The Florida Panthers continued their season-opening road trip Sunday night, visiting the Anaheim Ducks and dropping their second straight game in overtime, 3-2. At least Brad Marchand returned early from an injury and scored his first of the year to tie the game late in the third period, giving the Cats a chance to win without Aleksander Barkov (long-term injury) and Aaron Ekblad (personal reasons). Despite securing yet another point, this trip has been one blowout away from being a complete disaster since Opening Night.
Penalties prove costly in Panthers overtime defeat
If anyone has watched the Panthers through the first three games of the year, they've noticed a growing trend that carried over from the preseason: ill-timed penalties. Of course, longtime fans may point out that Florida were among the league leaders in penalty minutes last season. They are not wrong. However, the 2026-27 team has too much skill in the lineup to spend more than 17 minutes in the penalty box per game. The counterargument is simple: “But the Panthers have the Tkachuk brothers, Gudas, Hathaway, and Bennett; of course they are going to be physical.”
On Sunday, three unusual suspects took penalties, including Lars Eller, Carter Verhaeghe, and Gustav Forsling, who got a phantom tripping call in overtime that led to the game-winner. Moreover, after back-to-back contests with more than 40 hits, the physicality just wasn't there against the Ducks, with Florida holding only a 27-26 advantage in hits.
Florida’s penalty kill bailed the team out through the first two contests against Carolina (6/6) and San Jose (3/4), but imploded against the Ducks, who converted on three of four chances. It may still be the first week of the regular season, but the Panthers need to clean up their game, stay out of the box, and win games in regulation. Skating in extra periods or shootouts every night will make for a long season, and so will a consistent march to the penalty box.
Panthers fans will grow tired of watching them chase games
The Panthers are 1-0-2 with four points, yet they have never led at any point this season. For those who need a recap, Forsling won the season opener in overtime, tallying the game’s only goal. Then, in San Jose, Florida fell behind 3-0 before rallying to tie it in the third, only to fall in overtime. Finally, on Sunday, the Ducks built on a 1-0 lead and never trailed, finishing with a power-play goal in overtime.
Aside from two multi-goal preseason wins, the Panthers have now played five one-goal contests since training camp, posting a 1-0-4 record. The last time the team led in a contest was in the second period of their last preseason meeting with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which they lost in a shootout.
For the past three seasons, the argument has been that they had a short summer and need time to find their game. However, that wasn’t the case in 2026, since Florida didn’t skate past the regular-season finale. The core is mostly the same, so there should be fewer excuses for early-season kinks. This team, supposedly hungry for another Stanley Cup, has an odd way to show fans they are serious. Yes, it’s only three games, but they're just as important as those in early January and the last week in April.
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