George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers will end October atop the NHL standings by taking 17 of the available 18 points through their first nine games. The Panthers went on an eight-game winning streak to start their season — a remarkable way to kick things off.
Especially for a Florida team not exactly known for its hot starts.
”It’s all about getting off to a good start,’’ Sasha Barkov said. “We need a good start because by the end, everyone is going to be playing good.
“Good teams play really good at the start, too. We play hard right from the start, we had a good training camp and we’re going to keep building from this. It’s still early, but we want to keep building, keep getting better.”
The Panthers’ starting off with eight consecutive wins has only been done 10 times in history. And Florida was a shootout goal or two away from going 9-0.
The difference in Florida being 9-0 and 8-0-1 was their inability to win the “skills competition” which determines a game’s winner if it is tied after a five-minute overtime.
Saturday night in Boston, the Panthers had a 2-1 lead in the third period off Sasha Barkov’s third goal in two days but the Bruins got a power play goal to force overtime.
Getting a point in the second night of a back-to-back on the road is always welcomed. And it was here.
The Panthers got three of four points in games at Detroit and Boston. You take that all the time.
Would the Panthers have loved to start 9-0? Of course.
But after the week this team has had, with coach Joel Quenneville resigning due to the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault scandal, it was one heck of a result.
”We played hard. It was a heck of an effort by the guys coming off back-to-back nights and this is a tough place to play,’’ interim coach Andrew Brunette said after the 3-2 loss to the Bruins.
“It has been a tough week so to come up with the energy to play and compete that hard really shows the resiliency of this group. We’re moving forward.”
So, how did the Panthers get here?
Goaltending has been a big reason the Panthers sit atop the NHL standings with Sergei Bobrovsky — who, like the Panthers has historically been average in October — looking like the Bob of old.
Bobrovsky has six of Florida’s eight wins, is making saves on more than 94 percent of the shots he has faced and he is giving up fewer than two goals a game.
Spencer Knight, who gave up two goals in his Boston homecoming on Saturday, has also been exceptional in his three games.
”Nobody prepares more than Bob,’’ Aaron Ekblad said. “That’s how he has always been so that’s nothing new. He is fantastic, has a fantastic attitude and has a will to succeed more than anyone on this team. We’re really happy for him. He’s doing great. We’re trying to limit those difficult chances in front of him.”
Florida is also doing a lot of good things when it comes to controlling possession of the puck.
Throughout the first nine games, the Panthers have been terrific when it comes to keeping possession in the opponent’s zone. That leads to more scoring chances and it has led to goals. Florida is also getting scoring from all over the ice.
“You see it every night on the scoresheet and you see it off the scoresheet, those intangibles and the little things,’’ Ekblad said. “Guys are working extremely hard on and off the ice, in the gym. The way we prepared for the season, the way we practice is intense. We do the best we can and sacrifice the body for the game.”
The Panthers go into Sunday second in the league to the still-unbeaten Carolina Hurricanes (7-0) with a plus-18 goal differential.
Florida’s defensive play in front of their goalies has also been improved as loose pucks have not been allowed to be turned into weapons against them as was the case in the past.
“It’s a lot of fun playing games and winning games and playing hard like we do,” Barkov said. “We want to keep it going … we’re having a lot of fun. With this group, there’s no other way but to enjoy playing for each other, playing hard in every situation. Every practice, every day at the rink, we just go. We’re having a lot of fun.”
The Panthers, who played three games in four days while losing their coach, now come home for a little rest.
Florida will not play again until Thursday when the Washington Capitals — who are off to a 5-0-3 start — come to town.
That allows for the banged up team to get a little healthier as Anton Lundell and Sam Bennett are expected to be back in the lineup.
It also provides the team a chance just to catch their collective breath and look to keep on winning.
“Not much is changing. I love the way we’re playing, love the way we are competing,” Brunette said. “The focus will be to recharging the battery a little bit and just go back to work, keep moving forward. I think we have done some good things, think we could tidy up a few things. But for the most part, you really can’t complain.”
FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK
WASHINGTON CAPITALS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS
- WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m.
- WHERE: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
- TICKETS: CLICK HERE
- TV/STREAMING: Bally Sports Florida
- RADIO: WQAM 560-AM
- Last season: Did not play