10 Thoughts on the Florida Panthers
10 Thoughts that have plagued my mind over the past few weeks about the Panthers.
The Florida Panthers’ great start to the season shows why they are the reigning Eastern Conference Champions. They currently sit at second in the Atlantic Division and sixth across the entire National Hockey League with a record of 17-9-2 with 37 points.
There are a good number of reasons why they have been so successful as of late. But, there are also some spots that could be a little concerning. I break them down in my first edition of 10 Thoughts on the Florida Panthers.
1. Sergei Bobrovsky is Regressing Again
Sergei Bobrovsky continues to be and issue for Florida. In the last two games, he’s allowed seven goals and was pulled against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 14.
This comes after a hot streak he had where he was 4-0-0 with a 1.50 goals against average. That contract is start to look worse with age.
2. Matthew Tkachuk Hasn’t Been Scoring as Much but Don’t Panic.
Forward Matthew Tkachuk has easily become the face of the franchise since his blockbuster trade this past summer. Through 29 games played this season so far, he’s only found the back of the net five times and assisted on 15 others.
Of course, he continues to drive the play and still shoots for the stars as he has 11.8 expected goals on the season. In addition, he is coming off of a bad injury suffered in the Stanley Cup Final, so it could still be affecting him. The scoring will come eventually and there is no need to worry.
3. Niko Mikkola is a Welcome Surprise for the Defense This Season.
When he was brought on board, Niko Mikkola did not have a good track record last season. Two different teams and only six points (a goal and five assists) and a plus-4 rating through 81 games.
This season, Mikkola has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) through only 29 games. His production is making Bill Zito look like a genius in free agency.
4. Barkov Continues to Pass Too Much
For most Panther fans, they are thankful to have a great captain in Aleksander Barkov and his stats this season show why he’s one of the best two-way centers in the game. He has 10 goals and 18 assists through 26 games. Furthermore, he has the third best rating in the league with a plus-19 rating.
But one thing that’s extremely infuriating about him is actually a good quality in some cases. There have been multiple times throughout his career where he has a chance to rip it on an open net…..and he decides to pass the puck. If he want’s more than 10 goals on the year, he has to be more selfish with the puck and stop looking to make the pretty play.
5. Give Reinhart a Blank Check Right Now
Sam Reinhart has easily been the best player on the team this season. He’s scored 17 goals and piled up 20 assists. His goals scored is the fifth best in the league and is only trailing some of the best in the game in Nikita Kucherov and Auston Matthews by two goals.
It’s clear he wants a new deal and Zito should be willing to pay him whatever he wants this summer.
6. Although Fun to See, Paul Maurice’s Rage May Need to be Toned Down
Paul Maurice has shown fire on the Panthers bench for most of the start of the year. It’s great to see a coach fired up about their team and the response by said team from it is fantastic.
But, he may need to lighten up just a tad. The barking is great in small doses. But if he keeps going at it, the roster will eventually drown it out.
7. Goal Scoring Hasn’t been Coming Very Often
Florida has the top end talent to find the back of the net. But it seems their goal scoring has not reflected that. As previously mentioned, Tkachuk is struggling to score, but so is most of the team.
The strangest conundrum is that the team is tied for the league lead in shots per game with 34, their shot attempt percentage is third in the league at 56.1%, and their expected goal percentage is at 54.99%. But, their goal scoring per game is dead in the middle at 16th with 3.15 a game and 18th in total goals scored on the year with 85.
8. The Power Play is Powerless
Speaking of lack of scoring, the power play for Florida has been an absolute joke this season. And with the talent is possesses, it’s inexcusable for it to be that way.
The overall power play this season is 18th in the league with an 18.8% conversion rate. In addition to that, they’ve only scored three power play goals on their last 17 attempts.
On the bright side, at least it isn’t as bad as the Pittsburgh Penguins man advantage this season.
9. The Penalty Kill is Killing It
On the flip side, the penalty kill has been doing a fantastic job at stopping chances the other way for Florida. It is currently ranked 11th in the NHL on the kill with a 81.1% kill rate.
In addition, it was on a hot streak near the end of November where they killed of 26 straight penalties. That great kill will be essential come playoff time.
10. Stop Getting Shutout
The Panthers have struggled to find the back of the net for most of the season and its starting to show on the scoreboard. The team has already been shutout four times this season by the Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets, Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks.
Over the last two regular seasons, they were only shutout once to the Carolina Hurricanes. That needs to change and fast.
Thank you for reading and I hope to have 10 more thoughts for you in the next segment!