The Florida Panthers are stuck in a rut.
Florida lost its fourth straight game Thursday night when it gave up a late 1-0 lead to the Nashville Predators before losing 2-1 in overtime.
This is also the Panthers’ fifth straight home loss, which is a bit alarming in itself.
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26 games into the season, Florida is going to have a lot of work to do if it wants to get out of the basement of the Eastern Conference and back into the playoff race.
On to Thursday’s takeaways:
OVERALL TIGHT GAME
Thanks to Nashville, who looked like a much better team than the one dominated by Florida in pulling out an 8-3 victory last Monday in their barn.
This game was much different as the Predators were much more disciplined in their systems and benefited from much better goaltending in Juuse Saros.
That’s pretty much where the discipline stopped for both teams, as there were a total of 11 power plays on Thursday.
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No power play goals though.
“I think there was some offense on both teams,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “I think both teams’ shots on goal were really good, and it was a 1-1 game in the end because the goalkeepers were good.”
PENALTIES HAVE CHANGED MOMENTUM
Florida was in great shape for the first 40 minutes of the game.
Even though they held a slim 1-0 advantage, the Panthers controlled possession of the puck and accumulated scoring opportunities.
That all changed thanks to two penalties given to the Panthers, one in the final seconds of the second period and one almost immediately after the first expired.
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Even though Nashville didn’t score on either power play, starting the final quarter with a man down for nearly five minutes was enough to boost their confidence and change the tone of the game.
Florida also took advantage of three straight power plays in the second period, and when several of your power play players also go shorthanded, that’s a lot of ice time for a select group of players.
“Well, we come out, we’re in the box for four minutes in the first five minutes, and at that point we ran those top guys because we had so many minutes on the power play, there’s not a lot of rest for them, so (Nashville) goes a little bit faster than us,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “Most of their actions took place in the form of a barrage of fire. It was not sustained.”
BUILD ON SMALL VICTORY?
It’s not all doom and gloom for the Panthers.
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Frankly, it’s not possible.
There is still a lot of hockey left to be played this season, and Florida is a team that still knows its ceiling is much higher than what it has shown thus far.
Eventually, things should move back in a positive direction for the Panthers, but they need to start building toward that direction immediately.
“You’re not going to be confident,” Maurice said. “It’s an impossible thing to give. It has to be earned. You just have to accumulate smaller plays, break your game up into progressive pieces, move the puck up the boards, finish hits, put pucks on net instead of picking corners. But, you know, we’re drilling the posts right now, and at least that part is there. The opportunities are there.”
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Photo caption: December 4, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, United States; Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save against Nashville Predators left wing Erik Haula (56) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
