Stanley Cup Hangover? Not for the Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers have not suffered from the so-called Stanley Cup hangover.

And they plan on keeping it that way.

The Panthers will be back on the ice this morning in Fort Lauderdale, their holiday break now over.

They went into the break with a 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a loss that snapped a run of four straight wins.

With victories in 10 of their past 13, the Panthers sit atop the Atlantic Division standings when games resume today.

Florida’s 49 points are tied for fifth in the entire NHL.

Not bad.

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“Obviously, there are some games that we didn’t like,” Sasha Barkov said, “but those games are good for us to learn how not to play. The good games are the ones where we play the right way, and we usually win those. It has been good. We have room for improvement. That’s the best part of it.”

Before the season started, Paul Maurice was asked about the hangover affect, and it was something he dismissed pretty quickly.

The team, however, did talk about it.

They discussed what it they needed to do to work through yet another short offseason, through the pitfalls that seem to affect other teams which went through so much to reach the top of their profession.

The last team to win the Stanley Cup in consecutive seasons was the Lightning — but that came during the Covid years which meant reduced travel and games.

The last team to win the Cup in consecutive years during full NHL seasons were the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

“It is not easy, and full credit,’’ Maurice said. “There was about a 10-day block there at the end of November where it wasn’t a hangover: It was flights all over the place, we went to the other side of the world and back, and it caught up to us. Then we fought our way out of it.

“It is still a long way from the finish line, and we have a lot of travel left, but I have a lot of faith in these guys and their ability to dig in, and claw their way out of fatigue. There is a lot of will in that room. I am really proud of what they did this month, especially since it was an absolute grinder.”

ON DECK: GAME No. 37

MONTREAL CANADIENS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• 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
• Last Season: Florida won 3-1
• This Season — At Montreal: March 15; Ap. 1. At Florida: Saturday; Marrch 30.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 58-39-11, 6 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Dec. 30 vs. New York Rangers, 7 p.m.