Fansided

The Florida Panthers are the NHL’s playoff dark horse

By Brad Berreman

SUNRISE, FL - JANUARY 9: Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Florida Panthers defends the net against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at the BB&T Center on January 9, 2020 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL - JANUARY 9: Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Florida Panthers defends the net against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at the BB&T Center on January 9, 2020 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /
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Subpar goaltending has been paired with a prolific offense thus far, but the Florida Panthers are in line to be a serious factor in the Eastern Conference.

The hiring of three-time Stanley Cup winner Joel Quenneville as head coach naturally raised expectations for the Florida Panthers this season. But if the season ended today, which it obviously doesn’t, the Panthers would only edge into the playoffs as the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

It’s been a season of stark contradiction thus far for the Panthers. They enter Monday’s action atop the league in the league in goals per game (3.62), with the league’s sixth-most potent power play as well (23.4 percent). But the other end of the ice has been a problem.

Florida made a big move to upgrade their goaltending situation during the offseason, signing Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year, $70 million contract. But he has not delivered to anywhere near that level yet, with a 3.29 goals against average and a .896 save percentage in 34 games as the Panthers are allowing the fifth-most goals in the league (3.31 per game). He also missed Sunday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with an upper body injury, but is expected to play Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings.

If Bobrovsky simply has a correction back toward what he did last year with the Columbus Blue Jackets, when he posted a .913 save percentage, he’ll keep a fair amount more pucks out of the net. The Panthers are allowing the 11th-most shots against so far this season (32.2 per game), so a little improvement in front of him might be helpful too.

With a potent offense that is simply outscoring opponents and making them pay for going into the penalty box on a proficient basis, the Panthers are looking like a very dangerous team down the stretch and into the playoffs. Assuming the play between the pipes doesn’t continue to be a let-down, of course. But assuming health Bobrovsky has nowhere to go but up, and the Panthers have a chance to climb the standings in concert.

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