There is a team in South Florida that was so mired in injuries and mediocrity few people were paying attention.
Those that were, many disguised as "fans" took each and every opportunity to bash GM/Interim head coach Tom Rowe and management for every loss, while praising the players for wins.
The problem with the Florida Panthers was they were never winning more than two in a row. They didn't have their first 3-game win streak until the end of January.
The third game of that streak was Jonathan Huberdeau's season debut after coming back from an Achilles injury suffered during the last game of the preseason. In movie-like fashion he scored the game winner in the 2-1 victory over Anaheim. He now has eight points in six games.
Sasha Barkov also returned that game after being out for over a month with a back injury.
Think health wasn't keeping this team from doing some damage?
The Huberdeau-Barkov-Jagr line has all the game-winning goals on this current trip.
Huberdeau and Barkov's Feb. 3rd returns completed an excruciating wait for this team to get healthy.
The previous few weeks saw Alex Petrovic and Nick Bjugstad come back after missing extended playing time.
All of a sudden, the band was back together.
A bonafide top line.
Strong down the middle.
Defensive pairing flexibility.
Balanced forward lines.
It is no coincidence the wins are starting to pile up.
With the Panthers 3-2 win over the LA Kings tonight the Panthers are 7-1-1 over their last nine games. For the first time this year, Florida holds a playoff spot. They also hold the regulation wins tiebreaker over Toronto, Buffalo, and the Islanders.
But it doesn't end there.
Some think the healthy Panthers can go on enough of a run to take advantage of the weak Atlantic Division and take the top spot. Yes there is a long way to go but if the last few weeks are any indication Panther Nation is in for one hell of a ride.
Maybe most remarkable about this current road trip that has seen the Panthers score 20 goals in four games is (knock on wood) no one has been injured. The West is full of big, bruising teams but Florida has held their own behind big scoring and solid goaltending.
"Everybody is healthy, so I think it is a big boost for our club as far as knowing everyone is in the lineup," said Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo. "We are getting results so we see that we are a pretty good team, and we want to keep it going right now."
Rowe has been a source for ridicule for Panther fans, as many believe he sought to coach the Panthers last summer and took the first opportunity to fire former and popular head coach Gerard Gallant on November 27th.
Without Huberdeau, Petrovic, Bjugstad and Jokinen for stretches, and Barkov for a month, Rowe managed to keep the team afloat while they waited for the IR list to be blank.
That time has arrived.
Finally Panther fans that were so quick to judge day by day instead of looking at the big picture are seeing what their team is actually capable of doing.
Will Rowe be the coach next season? That is to be decided.
But when he took over he preached more offense and more structured defense. Most times one or the other looked good, but finally a full complement of players has both facets working well.
Perhaps fans will take notice that the coaches and older players are responsible for keeping this team together and blocking out the noise.
The Panthers would be a dangerous playoff team at any seed. Most of the core got invaluable experience last year and are looking to make amends. Hence the team hashtag, #UnfinishedBusiness.
"It's been a really big road trip for us," said Jussi Jokinen. "Obviously we have some players back right now, and we are a healthy team. We are playing with lots of confidence and we have gone into some tough rinks and got some wins. Every game is so important, and next game we have to go out there and get two points."
These are not the same Florida Panthers we saw three weeks or three months ago. The critics will say any success will be in spite of Rowe. Those in and around the organization know he has been just as instrumental in keeping things together as any player(s).
He knows he's labeled. He knows of the unfair criticisms.
"I know I get tagged as a defensive coach and our team gets tagged as straight offense," said Rowe. "But if you're going to play in the National Hockey League you have to play both. That's the way you play the game. It's a team sport first and if you think you're going to win long term run and gun it's not going to happen."
For now, he knows how to get positive results out of this team on a consistent basis. It may never be enough to sway the masses, but scoreboard is all that matters.
If that continues to be in favor of the Panthers more often than not, the fans will notice. You can bet the division is already paying attention.
Dan Spiegel
Florida Panthers Media
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