Playoff hockey in Sunrise
SUNRISE, Fla. (BVM) – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL announced that it would be having a shortened season of 56 games compared to the usual 82 game schedule. The Florida Panthers had the longest running streak in the NHL of 23 straight seasons without winning a playoff series and would look to change that during this season.
Star Players Fulfilling their Roles
The Panthers were led by their captain, Aleksander “Sasha” Barkov, former second overall draft pick in 2013. Barkov is the first line center for the Panthers. Barkov had a statistically successful year for the Panthers tallying 26 goals, 32 assists and 58 overall points. Barkov was second on the team with six game-winning goals over the course of the season. Barkov plays a defensive style of hockey for a forward and is known for being a great two-way player, meaning he is skilled both offensively and defensively. At the conclusion of the regular season, it was announced by the NHL that he was nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, an award given annually to the forward in the NHL who is the most skilled in the defensive aspect of the game.
During the season, assistant captain Jonathan Huberdeau helped lead the way as well for the Panthers. Huberdeau led the Panthers with 41 assists during the regular season. On the back end of the game, the Panthers were led defensively by Aaron Ekblad. Ekblad was a key component of the Panthers success during the first half of the season. Ekblad had 11 goals and 11 assists through 35 games played before injuring his left knee and being out for the remainder of the season. Ekblad was having a career-year and before the injury was a front-runner for the Norris Trophy, awarded annually at the conclusion of the regular season to the best defenseman in the NHL. The Panthers losing their best defenseman for the remainder of the season would have to adjust moving forward to maintain success and they did exactly that.
Playoff Push
Due to the loss of losing the team’s best defensemen, the Panthers would have to make multiple acquisitions and trades at the trade deadline in order to maintain the success they had thus far. The Panthers would acquire defenseman Brandon Montour and forward Sam Bennet, who would both be a key asset to the Panthers playoff push. Forward Sam Bennet had only 12 points through 38 games with the Calgary Flames prior to being traded to the Panthers. In the final 10 games of the regular season Bennet would score six goals and nine assists for a total of 15 points in just 10 games with his new team. Three of his six goals were also game-winners. The addition of Brandon Montour on the back end helped the Panthers a lot defensively. In Montour’s 12 regular season games with the Panthers, he would finish with eight points.
The Panthers would go on to clinch a playoff berth against the Nashville Predators with a 7-4 victory and were slated to face the defending Stanley Cup Champions and cross-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Prior to the series, it was regarded that it would be the most exciting series of the playoffs as both teams have explosive offensive firepower. And it lived up to the expectations.
Sunshine Showdown
The Panthers had not won a playoff series in 23 straight seasons. The Panthers would clinch home-ice advantage and face the Lightning at home in Sunrise, Fla. at the BB&T Center for game one of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Panthers would come out firing on all ends and take a 2-1 lead in the first period. The Lightning would answer right back and score two goals in the second period to be leading 3-2 going into the third period. The Panthers rallied and scored two quick goals early into the third period, however, with seven minutes remaining in the third period the Lightning found the back of the net with a powerplay goal and tied the game 4-4. With just one minute and fourteen seconds remaining in regulation, Lightning forward Brayden Point found the back of the net for the second time of the game and gave Tampa a 5-4 lead. The Lightning would hold off the Panthers in the final minute and win game one 5-4. The Panthers had given up three powerplay goals and knew if they wanted to beat the Lightning, they needed to stay out of the penalty box due to their lethal powerplay.
In game two, the Panthers were successful with their strategy of taking less penalties, however, it was not enough to stop the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Lightning would win game two on the road in Sunrise, Fla., 3-1 against the Panthers and the series would be going back to Tampa Bay with the Lightning holding a commanding 2-0 series lead.
The Panthers found themselves down 5-3 going into the third period in game three. They would come out hard to start the third period and scored just one minute and 45 seconds into the period to trail by one. With three minutes and seven seconds remaining, Gustav Forsling of the Panthers would score to tie the game and force overtime for game three (Overtime in the NHL playoffs is five on five sudden death.) Just six minutes into overtime Ryan Lomberg of the Panthers scored on a breakaway to give the Panthers life in the series and to trail by one game.
In game four, the Panthers were dominated by the Lightning and lost the contest 6-2 and the Lightning now needed just one more win to eliminate the Panthers from the playoffs. With the series going back to Sunrise for game five, the Panthers knew it was a must-win game. The Panthers would win game five 4-1 and force a sixth game of the series back in Tampa Bay. In game six, the Panthers were outplayed by the Lightning and found themselves in penalty trouble yet again. The Panthers were shutout by the Lightning with a final score of 4-0 and would be eliminated from the playoffs. This would mark 24 straight seasons that the Panthers had not won a playoff series.
Just the Beginning
The Panthers knew that they could have done better than they had. The Panthers had a lot of positives from the season, but they did not accomplish their ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup. Head coach Joel Quenneville had a successful second year with the Panthers and will look to continue it in the upcoming 2021-2022 season. The Panthers finished with a regular season record of 37 wins, 14 losses and five overtime losses. The Panthers will continue to try and make off-season acquisitions to better the future of the franchise for the upcoming season.
