The Panthers dropped another game on Tuesday night to the Penguins in OT with a score of 3-2. It's the same story and trend of disappointing losses for Florida as of late - all of which could have been wins. As the team gets ready for their tilt against the Boston Bruins, there is one player who seems to be taking the brunt of fans' ire... Mike Matheson. In this current state of strange overall team play, Matheson finds himself alone on an island - singled out by fans who seem to place the blame squarely on him. Don’t get me wrong, I have been frustrated with him, too. Tuesday night's loss seemed to only intensify these feelings for a lot of folks. Some criticism is justifiable and some may not be. In his first two years in the league (2016-2017 & 2017-2018), he averaged around 21 minutes of ice time and made mistakes that a lot of young guys make: mental lapses and poor judgement. These are common things for young players and defense is arguably the most difficult position to transition to at the highest level. Actually, when I look at Matheson, I see a guy who reflects this team's lack of identity. At 6'2" 193 lb, he has the size you'd like to see on the backend. Not only that, he has good speed, hands and offensive ability. Sometimes these skills get him in trouble when he tries to do too much, but that's the risk teams/fans will have to get used to with the NHL's current trend of defensemen that want to be forwards. Unfortunately, Matheson struggles the most on the defensive side of things. As a defenseman on a team that is defensively inept right now, it's an awful combination. His biggest weakness is his propensity to turn the puck over in his own end - often leading to quality chances from the opposition (as evident by the Penguins first goal). He also doesn't use his size to his advantage, which results in losing board battles and (like a lot of the Cat’s blueliners) often fails to clear the front of the net. I sometimes wonder if he's a product of his environment. What does that mean? I think it relates to some of the things we touched on in the last blog. The team's lack of identity and coaching feel like they're intertwined at this point. Guys often seem lost out there on the ice. As such, I wonder if Matheson's role is defined to him or not. Could it be that he's just not sure how the coaches want him to play? Is it him trying to do too much? Does he need to play in a different system? Is he just not that good? A combo of all these things? In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Ryan Hartman in his Chicago days. Hartman showed signs early that he could be the combo of grit and skill the Hawks sorely needed. But then he wasn’t.
Somewhere along the line, he didn't know if he was supposed to be a physical player or a skilled one. It was like he was overthinking things. It caused him to botch plays, turn the puck over, struggle offensively, take bad penalties out of frustration, etc., all of which led to frustration amongst fans. I think in some respects, Matheson finds himself in a similar situation. Maybe he's overthinking things or not thinking things enough. When I think of defensively competent/strong teams, there's usually a guy (or two) that serve as anchors on the backend. I'm not sure the Panthers have a true leader(s) back there right now... Yandle? I don't know if I get that vibe from him. Ekblad? Not yet, but I think he will be soon. I think Brian Campbell helped bring a calming veteran presence of sorts; and while I might get ripped for this one (or the blog as a whole), everything I read/heard about Gudbranson pointed to him having that leadership trait when he was in Florida. Personally, with his size, speed and age (25), I think there is still potential for upside with Matheson. With such a strange season taking place, I'd be willing to work with him a bit longer. If there's not significant improvement by season’s end, then maybe you look to unload him in the summer? While his biggest enemy might be himself at this point, I think the coaching staff can help by cutting back his TOI. He racked up 29:24 minutes of ice time on Tuesday. That’s wild to me. I feel like he would benefit better with less time. Let him work in bursts. The more ice time, the more possibility for errors at this point. Scale it back for him. Short, solid shifts can help build confidence. He might benefit from that. I actually felt for him on that play in OT against Pittsburgh. I don't blame him for the turnover, as the pass from Borgstrom was in His skate and not in the safer area where his stick was. He's literally reached the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" point with fans. Had he tied up/hooked Guentzel or taken him down for a penalty or penalty shot, fans would have been screaming - at least the ones who don't know what a good penalty is. Either way, he was getting the blame for the loss Tuesday regardless of how the team played through the first three periods. While his play has been suspect at key times (unfortunately), let's face it, this team has also been pretty suspect and it’s all very frustrating. With their playoff chances almost nonexistent at this point and with their current play, I'd like to see some of the young guys (mainly Hunt, Stillman and Monty) take on a bigger role. I've liked what I've seen in Hunt and want to Stillman and Monty get in a few more games here.
I’m sure fans would be OK with swapping Matheson for Stillman a few nights...haha. Anyways, it should be an interesting one against the big bad Bruins tonight who sit in second place of the Atlantic Division with 89 points and an impressive 40-17-9 record...
Florida has their work cut out for them.
Go Panthers!