The Panthers sit at 0-2 to start their 2023-24 campaign and several fans seem eager to put the blame on Bob already.
Tough to put the blame squarely on Bob (though he had struggles in Winnipeg) when we’re seeing a lot of the same issues consistently carrying over each year — namely special teams.
Florida went 1/7 on the PP against Winnipeg. Hard to believe you can only score one goal when given seven chances with an extra attacker, but here we are. On the flip side, the Panthers gave the Jets six cracks on the PP and allowed two goals. It makes it a lot more dofdicult to win games when your PP and PK units constantly struggle.
The Cats are no strangers to slow starts, but things will only get tougher for Florida these next two games as they take on New Jersey (1-0-1) and Toronto (2-0-0).
The late-game heroics we have become accustomed to in order to win games in the last 10 minutes — like they did in Winnipeg — has to be put to an end quickly; especially with a team whose synergy seems generally off right now.
But it’s not time to flip the panic switch yet, and I believe there’s two factors for that:
1. Injuries
No doubt about it that Ekblad and Monty being out is hurting the backend and the overall team chemistry. While listed as fully healed, I still think Tkachuk is dealing with some lingering issues from his injury last season. He just doesn’t seem “right… at the moment.
2. New Faces
There is a lot of new guys in this lineup. They’re learning to play with new teammates, as well as learning a new system. We know how long it took for Maurice’s system to “click… with these guys last season. Some of the new players might need some time. Not meaning to single any one guy out, but I’m going to give Mikkola a couple more games. After the last two, he looks slow and out of place. We’ll see if he can get things going this week, but I’m a bit disappointed so far.
As for tonight, Florida will most likely have their hands full with a young, speedy Devils team that continues to make steps in the right direction of their retooling.
The keys to the game are as straight forward as it gets this early on in the season:
- Stay out of the box. 10 penalties on two games for a team struggling on the special teams is no bueno
- Finish scoring opportunities and take advantage when on the PP (!) __________________________
Don’t fret just yet, Cats fans…Go Panthers!