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With nine new starters from last season and key cogs Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad, and Jussi Jokinen out with injuries, the Panthers are gelling. It might be slow, but it's not as if the team has looked bad in its three losses thus far.
Yes they are a little soft on the puck right now, which is natural when the lineup is relatively small without Bjugstad. They are not taking space away quick enough from opposing forwards, resulting in too many quality chances. That can be corrected quickly.
Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, and Reilly Smith are off to slow starts, which is only temporary.
Knee-jerk critics will say this is what happens when you tinker too much with something that wasn't broken. After the most successful season in franchise history there was a lot more change in the offseason than most expected. Gone are Gudbranson, Kulikov, Campbell, Mitchell, Howden, Purcell, and Hudler. In are Marchessault, Sceviour, Rau, Yandle, Demers, Pysyk, Harper, Malgin, and McCann.
Such change needs time to come together. There is certainly enough talent to do some damage in the East. Once the chemistry improves the Cats will be fine.
One of the bright spots so far is Florida is the least penalized team in the league. This team has not been the most disciplined bunch over the last several years so that is a refreshing statistic. They are also the 7th best penalty killing unit. While some players work through their early season slumps this is important in keeping games close.
Roberto Luongo and James Reimer are off to solid starts. The defense in front of them is still a work in progress and once they get it together that should serve the team well in the long term.
It's natural for Panther Nation to be a little restless after losing their third road game in a row to Toronto 3-2 last night, including another 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Even for a banged up squad there are lofty expectations for this club.
The ebbs and flows of a season can be maddening, but incremental improvements should be on the way to make Florida a very dangerous team for the rest of the year.
Pushing the panic button now is way premature. They are health and a few tweaks away from winning much more than losing.
Next up: A rare afternoon back to back at Buffalo and Detroit this weekend. The Panthers need at least 3 points to feel they salvaged this road trip.
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