Takeaways: Panthers Go Winless over the Weekend

Welcome to Full Press Hockey’s Takeaway series on the Florida Panthers.

After each Panthers game of the 2022-23 season, our Florida Panthers beat writer, Alex Slemp, will recap the game and give you his biggest takeaways from the matchup. Today we will have a look at the Florida Panthers’ losses to the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets over the weekend. You can follow more of his work on the Florida Panthers here, and also tune into his podcast where he talks the latest on all things Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers extended their season-high losing streak to three games after suffering back-to-back losses over the weekend.

Panthers’ Pair of Losses Starts with SO Loss to Flames

The Panthers’ back-to-back series was highlighted by a matchup with former Panther Jonathan Huberdeau and his Calgary Flames.

It was the game circled on every Panthers fan’s calendar to start the year and the matchup did not disappoint. Well, except for the final outcome.

The Panthers showcased their reverse retro jerseys in this highly anticipated matchup. Seemingly using the imagery of a new look to drive home that this is very much a new-look Panthers team without Huberdeau.

And this game certainly lived up to the hype. There was plenty of back-and-forth action that saw a combined 70 shots on net and we even got a little bonus hockey with overtime and a shootout.

And as the script would have it, both Matthew Tkachuk and Huberdeau scored important goals for their new teams. Tkachuk got the game-tying goal in the third period and Huberdeau scored in the shootout, where the Flames would seal their 5-4 victory.

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Panthers Close out Back-to-Back with Loss to Lowly Blue Jackets

The Panthers had no time to lick their wounds as their schedule had them hopping on a plane to Ohio for a tilt with the Blue Jackets, less than 24 hours after their bout with the Flames.

The lack of rest seemed to be a non-factor for the Panthers as they came out firing against the Jackets. They outshot their opponents 18-4 in the opening frame and 50-23 in total. 

Matthew Tkachuk opened the scoring with his eighth of the season to give the Panthers their first lead in a game since November 15 against the Washington Capitals. However, that would be the last time the Panthers would hold the lead.

Yegor Chinakhov tied it up shortly after when he intercepted a Marc Staal pass at the blue line and scored on the ensuing breakaway.

The Blue Jackets continued to add to their lead with the help of their special teams. The Jackets went two-for-two on the man advantage and potted a short-handed goal in the third to snuff out any chance the Panthers had of clawing their way back in this one.

This season-high losing streak now has the Panthers below .500 for the first time this season and the first time since March 5, 2020.

Let’s have a look at the biggest takeaways from this weekend and what is going wrong for the Cats in South Florida.

Offense and Zone Control not Equating to Wins 

If you were to just look at the stats for the Panthers and not watch the game and know the score, you would think they were winning almost every game. 

After all, they have outshot and out-chanced their opponents in virtually every game this season. This weekend the Panthers registered 85 shots, 58 of which were considered scoring chances according to Natural Stat Trick. 

How many goals did they score with all those chances? Seven. Four against Calgary and three versus Columbus.

If you’re averaging three and a half goals per game in the NHL then you are winning a lot more games than you are losing. 

Unless you are the Florida Panthers.

The Panthers are 12th in league scoring (3.32 GF/G) which is more than the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, and New York Rangers. Yet they trail all three of them in the standings.

The Panthers have been phenomenal at generating offense this season. But when it comes to keeping the puck out of their net, it’s a different story.

Florida has allowed five-plus goals in three straight games. They had only surrendered five goals twice in the 16 games before that.

The Panthers even limited the Blue Jackets to just 14 scoring chances all game. In comparison, the Panthers had 40 against the Jackets. And against the Flames, it was 18-17 in favor of the Cats.

Panthers Need Timely Saves

The problem is that the Panthers spend all this time in the offensive zone and then the opposition breaks away for a quick rush and gets a goal. No cycle, just scoring off the rush.

Now as we saw against the Jackets, every goal but one was redirected. It’s hard to blame Sergei Bobrovsky for all five goals against. But at the end of the day, you have to find a way to make a save.

When the Blue Jackets were up 3-2 the Panthers were pressing relentlessly. But then the Jackets escaped the zone and came down into the Panthers’ end where Johnny Gaudreau snapped one by Bobrovsky. 

Now yes, Gaudreau is an elite shooter, but Bob had a clean look and it went right between his arm and chest on the short side. This gave the Jackets a crucial two-goal lead late in the third. 

It is at those moments in the game that the Panthers NEED a save. And they have not been able to get those timely saves from either goaltender this weekend. 

In the loss against Calgary, Spencer Knight was unable to close the door after the Panthers tied the game on three separate occasions. 

Again, a goal against is a team effort. Rarely is the onus ever on one player, like the goaltender. But the goaltender is the last line of defense and sometimes you really need your netminder to find a way to make those stops. 

The Panthers have allowed the seventh-fewest scoring chances in the entire NHL, yet they have surrendered the 10th most goals. 

That does not add up the way it should.

Up Next

The Florida Panthers get a few days of rest before they take the ice again.

Paul Maurice is electing to give his players the day off Monday. They will hit the ice for practice on Tuesday to prep themselves for their bout against the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins took the first meeting between these two clubs, 5-3, back in the Panthers’ third game of the season.

Puck drop is Wednesday, November 23 at 7:00 pm EST.