Florida Panthers Last in Eastern Conference Thanks to Rough Road Record

The Florida Panthers woke up Wednesday in a strange position: Sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference.

Of course it is early in the season.

And it is not like the Panthers are miles away from teams above them who have started to run away with things.

Coming into Thursday, the Panthers are two points back of the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders for the final wild card spot in the east; the Toronto Maple Leafs are now third in the Atlantic Division after beating Utah on Wednesday night a whopping four points up on the Panthers.

So, yeah, this is not a doomsday situation.

One reason why the Panthers (6-6-1) are at the bottom of the standings, however, has been because of their complete lack of success away from Sunrise.

Florida has often prided itself on having a style of game that traveled, being able to play as well — if not better — on the road than it does on home ice.

That certainly has not been the case this season.

Going into tonight’s late night showdown with the Los Angeles Kings, the Panthers have one win in six road games thus far. That is two of the available 12 points.

Not ideal.

Again, this is a very small sample size for the Panthers.

First, this roadtrip is only the second of the season. It did not start great with a 7-3 loss to the host Anaheim Ducks.

Florida started 0-4 on its first road trip before winning in Brad Marchand’s return to Boston.

Last season, the Panthers were a pretty solid 20-19-2 on the road and were one of five teams in the Eastern Conference with 20 road wins.

This season, Florida is one of four teams in the conference (including Toronto) with one road win or less.

Buffalo (0-2-2) is the only team in the NHL to not win away from home yet.

Florida’s biggest problem on the road this season is not its start but its finish.

In the first six road games, the Panthers are being outscored 25-11 which looks less than optimal.

Now look at the third period numbers: The Panthers are being outscored 13-3.

Although that number is a little skewed based on the four empty-net goals allowed in the first two road losses at Philadelphia and Detroit, Paul Maurice has not been happy with the way the Panthers have let games get away from them in the final 20 minutes.

On Tuesday night, for instance, the Panthers went into the third down 4-3 and ended up giving up three goals to the Ducks.

The Panthers will try and get back into the road win column tonight in Los Angeles, a building they have not played very well in over the years.

The good news for the Panthers is the Kings have not been very good at home this season with just one win in six home games thus far.

Only the New York Rangers (0-5-1) are worse at home this season.

ON DECK: GAME No. 14

FLORIDA PANTHERS at LOS ANGELES KINGS

• When: Thursday, 10 p.m.
• Where: Crypto Center, Los Angeles 
• National Streaming Only: ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu
• Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Last Season: Tied 1-1
  
• This Season — At Los Angeles: Wednesday. At Florida: Dec. 17.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Los Angeles leads 27-16-0, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday at San Jose Sharks, 10 p.m.