The Florida Panthers are about to play their 12th game of the 2026-27 season on Sunday afternoon against the Chicago Blackhawks. As the Cats roll into the Windy City, sporting a 5-4-2 record, they are entrenched in a two-game losing streak where they’ve been outscored 9-1. Surprisingly, this skid comes on the heels of a remarkable stretch of games featuring historic hat tricks and blowout victories. Yet, there is an underlying trend the Panthers can't escape: surrendering the opening goal in nearly three-quarters of their games, forcing them to spend considerable time chasing their opponents.
Panthers have surrendered the first goal in 72.7% of their games
In the season opener, Florida secured a 1-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, scoring the game’s only goal in overtime. On the trip through California against San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles, the Panthers gave up the first goal in all three contests, losing the first two contests by a single goal in overtime before rallying to defeat the Kings, 2-1.
Against Minnesota in the home opener, Florida gave up the first goal, falling 4-1, their first multi-goal loss of the year. Unfortunately, the streak continued in Buffalo with another loss, although they finally secured their second comeback victory against Columbus the next day. Meanwhile, the Panthers did themselves no favors at home against Vancouver, where the Canucks jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Brady Tkachuk saved the day.
Finally, on Oct. 17, in their ninth game of the season, the Panthers scored the game's opening goal in regulation for the first time, en route to an 8-3 blowout victory over Seattle. Then, in Tkachuk’s return to Ottawa, he tallied the game’s first goal, Florida’s only lamplighter of the night before a 5-1 loss. Most recently, in Pittsburgh, the Panthers experienced their first shutout loss, 4-0, and haven’t scored a goal in five periods.
Panthers are slightly better at overcoming deficits than last season
When looking at the Panthers' first 11 games last year, which included time without captain Aleksander Barkov, Florida was 5-5-1 with a goal differential of minus-4. Through those 11 games, the Panthers surrendered the opening goal six times, producing a 1-4-1 record in those contests.
Compared to the 2025-26 campaign, the Cats, once again without Barkov for the past nine games, have been more successful at overcoming early deficits, posting a 3-2-2 record when surrendering the opening goal. However, Florida has also allowed the game's first goal in seven consecutive contests this season, a troubling stretch that highlights Akira Schmid's struggles between the pipes.
In five appearances this season, including four starts and one relief appearance, Schmid has surrendered the game's opening goal on three occasions. He also allowed the game's next goal after entering in relief against Buffalo. Dating back to his time with the Vegas Golden Knights, the 26-year-old netminder finished his tenure with the club by surrendering the opening goal in his final five contests, all losses.
Despite surrendering the opening goal more frequently this season, the Panthers have earned eight standings points in those contests, compared with just three through the same stretch last year. Ultimately, there is plenty of time to right the ship, especially when it comes to securing and protecting a lead after the opening face-off. Considering the abundance of talent in the Panthers' lineup, there should be no reason for them to spend so much time chasing the game.
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