Their 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday notwithstanding, the Florida Panthers have been on a roll since the all-star break, winning 12 of 19 and getting back into the wild-card race in the Eastern Conference. They are one point out of a playoff spot following the Pittsburgh Penguins’ win against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Panthers coach Paul Maurice explained how the team has turned around its season.
“We now compete much harder in the five feet of ice that the puck is in,” Maurice told reporters. “We play a completely different style of game, and we generate offence differently now. We believe that we generate offence the way that you could at this time of year. In the playoffs, it’s a harder offensive game. There’s not as much stretch in our game. There’s not as much looping in our game. It’s built more for hard hockey.”
Last season, when the Panthers won the Presidents’ Trophy, they were one of the most freewheeling teams in the NHL, finishing tied for second in the regular season with 499 rush scoring chances at 5-on-5 (6.09 per game). The Tampa Bay Lightning, however, neutralized the Panthers’ rush attack in a second-round sweep. Florida averaged 4.5 rush chances at 5-on-5 over those four games, scoring just once that way.
In response, the Panthers hired Maurice and swapped Jonathan Huberdeau for Matthew Tkachuk last summer, signaling a shift in identity. The move away from an up-and-down style of play took some time, but it appears that the Panthers have figured things out under Maurice.
The Panthers now rely less on their rush game to create offence at 5-on-5, ranking ninth in rush chances. No team dumped in the puck at a lower rate last season than the Panthers, who did so 44 per cent of the time. That has increased to 51.4 per cent this season. They have fallen from first to 20th in offensive-zone carry-ins per game.
Florida has produced 268 shots on net off of dump-in recoveries, tied for sixth most in the league. In the offensive zone, the Panthers are playing a more straight-ahead game. They are attempting fewer east-west passes per game, dropping from 14th to 30th.
Despite changing their offensive approach, the Panthers have not sacrificed much in the way of shot quality. After leading the league last season with 2.61 expected goals per game at 5-on-5, they are tied for fifth this season at 2.07 xGF per game.
“(Maurice) came in trying to…put some of the team energy into defence and structure and system, as opposed to a more freewheeling style, and that’s hard to do,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito told the Miami Herald.
There are other reasons for the Panthers’ recent success. They are as close to full health as they have been since the start of the season and Sergei Bobrovsky has steadily improved in goal.
Above all else, though, Maurice sees a team that is better equipped for playoff-style hockey.
“I think we have a game that we understand that we can replicate,” Maurice said. “In the playoffs, the rush game disappears, the pucks go to the walls, and it’s a grind. We’re good at that now.”
All stats from Sportlogiq
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