Someone might want to put an APB out on where the Florida Panthers are, because the team that has been posing as them for the last week is clearly an imposter. What this group is doing is borderline ridiculous. In fact, they are on the verge of franchise history if they pull out a win in New Jersey Sunday night.
This 5-game road trip that ends Sunday has been one largely about reversing trends. After defeating Detroit at Joe Louis Arena for the 5th straight time and 6 of their last 7, it was off to St. Louis where the Panthers had not won since 2009 and usually leave beaten to a pulp. The Panthers instead played arguably their best game of the season in a 3-1 victory where they controlled play throughout.
Panther fans surely were in shock, and had to feel reality would hit hard two nights later in Nashville, where Florida had not one since 1999. But the young Cats came through with another hard fought 2-1 victory with the help of goals from Quinton Howden and a power play tally from Jonathan Huberdeau.
Ok, ok. Enough already. It was time for the other shoe to drop, and Columbus was the perfect place for it to happen. On back to back nights and playing the 5th game in 8 days, the Panthers were due for a letdown. But once again Florida overcame fatigue and came through with a 2-1 victory in a shootout, winning at Nationwide Arena for just the 3rd time in franchise history and the first time since 2007.
On Nov. 24th I wrote this Panther team had to go on a 5 or 6 game win streak to offset their inconsistent play, but I did not believe that was possible for this team with the way they had been playing. It was more likely to see a unicorn in the park. Well I've been proven wrong, and this team is starting to believe in themselves and prove the naysayers wrong.
Columbus is a struggling team right now, but beating 4 straight playoff teams(including the Islanders at Sunrise on Nov. 27th) is beyond rare for this organization. The Panthers have tied a franchise record for most consecutive road wins (5), which was set in 2008. History could be made against the Devils Sunday night.
Other tidbits about this streak:
- The Panthers have been simply incredible on the penalty kill, killing 18 in a row and 23 of the last 25. - The last 5-game win streak of any kind was Dec. 10th-19th, 2013. - Florida lost six straight at Columbus and 10 of the last 11 overall before Friday. - Vincent Trocheck already has set his career high in goals with 8 in just the 26th game this season. He had 7 in 50 games last year. - Al Montoya got the start in Columbus and played his first complete game since Nov. 5th. He is now 3-1-1 in 6 starts with a 2.09 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
The Panthers find themselves firmly back in the playoff mix as they go for all 10 available points on this trip. They are currently 4 points behind the Red Wings for second in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand.
But the question will be how long is this sustainable with Florida still struggling to score more goals. They have allowed 6 goals while scoring only 12 during this streak. While the defense has been outstanding, that cannot be relied upon for the rest of the season if this team is to make the postseason.
But for now, unicorns are welcome. Making history is more important than winning pretty.
Dan Spiegel Florida Panthers Media Follow me on Twitter Join the Florida Panthers Insiders FB Page Connect with me on Google Plus