Last place Panthers are officially the East's biggest early disappointment

Before any season starts, one of the most popular topics for experts and fans to discuss is the main rivalry. One month into the 2025-2026 campaign, the Florida Panthers look disorganized. To make matters a little sweeter, the Cats were off to a hotter start than the Tampa Bay Lightning at first.

The Florida Panthers' well-earned respect made them a dangerous asset in the NHL. When a team travels to Broward County, it's not only about a nice beachside, steakhouses, Dairy Queens, and shopping. The NHL opponents know it's going to be tough to play in Sunrise. At least, it was the case in the previous three seasons.

Losing Matthew Tkachuk, Tomas Nosek, and Aleksander Barkov to injuries and long recovery was painful. But in August, it was still safe to have a broader vision, naming the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes, NY Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning as the main rivals around the league. But a new journey to the Stanley Cup suddenly got bumpier. One month into the regular season, the fiercest Panthers' rivals are the Panthers themselves and the circumstances around them.

Lost Chances

The first part of the four-game road trip was a 7-3 upset. Not only did the Panthers look slow, but they also had to chase the opponents for 1.5 periods. When the Luostarinen's power-play goal gave the visiting team a lead, they suddenly stopped shooting and blocking. In the third period, the Cats lost their communication and spark, allowing the Anaheim Ducks to score three unanswered goals. Paul Maurice was probably surprised, not in a good way, when his team made only two shots and two blocks in the thrid.

It wasn't the best game for Gustav Forsling (-2), Niko Mikkola (-2), and Aaron Ekblad (-1). All defensive pairings let themselves down by allowing the Ducks to score four goals from in front of Bobrovsky's net.

Overall, Sam Bennett won three out of 11 faceoffs, and Sam Reinhart won two out of five. It's a game to be forgotten. Sergei Bobrovsky, just as the rest of the team, did not look like himself by leaving many loose pucks in front of him for rebounds. The two-time Vezina trophy winner is mature enough to learn and recover from failures.

The duo of Bobrovsky and Tarasov works well together, even though no one's stats are perfect right now. According to the 2025-26 Regular Season Goalie Summary Report, Bobrovsky is 10th, with six wins in 10 starts, 212 saved shots on 240 efforts, and 28 allowed goals (.883 SV%). Daniil Tarasov had three starts (.882 SV%) but didn't experience a single win in his new uniform.

Harsh Stats

The leaders aren't as productive as they could be. In 13 contests:

Sam Bennett - two goals and two assists

Sam Reinhart - six goals and one assist

Carter Verhaeghe - two goals and four assists

By Nov. 5, the Panthers' defensemen skated the most miles on power plays (17.78), and forwards ranked second after the Colorado Avalanche (48.13) with 46.59 miles in 13 games, according to the NHL EDGE. That shows a lot of pressure and movement in man-advantage scenarios with 64.38 total miles skated. The Panthers spent about 42.2% (seventh in the NHL) in the offensive zone and 40.1% (seventh in the NHL) in the defensive zone, all strenghts combined. The Carolina Hurricanes are the best in both situations, so they naturally look like the number one rival right now in the Eastern Conference. But it's not that simple.

Before the Thursday game in Los Angeles, the Panthers dropped to last place, with a 6-6-1 overall record, 1-5-0 on the road, and 34:41 (GF/GA) in goals. The team is only two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers (eighth in the conference) and six points behind the first-place Montreal Canadiens. The reigning champions have to focus on themselves and their game.

If the Panthers want some points on this road trip, they need to fix communication issues, discipline, and get back to their physically dominant game.