Florida Panthers: Where Have the ‘Comeback Cats’ Gone?

SUNRISE — The good news is that despite dropping five of the past six games, the Florida Panthers are second in the Atlantic Division.

The bad news is they are trending in the wrong direction.

After 21 games, the Panthers are 12-8-1. 

They went into the third period trailing eight times and failed to gain a point eight times.

By contrast, during the 2021-22 season, when they earned the ‘Comeback Cats’ title, they were 11-16-1 when trailing after two periods.

There have been some bright spots, although a better description might be ‘reason for optimism.’

They have not blown any leads in the third period; Florida is 9-0 when leading after two.

Get the Inside Sccop on the Florida Panthers

Every. Single. Day.

Subscribe to Florida Hockey Now Today!

After 21 games last season, the Panthers had 27 points—only two more than they have now despite the recent cold spell.

Their power play and penalty kill stats are better now than after the same number of games last year.

However, a closer look at the statistics shows some less-than-encouraging trends.

Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight have yet to put up formidable stats. 

Much of the problem has been allowing the opposition too many scoring opportunities due to turnovers and other mistakes.

Bobrovsky is struggling with a .885 save percentage and 3.18 GAA. 

The season is still young, but he has never had a full-season save percentage this low. 

His only other full season with a higher GAA was his first season in Florida, when he had a 3.23.

There are many opinions as to what has been going wrong.

Did the team fully recover from the previous very long season?

It is common for a Stanley Cup winner to be tired the following season.

Or are they just not playing their game?

After Saturday’s loss, in an uncharacteristically quiet dressing room, Aaron Ekblad tried to draw something positive from the experience and his thoughts on what must happen to get out of the rut.

“Find a way to look back on it and learn something,” Ekblad said. “It’s important to sit together as a team when you’rein these kinds of ruts. It’s never easy. It’s important to stick together.”

One of coach Paul Maurice’s changes was reinstalling Ekblad in the first power play unit.

It looks like it will be a successful move.

The unit produced a power-play goal for Sam Reinhart. They seemingly had another when Ekblad ripped one past Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev. 

That was waved off on Matthew Tkachuk’s incidental contact with the goaltender.

The next opponents are the Washington Capitals. The Caps have two more points than Florida in one fewer game. 

They are without Alex Ovechkin, who had been off to an excellent start. He is out four to six weeks after breaking his leg in a game against the Utah Hockey Club last Monday.

Ovechkin scored two goals in the game before the injury.

The Caps are 0-2-0 without Ovechkin and scored only three goals in the two games.

The Panthers’ schedule through the end of the month offers no easy games. 

After Washington, they play a home game against Toronto, followed by a home-and-home set against Carolina.

For the Panthers, Monday offers the opportunity to get back to work. 

ON DECK: GAME 22

WASHINGTON CAPITALS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Monday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• This Season — At Washington: Feb. 4; March 22. At Florida: Monday.
• Last Season: Panthers won 3-0
• All-time Regular Season Series: Washington leads 67-48-13, 9 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Wednesday vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m.