George Richards, FHN Publisher
MIAMI — It may not be a coincidence that the Florida Panthers turned their season around when Anton Lundell got his going.
Going into Florida’s game on March 29 in Toronto, Lundell had not recorded a single point in 12 games as the Panthers’ playoff hopes were on life support.
But a minute into that game against the Leafs, Lundell ended his scoring drought with authority after Eetu Luostarinen picked off a pass deep in the Toronto zone, fed it to Lundell who snapped it past goalie Ilya Samsonov.
Florida ended up winning that game thanks to Alex Lyon’s heroics and a Brandon Montour goal in overtime and the Panthers were off to the races.
The Panthers ended up winning their next five games and earning a spot in the playoffs.
Lundell played a role in that run to the postseason — and what Florida did once there.
Florida’s first-round pick in 2020, Lundell put the frustrations of a rough sophomore season behind him in the playoffs by scoring two goals with 10 points and averaging almost 19 minutes of ice time in the postseason.
He says he is ready to carry that momentum into a new season.
“I am ready to go,’’ Lundell said Wednesday night at Marlins Park after being part of the Panthers Night at the ballpark. “(The summer) was not too long, but we all got some hunger from the playoffs and me, for sure, I am more hungry than ever to get back and play some hockey again. It has been awesome to see all the boys again.’’
Although Lundell said throughout his struggles last season that he never lost confidence in himself or his game, one could see that was probably not the case.
When things starting going good for him again, his entire game changed.
And, it was not just on the offensive side of the ice.
Lundell prides himself on being a strong two-way player and centering the third line with Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart gives him the capability of impacting the game in various ways.
That was especially true in the playoffs when coach Paul Maurice counted on Lundell in a number of different situations, some usually reserved for Sasha Barkov.
Maurice said the growth shown by Lundell as the playoffs went along was unmeasurable.
“There might not be a better example of the change this team had to go through than Anton Lundell,” Maurice said a few months back.
“He’s so young. He’s a blank canvas of a player — but a skilled player. There wouldn’t have been a lot of heavy in his game. He didn’t know that this is what the playoffs was and this is what the NHL is. And that is what the great players are.”
Lundell said the playoffs certainly helped his overall game.
“We had a chance to play and we took it,” Lundell “It’s the playoffs and you get to play against all of the best players. I tried to learn from those playoffs during the summer and working on what I could do better, how I could be better.
“At the end of the day, it is about putting in the work and trusting that I will get the results from it. I think I can improve a lot, be a stronger passer and keep going in games where I ended the season, being a key player for the team and play every position. When we need a goal, when we are defending a one-goal lead, I like being a good all-around player who the coach can put it whenever. But I want to be able to help the team score goals as well.”
The Panthers have made numerous changes to their personnel since the last time we saw them play in Las Vegas but Lundell is excited for what is to come.
At this time last season, the Panthers really did not know what to expect from a new coaching staff but now they know what is coming.
That should help with whatever transition is to come.
“There are always changes to a team but you just have to find the chemistry,’’ Lundell said. “we just need to build back that team atmosphere that we had last year where everyone just loves to be. We were a family, brothers and we still are. Most of the team is still there. We just added some new guys to the brotherhood. We just want to keep going how we ended last year and we’re excited to add some new faces.’’
FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK