Florida Panthers: What Must The Panthers Do In Order To Make The Playoffs?

With the Florida Panthers two points out of a playoff spot, the wins must start to happen now!

With 31 games remaining, plenty of us are even wondering if there is simply enough time to make the post-season. The major trend of the season has been “inconsistency”. The Florida Panthers have been very inconsistent throughout the year, and that could potentially make the difference on whether or not the playoffs are reachable for us.

Where Have We Gone Wrong?

Well, to start, the Panthers dropped these five games where we blew 2 goal leads: Pittsburgh, San Jose, Carolina, Winnipeg, and Detroit. We all remember the game against Carolina dating back to November 27, 2016, the game that cost Gerald Gallant his job. Had the Panthers won that game, maybe Gallant would still be the head-coach of the Cats, and we possibly wouldn’t be complaining about Tome Rowe’s antics. When we look back at those games now, we shake our heads and cringe at the 10 points we could have had which would have put us in the clear.

Our saving grace maybe that the Atlantic division itself is weak this year and possibly work to the Panther’s advantage, even if it means grabbing the last wild card spot available. When looking at the standings, we are currently two points out of the last wild card spot, and four points out of the 3rd place spot in the Atlantic division.

Florida Panthers /

Florida Panthers

By no means are we out of the playoff yet. There’s still time to make the playoffs, but we must start to string more wins together consistently. A solid three to four game win streak would be what the Doctor orders. One of the main concerns that I have noticed with the play of the Panthers this year, is the lack of wins that the Cats can string together consecutively. At best, a two game win streak is all us supporters have been able to see so far. If two games is all we can string at best, then this season will be over before we know it, and with deep regret.

Major Injuries Since The Start Of The Season

Injuries have been a major blow for this Panthers team and the one area where we have seen consistency has been the injury department. From the start of the season, the Cats started without Jonathan Huberdeau (Achilles) and Nick Bjugstad (Hand). Throughout the season, the injury department has grown with other notable players along the way such as Jussi Jokinen and Aleksander Barkov.

Injuries couldn’t have hit us at a worst time, as we have never gotten the opportunity to see what this team could look like if healthy. When healthy, we have our famous first line of Huberdeau-Barkov-Jagr, which follows Smith–Trocheck-Jokinen down to our second line. More importantly, we all wanted to see the additional players acquired over the off-season into the third line. More specifically, Jonathan Marchessault and Colton Sceviour were acquired over the offseason to help out Nick Bjugstad on the third line. Problems in the past have been lack of scoring on our bottom end forwards, and for once this issue has been dealt with.

Jonathan Marchessault has been nothing short of impressive throughout the season. Whether he’s been asked to play the power play, penalty kill, or even first line, he’s never failed to impress us. Marchessault is currently ranked 2nd among Panther players in both goals and points. Paid at just $750k, this certainly makes Marchessault the biggest bargain pickup in the entire league. At the beginning of the season, he was asked to play heavy minutes on the first line, and simply never backed down. His 14 goals, 17 assists, and 31 points make this a career year for him.

More from The Rat Trick

Now imagine, when all our players are healthy, having Marchessault-Bjugstad-Sceviour on our third line will most likely increase the amount of offensive production we see night in and night out. Unfortunately, the serious and numerous injuries have resulted in the Cats having to call upon regular third line players to step up and play first line minutes.

So, What Must We Do in Order To Make The Playoffs?

In order to jump the hurdle and get ourselves into a playoff position, we simply must see more consistency on a nightly basis. Winning one and losing one simply wont cut it, and will just leave us hanging from the middle of the pack. At some-point it will be key for the Panthers to embark on a winning streak of more than 2 games at the very least.

With 31 games remaining….are we running out of time? Not necessarily. It’s important for us to go in with the mindset that each game is a “must win” situation. This will require focusing on the game at hand, one game at a time. We must remember to keep our foot on the proverbial pedal, as some may say.

In closing, I truly believe that our Cats can certainly make the post-season. With Barkov back in a couple of weeks, and Huberdeau likely returning in early March, this team will be given valuable reinforcement. It will be up to the players on whether or not they want to see playoff hockey in their futures. No more blaming injuries, management or coaching changes. This season will slowly start coming together as our valuable young stars start returning at the right time…tick…tock..

Home/Panthers News

Florida Panthers Can Make the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs

By Daniel Janicas | Feb 1, 2017