The Florida Panthers are going to the postseason once again. After a tough round, one loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last season they are back looking for a deeper run. Let’s go over three reasons to believe in the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
The Panthers finished the season with the best record in the entire NHL. They went 58-18-6 finishing with 122 points. They were first in the league in goals for with 340, 11th for goals against with 246, and they go into the postseason with a first-round matchup against the Washington Capitals.
Florida enters the playoffs with four forwards with more than 30 goals and six players with more than 50 points. The season definitely was a success for them, but as always it is what happens in the postseason that matters the most.
Interim head coach Andrew Brunette handled taking over after Joel Quenneville was fired very well. Brunette might still have the interim title next to his name but he did coach them to 51 additional wins after Quenneville was fired.
So, let’s go over a few reasons the Florida Panthers have a good chance to go on a deep run this postseason:
1. The Best Offense In The League
Florida has the highest-scoring offense in the entire league. While goals don’t roll over into the postseason, that is a good confidence boost to have going in. Goals definitely are harder to come by in the playoffs but if Florida can score even at a rate of three goals per game they should be confident in the postseason. Remember this team scored at a rate of 4.14 goals per game throughout the regular season so three shouldn’t be too hard to come by.
2. Jonathan Huberdeau And The Rest Of The Core
Jonathan Huberdeau might not have his name as high up on the MVP list as he or the fans in Florida would like. The postseason is the biggest stage to prove everyone wrong. Considering this team has a handful of great players in their core like Barkov, Reinhart, Duclair and Ekblad, they are going to be fun to watch in the playoffs.
3. The Big Additions
I have to mention a few names as reasons to believe in the team. Primarily the big trade deadline addition of Claude Giroux. Giroux is looking for a championship, and he chose Florida literally over every other team in the league to get him there. So far in his limited appearance with the team, he has been really successful putting up 23 points and 20 assists through 18 games with the team.
The other player I want to mention is the other older player chasing a championship – Joe Thornton went from Tampa Bay down to Florida to chase a Stanley Cup. Having a player like that in the locker room every day definitely matters to a group and I can’t wait to see the games he does get into this postseason.