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November 24, 2024
Panthers barkov
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates his goal with left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) and defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

SUNRISE — There were only a handful of players in the locker room Saturday night following a 7-4 loss to Colorado, a third straight loss for the Panthers. Florida captain Sasha Barkov was one of them.

Sitting in his stall wearing a sweat-soaked gray t-shirt, Barkov was staring into space.

His team, the defending Stanley Cup champions, had just lost for the fifth time in six games since a seven-game winning streak put them atop the Eastern Conference standings.


Does life look bleak for the Florida Panthers?

Is it time to pack things in?

Massive changes are coming, right? Right!?!

No, most know better than that.

Barkov especially.

This is not a fun stretch for Barkov or the Panthers, but they are healthy and know things can get better in a hurry.

Life sucks right now, but there is faith things can around in a hurry.

They have done it numerous times before.

This does not mean the Florida Panthers are happy about this recent stretch, one that includes two losses to the Devils, one to Winnipeg, and another to the Blackhawks.

Not to mention whatever Saturday night was.

“Tough stretches? You never want to get in them,’’ Barkov told FHN.

“But every team goes through them at some point. We just have to find our way out of it. Usually, we learn from tough moments and they make us stronger and a better team. All we can do is concentrate on the next game, work harder, be smarter.”

The Panthers are certainly not thrilled with how the past couple of games have gone.

One could blame the two losses to New Jersey on tired legs following the 5-0 road trip which encompassed the New York teams as well as the sojourn to Finland for a two-game sweep of the Dallas Stars.

The Panthers then battled back for a 5-0 win against the top team in the NHL, only to fly up to Winnipeg and lost the rematch against the Jets on Tuesday night.

Thursday, Florida lost 3-1 to the Blackhawks — the team with the worst record in the NHL.

Yeah, the Florida Panthers are the Stanley Cup champs.

That does not seem to mean much right now.

“Every team will go through this at some point,’’ Barkov said. “We do not want to be the kind of team that says ‘Oh, this is nothing.’ We have to work ourselves out of it. We wanted to do it [Saturday]. It did not work. All we can do is come out in our next game and try to make that work.’’

Did the Florida Panthers Break the Boston Bruins?

And that is the beauty what the Panthers have done.

Things have not gone their way over the past few weeks, but at 12-8-1 with 25 points, Florida remains in second place in the Atlantic Division.

There may be flaws in the ointment, but the Panthers have a lot of time to work their way through their problems.

They just would have liked that to happen Saturday night.

“We just have to get back to work,’’ Aaron Ekblad said. “Get with the video and come to the rink with maybe some anger and intensity in our game.

“We know how to play hockey. We know how to play our gam. We just have to find a way to get to it on a more consistent basis. There are moments in a season where you have these kinds of stretches and it’s never easy. But it’s important to stick together and find a way out together.”

Coach Paul Maurice has certainly been through worse over his career — including his previous two seasons with the Panthers.

Not being able to figure out what is not clicking with this team right now is understandably frustrating.

Again, the Panthers are 21 games into an 82 game season.

One should not ignore the warning light when it pops up in your car — but sometimes it is just a loose gas cap.

“We are struggling right now,’’ Maurice said. “We have a structure we need to play and we’re not far off. But there are some execution challenges that we have.”

Yes, the Panthers may have some flaws, but they have plenty of time to work through them.

“There shouldn’t be any waiting around anymore,’’ Matthew Tkachuk said. “You have to commit to doing it. It’s not an easy style, it’s hard to do for 82-plus games. But it is what makes us successful. When we get back to playing that way, that’s when we are going to have success.”

ON DECK: GAME 22
WASHINGTON CAPITALS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

 

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