George Richards, FHN Publisher
SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers have a lot to be thankful for as the team is in the midst of their best start in franchise history.
They seem to know it, too.
Although players often mention that playoff spots are not won in the first few months of the season, when it comes to the NHL, if you are holding a postseason position by Thanksgiving, you’re probably going to be there come spring.
The Panthers are hoping that trend continues this year as their start has them all but assured a playoff spot less than two months into the 2021-22 campaign.
“We are gelling real good, this is a great group of guys,” Joe Thornton said Thursday morning, a day after Florida beat Philadelphia 2-1 in overtime on a goal by Aaron Ekblad. “The boys are playing great right now.”
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Said Andrew Brunette: “I am thankful for the effort this group has put together. It has been a turbulent little start here for us and to keep our focus. I was talking to my assistants the other day, and there hasn’t been a game where we haven’t brought anything but an A-plus effort. That’s a fun group to be around. You don’t see that everyday.”
In past years, slow starts by the Panthers put them in a hole too deep to dig out.
Not this one.
Since making the playoffs in 2000, Florida has only made it three times since — four, if you count the expanded postseason due to the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.
When it comes to Thanksgiving standings, holding a playoff spot on Turkey Day has been a pretty good indicator of which teams will make the playoffs.
It obviously is not a foolproof system.
Since the 2015-16 season — and not counting 2019-20 or 2021 — 70 percent of teams who held a playoff spot on Thanksgiving made the playoffs.
The last season the ‘Thanksgiving Rule’ was applicable was 2018-19. That season, 11 of the 16 teams in a playoff spot on Nov. 22 made the playoffs.
St. Louis, the eventual Stanley Cup champions, were seven points back of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The Panthers were in the same position on Thanksgiving in 2018 but did not have the kind of finish the Blues did and missed the playoffs. Bob Boughner was fired and Joel Quenneville was hired.
Florida was holding a playoff spot on Thanksgiving in 2019 but a three-game losing streak going into the holiday was a hint of what was to come for what was a promising season.
When the 2019-20 season was halted, the Panthers were outside the playoffs but made the Toronto postseason.
Florida, which won only five games in the month of February and lost eight consecutive home games before winning on Roberto Luongo Night, was bounced by the Islanders in a best-of-five qualification series.
In 2015, Florida was five points out of the playoffs at Thanksgiving but a strong 39-17-5 finish found them atop the Atlantic Division standings when the dust settled.
This year, the Panthers have plenty to be thankful for.
Happy at home
The Panthers are the best home team in the NHL this season and are off to a historic start.
By beating the Flyers on Wednesday, the Panthers are 11-0 in Sunrise this season — tying the 1963 Chicago Black Hawks for the best home start to a season in NHL history.
The Panthers can claim the record for their own with a win Saturday night against the expansion Seattle Kraken.
Goalie Town
Find a better 1-2 punch in net than what the Panthers are rolling out every night these days. We will wait.
Sergei Bobrovsky has been absolutely phenomenal this season and rookie Spencer Knight has been exactly what the Panthers had hoped he would. Florida has a chance to win every single night regardless of who is in goal.
Not every team can say that. Few, actually.
“I’m thankful for lots of things in my life,” Bobrovsky said after Wednesday’s win over the Flyers. “I’ve got a great family and a great, healthy daughter now and I play in a great place with great teammates.
“I’m happy and I’m thankful for a lot of things.”
Ek is back
After sustaining an ugly ankle injury last March, Ekblad has worked himself back and is as good — or better — than he was before that night in Dallas.
Ekblad was a strong contender for the Norris Trophy before the injury and he has picked up where he left off. A rising star in the NHL, Ekblad is a legitimate elite defenseman.
Goals up, goals down
The Panthers are the highest-scoring team in the NHL — and thanks to their goaltending and improved defensive play, aren’t giving up many, either.
Coming into Thursday, the Panthers are first with 73 goals and fourth with 46 allowed. That’s pretty, pretty good.
Andrew Brunette
The former Florida assistant was put into a tight spot when Joel Quenneville was forced to resign last month in the wake of the Blackhawks sexual assault investigation.
GM Bill Zito knew this wasn’t a great situation and has made sure to thank Brunette publicly for taking on the job.
He has done a lot of good with it. The Panthers have lost a couple games since he took over behind the bench, sure, but they’re still winning and he looks the part both in public and behind closed doors.
This team is 100 percent behind Brunette and it shows.
“It has been crazy,’’ Brunette said Thursday morning. “Maybe that’s a good thing. You get a little more comfortable, there are some parts to this job that take some getting used to sure.
“I’m still learning as I go and there is a lot to learn. I have been fortunate to lean on the Thorntons and the Hornqvists. Huberdeau, Ekblad … Barkov have really grown.”
The kids are better than alright
Florida is now a veteran-laden team but the young additions — from Knight to Anton Lundell to the marked improvement of Eetu Luostarinen — have been a major boost.
The Captain
Sasha Barkov has made a big commitment to the franchise after agreeing to an eight-year extension worth $80 million (the biggest contract in franchise history) as things look more stable in Sunrise than anytime in the past 20 years or so.
Thank Vinnie
One big reason things are so calm around the Panthers is the calming influence of owner Vinnie Viola, his wife Teresa — and their willingness to spend on a team they care very deeply about.
The Panthers, as a team, are losing money year after year.
You wouldn’t know that by how the Violas spend. And it’s not only on player salary.
Yes, the Panthers are spending to the cap ceiling, but the Violas have also shelled out big bucks for their now former coach, expanding the front office and coaching staff.
The Violas also spare no expense on the creature comforts which make players want to be here.
The Florida Panthers are now a destination spot.
The best players in the NHL want to be here. That rarely has been the case. You can thank the team’s ownership for a lot of that.
Surviving the injuries
Part of the reason why Florida has been able to keep chugging despite missing some key pieces is their depth.
Viola has given Zito the green light to build the team as he sees hit — and he has hit the gas. This is a very good team when healthy and a very good team when not at 100 percent. Zito deserves a lot of credit for that.