Special Teams are to Blame in Loss Against the Coyotes
By Jacob Fordyce
The Florida Panthers began their road trip out west with a loss to the Arizona Coyotes. While the Panthers had numerous opportunities to pull ahead on the scoreboard, there was one glaring weakness that helped avoid a Panthers win. Special teams.
The Florida Panthers generated a number of opportunities on the offensive side of things throughout the entirety of the game. However, Karel Vejmelka played a heck of a game and kept the puck out of the net. Despite the offense generating plenty of scoring chances, the special teams was the down fall of the Panthers tonight.
Special Teams Struggles
Special teams is a crucial part of winning hockey games. Whether it’s putting pucks in the back of the net or simply killing off a penalty to give your team momentum, being highly ranked in the special teams category at the end of the game raises your chances of winning hockey games significantly.
Coming into tonight the Panthers were 26/35 (74%) on the penalty kill. Keep in mind that’s ranked 26th in the NHL. It’s no secret that the penalty kill has been struggling this season for the Panthers and it continued to be a problem tonight against the Yotes.
Two out of the three goals from the Coyotes came off the Powerplay (Third was a empty netter). The Panthers finished the game 2/4 on the penalty kill and lowered their PK% down to 71.8%. For the Panthers to get W’s in the winning column throughout this road trip, improving on the penalty kill is a must.
If the penalty kill struggles weren’t worse enough, the Panthers power play is struggling even more. Coming into tonight the Panthers were 4/42 on the PP. The Panthers had two power play opportunities tonight and went 0-2. However, it’s important to note that the scoring chance opportunities were plentiful on the power play, it just seemed as if it was one of those nights where the puck was allergic to going in the back of the net. After tonight’s loss to the Yotes, the Panthers PP% drops down to 9.1% which is 30th worst in the NHL.
What Now?
While the special teams statistics are abysmal, it’s still very early in the season and way too soon to be too concerned. The Panthers are generating great chances on the power play and the ball is bound to get rolling. As far as the penalty kill goes, if the power play can get up and running, the momentum from one side of the spectrum may ooze to the other side and build their confidence in their penalty killing abilities. The penalty kill has never been a strength for the Panthers; however, sitting near the bottom in both special teams categories is unacceptable for such a talented team.
Final Score – (5-4-1) Florida Panthers 1 / (3-5-1) Arizona Coyotes 3
Colin White was the lone goal scorer for the Cats. Sam Bennett and Josh Mahura were credited for the assists.
Next Game
Florida Panthers @ San Jose Sharks – Thursday, November 3rd, 2022.