] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
