Panthers Propaganda: Florida Panthers news and notes for the week of April 14th

When I wrote my previous Panthers Propaganda piece amidst a five-game winless streak for the team, and it wasn’t pretty. At the height of the skid, the Ottawa Senators were within two points of potentially leapfrogging Florida for the third divisional playoff spot.  

This past week yielded far better results for the Cats. As the postseason quickly approaches, here are the regular season-ending news and notes for your defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.

Home ice = wins

The Panthers returned to Amerent Bank Arena on Tuesday to face the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs. The Cats ended their losing streak with an impressive victory. They played their physical game and limited the star-studded Leafs to just one goal on 18 shots. 

Florida then rounded out the week with two more home wins over the Red Wings and Sabres. The three home wins all had a playoff-like atmosphere, with the Sunrise crowd making noise in support of the home team. The highlight was the “Bobby” chants after Sergei Bobrovski's impressive series of saves against Detroit. 

The three consecutive wins have ensured at least third place in the division. Ottawa is four points behind in the first wild card spot, followed by the Montreal Canadiens in the second wild card spot. 

Brad Marchand buries his first goal

After a slow start to his Florida tenure, the long-time Boston Bruin netted his first goal in a Panther uniform Thursday.

The home crowd came unglued after the score. Marchand now has three points through eight games with the Panthers. Hardly on par with his usual production, but hopefully getting the first goal continues to lead to more familiarity and comfort in the Florida system as they begin the postseason. 

Injury updates

The long list of Panthers out due to injury got slightly smaller this week with the returns of Captain Aleksander Barkov and Nico Sturm. Sam Bennett was officially ruled out for the rest of the regular season to rest up for the postseason.

Bennett, Barkov, and Sam Reinhart were all rested for the Buffalo game on Saturday, and more key players could get similar treatment over the final two games. Coach Paul Maurice has made it clear that the team needs time for rest and healing if it wants to make another deep playoff run. The team remains optimistic that both Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk (groin injury) will be able to return for the start of the postseason.

Aaron Ekblad was also cleared to resume team activities. He will be eligible to return for the third postseason game after serving his 20-game suspension for PEDs.  

The week ahead

The Panthers have just two games left on their regular season schedule. They have a back-to-back tonight and tomorrow vs the Rangers at home, and the Lightning in Tampa Bay. As of now, Florida sits third in the Atlantic at 98 points, four points behind Toronto and two behind Tampa.