The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are off to a 3-4 start this season. They started 3-0 and looked every bit like the current champs.
But then, a four-game losing streak. It’s not that the games have been close. They really haven’t. While not exactly blowouts either, the Panthers haven’t been in close, tight-checking games they could win.
That four-game skid featured a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, a team they had already beaten this season, a 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, and then, a disastrous 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres.
Yes, those Buffalo Sabres.
That situation has begun to raise some concerns for the Cats. The season could be starting to spiral out of control, potentially jeopardizing their chances of locking down a chance for a third-straight Stanley Cup.
But there could be a bigger issue afoot.
Wear and tear catching up to Panthers
Playing in three straight Stanley Cup Finals takes an unbelievable toll on the body. Hockey is one of the most grueling sports out there. So, playing all those games, at such a high level, eventually comes at a price.
The Panthers were already down stars Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk to start the season. Barkov is done for the year, while Tkachuk is slated to return at some point. But they’re not the only ones.
Tomas Nosek didn’t make it out of training camp, while blue line mainstay Dmitry Kulikov will be out about five months following surgery for an upper-body ailment. Now, the latest wounded warrior for Florida is Miko Nikkola. The blueliner left Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury.
While the Panthers are still a deep team, there have to be concerns about that depth now. The secondary players who supported the stars are now asked to step up. But then again, who’s going to come up behind them? Who’s going to support the support guys? That’s the storm the Panthers will need to navigate for the first two or three months of this season.
Scoring becoming an issue for Florida
The Panthers have never really been a high-scoring club. But they never struggled to put the puck in the net. But this season has been especially challenging. The Cats have scored four goals in their ongoing four-game slide. Their leading scorer is Brad Marchand with three, and well, that’s about it.
Anton Lundell, who’s been asked to fill in for Barkov, has five points in seven games. Evan Rodrigues, another talented support player, has four points in seven games.
Unfortunately, some of the other top players have been sputtering. Sam Bennett, the $64 million man from this offseason, has one goal in seven games. Seth Jones, another high-priced acquisition, has three assists. Meanwhile, Aaron Ekblad has one goal and one assist.
If the Panthers are to shake off their current funk, they’ll have to get more scoring. The defensive game seems to be there for the most part. But a rapidly depleting blue line and bone-dry scoring may be a recipe for disaster in Florida.
It remains to be seen if the Panthers can turn things around soon. Otherwise, the path may be opening up for other contenders to step in and take over the NHL championship crown.