Takeaways: Panthers Lose All Momentum, Get Swept 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 break down his biggest takeaways from the game. Today we will have a look at the Florida Panthers’ back-to-back losses over the weekend. You can follow more of his work on the Florida Panthers here, and also tune into his podcast, the Full Press Panthers Podcast, where he talks the latest on all things Florida Panthers.

One step forward, two steps back.

That has been the tune this Florida Panthers team has been marching to all season.

After winning in convincing fashion in three of their last four games before this weekend, the Panthers looked to be turning the corner on their season. 

Panthers Lose Ground in the Standings with Back-to-Back Losses

But their momentum was zapped away by the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they were then put out to sea by the Seattle Kraken.

The Panthers have struggled to put any sort of run together this season. They are currently one of only three teams (Columbus, Anaheim, Florida) in the NHL to not have a winning streak of three games or more. And that number could go down to two if the Panthers lose against the Columbus Blue Jackets this Tuesday.

But coming into this weekend there was plenty of optimism amongst the players and its fanbase. 

The Panthers had picked up some key victories during their lengthy road trip. And they were doing it whilst playing with a depleted lineup. 

But once again, after gaining any sort of momentum, the Panthers let it all go to waste. 

A string of demoralizing losses is what always follows these sporadic bursts of success, 

You can point your finger at a multitude of things, whether it be injuries, scheduling, depth, or coaching. But at the end of the day, it is a collective effort by the team. And it has been a complete lack of execution that has stymied the reigning Presidents Trophy winners.

The once wild and ferocious Cats are looking more like tamed house kittens at the moment.

Here are the takeaways from this weekend’s losing skid.

Familiar Issues Continue to Plague Panthers against Lightning

It’s now seven straight losses, dating back to last season, for the Panthers against their in-state rivals. 

And if the playoff sweep from last season is still haunting you, this game did nothing to rectify that.

It was the same issue once again for the Panthers — the offense failed to get to Andrei Vasilevskiy. 

“We didn’t get enough pucks to the net and on the net,” said Paul Maurice after the game.

“We had 19 shots blocked and missed the net about 15 times. When you have a guy [Vasilevskiy] like that in net, you can’t waste two-thirds of your shot attempts.” 

But even when the Panthers had the puck, they weren’t making smart plays. 

“We didn’t manage the puck very well. We didn’t move the puck or move our feet very well,” noted Maurice.

It made for a frustrating performance, to say the least, especially after they played so well leading up to this matchup.

Now, the Lightning is no slouch of an opponent. It’s not like the Panthers had this type of struggle against, say, the Anaheim Ducks. But at some point, you need to adjust your approach and find a way to grind out a win against an opponent like this.

After all, if the Panthers make the playoffs, there is a good chance they will have to go through the three-time Stanley Cup finalists to get to the Final.

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Completely Gassed Against the Kraken

After seeing how the Panthers handled the Kraken just a week ago, this performance is one we can chalk up to poor scheduling.

It was the Panthers’ fourth game in six days and was on the tail end of a back-to-back. 

Right from puck drop, you could see the Panthers were a step behind. It was slow feet and poor puck management once again. 

“We just didn’t seem to have enough guys with the gas needed to play,” Eric Staal said after the game.

“They [Kraken] were on us. They forced us to turn pucks over a little too much…they attacked us with their quickness and speed.”

By the end of the game, the Panthers had committed 16 turnovers and had plenty more plays that were dead from the start.

Their lackluster offense resulted in the Panthers being out-shot in back-to-back games for the first time this season.

And they certainly didn’t do themselves any favors by parading themselves to the penalty box all night.

A frustrating night for the Panthers peaked in the third period after Ryan Lomberg let his emotions get the best of him. After taking a stick up high from Justin Schultz, Lomberg retaliated and drilled Schultz into the boards from behind. His actions saw him get ejected and resulted in a lengthy 5-minute major. 

The subsequent penalty led to a Daniel Sprong goal to put the Kraken up 4-1 and put the game out of reach.

Another Wasted Effort by Bobrovsky

One of the lone bright spots over this weekend had to be the play of Sergei Bobrovsky. 

Now, on the surface level, one would easily argue that allowing four goals in back-to-back games is anything but bright. But these games would’ve looked a lot uglier if it wasn’t for their netminder.

Bobrovsky continually stood on his head, making brilliant saves and doing everything in his power to keep his team in it. 

HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/RsJnqZKC84

— Alex Slemp (@AlexSlemp) December 12, 2022

“I thought he was dialed in. I thought he was really good…,” Maurice said of his goaltender after the loss to the Lightning.

“His last two games he looks back wired right.”

But you can only expect your goalie to do so much. Constant defensive breakdowns in front of him led to Bob being hung out to dry way too often. And there’s just no way for any goalie to obtain success when facing the multitude of scoring chances he had.

On the season, Bobrovsky sports a 5-8-1 record to go along with his 3.58 GAA and .884 SV%. Hardly the stats you write home about.

But as Maurice said, Bobrovsky looks to be back. You can see the confidence in his play has returned. He aggressively challenges shooters and is coming up with first and second saves.

In today’s NHL it is critical to have a solid one-two punch in the net. Spencer Knight was playing superb hockey before being sidelined with an illness, and now Bob is finding his rhythm.

If the Panthers can play better in front of their goaltenders, this team stands a chance to climb their way back into a playoff spot.

Up Next

The Panthers will take advantage of a much-needed day off before hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

The Blue Jackets are currently riding a two-game win streak and won their previous matchup, 5-3, against the Panthers back on November 20.

Columbus has struggled mightily on the defensive end this season. They are second last in the league with a horrendous 4.07 GA/G. So on paper, it looks like a great matchup for the Panthers to get their offense rolling again.

Puck drop is Tuesday, December 13 at 7:00 pm ET.