Five on five, the Panthers are solid. Goaltending, solid. Blue line, solid. Night in and night out the Panthers are in the game and currently hold a 20-13-10 record. The are also four points out of the last playoff spot held by the Bruins with three games in hand.
So what is the problem?
The power play. BIG TIME.
Make no mistake about it. If the Panthers had even an average power play, they'd be near the top of the Eastern Conference. Several of those overtime losses would have been victories, and multiple regulation losses would have gone into overtime.
Last season the Panthers finished dead last in the league on the power play. Not coincidentally they were one of the worst teams in the league in the standings at the end of the year(which thankfully resulted in picking Aaron Ekblad).
This year they are 29th on the power play scoring at an embarrassing 13.2% clip. They also have scored on only 1 of their last 19 opportunities. In a league where special teams make much of the difference between success and failure, the Panthers are in trouble. Even head coach Gerard Gallant is at a loss for answers. The team works hard on it and practices it every day, yet the results aren't there.
Yet there is a silver lining.
Even with a power play as inept as it is, this season is a resounding success to this point. The Panthers are in the hunt and showing the league they are very close to being a perennial playoff contender.
While they have no time to go into a slump when every team they are chasing is seemingly red hot, the overall quality of this roster is much better than it has been in many years. They are succeeding in spite of their power play. Should that unit catch a spark, it may be all that is needed to secure a playoff berth.
However, that is a big if. When a team is 43 games in and struggling this bad with the man-advantage, how much can it really improve?
It's not like the Panthers don't have the personnel to score. Aaron Ekblad, Brian Campbell, Jonathan Huberdeau, Jussi Jokinen, and Jimmy Hayes have shown they are very capable of being effective on the power play. Hayes alone is a huge asset in terms of setting screens and converting rebounds into scores. Yet the struggles continue.
Making matters worse, the Panthers aren't earning that many chances on the power play to begin with. With practically everyone more effective on the advantage than they are, some very much so, it is imperative that Florida takes advantage of the opportunities they do get because the playoff push demands it.
Unless the Panthers only take one or two penalties a game the rest of the way, they could be in trouble. A lot of great coaching and individual efforts will be wasted because one specialty unit couldn't get their act together.
It's hard to imagine Trocheck and Pirri getting infused to this unit could do anything but improve the results. With one game left before the All-Star break, it's time to see if such changes could be a glimpse into a much more successful second half of the season on the power play.
Dan Spiegel...