Takeaways: Panthers Utilize Playoff Style Play in Win over Sabres

Don’t look now but the Florida Panthers have won five of their last seven. 

The Panthers have seemingly turned the corner on their season. Since coming out of the Christmas break, the Panthers have compiled a 6-4 record. It may not seem like much but it’s a complete 180 from the 3-7 record from the 10-game stretch prior to this one. Or the 4-3-3 record before that or the 5-5 record before that one!

But it’s not just the wins they are piling up but how they are getting them.

This afternoon in Buffalo the Panthers utilized their playoff style of play to stymie the Sabres’ league-best offence.

A dominant 4-1 victory for the Cats that had all the elements of a true playoff team. They got offence from their stars, support from their depth players, perfection from their penalty kill, and stellar play from their goaltender.

It’s been a long road to get to this point but with some patience and a bit of tinkering, the Panthers look to have finally put it all together.

Revamped Forward Lines Continue to Produce

One of the biggest changes we have seen this new year has been the shakeup of the top two forward lines.

Last week Paul Maurice elected to change his top six group by putting Anton Lundell with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. He then slid Matthew Tkachuk down to the second line with Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe.

The change yielded immediate results.

In the last four games, players from the top six group have combined for nine goals and 15 assists. 

This afternoon against the Sabres, they had a combined three goals and six assists. This includes a three-assist effort from Tkachuk (all primary) and marked his 18th multi-point game of the year (4th most in the NHL).

“Seems like we have been able to find the way to win games,” Lundell noted about the team’s recent run of success. “A lot of good things we are doing right now, we just need to keep going.”

When asked about the success of his own line, Lundell stated, “We read each other very good. Overall it’s been really fun to play.”

It sure is fun when you’re scoring goals and winning games. Lundell himself now has a goal and an assist in his last four games after going pointless the previous seven.

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Bobrovsky Providing Key Saves During Key Moments

Sergei Bobrovsky has continued his hot play as of late. Bob has won five of his last seven starts and three of four since Spencer Knight was put on injured reserve.

But it’s not just that he’s getting wins but how he’s doing it. The Russian star has been coming up with his biggest saves when it matters most.

Just two minutes into today’s game, Bobrovsky had to stretch out and make a big kick save on Ilya Lyubushkin.

It may not seem like much but surrendering an early goal would have completely changed the tone of the game. Especially when you take in the fact that the Panthers are only 3-12-2 when their opponent scores first.

Instead of being down one, the Panthers turned the play around and scored two minutes after that crucial stop. 

Bobrovsky continued his stellar night by shutting the door on all three Sabres’ power plays. 

He then found another gear in the third period when he made 12 saves to help secure the victory.

Bobrovsky has admitted he’s making those timely saves but was quick to credit his teammates.

“They [teammates] help me out there,” Bob said post game, “PK was unbelievable, lots of blocked shots, sticks was great.”

Defence Taking Away Time and Space

When you go up against an offensive powerhouse like the Buffalo Sabres (wow that feels weird to say) the key to stopping it is by eliminating their time and space. 

As Paul Maurice said post-game, “They [Sabres] are a very dynamic team off the rush, there’s a lot of crossing plays, a lot of inside plays”

But Maurice was pleased with how they handled the high-flying Sabres. 

“I thought our back pressure was really good,” he noted. “They are hard to handle and I think we did a real nice job taking care of those crossing plays.”

All game long the Panthers’ defence slowed the Sabres’ neutral zone rushes. They made zone entry difficult and continually pushed the Sabres players to the outside. And when the Sabres were getting shots off, the defence was getting into the lanes. 

In total, the Panthers blocked 16 shots, 13 of which came from the defence and bottom six forwards.

When your top two lines are putting up goals it makes it easy for the supporting cast to focus on what they need to do.

Up Next

The Panthers have little time for rest. They are back on the ice tomorrow evening where they’ll take on a divisional foe, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It’s the first matchup of the season between the two clubs. 

The Leafs have lost their last two games but return home, where they are 15-3-4, to host the Panthers.

The Panthers won their season series last season, 2-1.

Puck drop is at 7:00 pm ET.