With ten games in the books this season, the Florida Panthers’ start has been a bit of a mixed bag.
On one hand, the team is not playing overly well. Its record so far is 5-4-1, which, if the season ended today, would be on the outside of the playoff picture.
Of course, it is far too early to start talking about “if the playoffs started today” scenarios, but for last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners, there’s no doubt that they had hoped for a better start to the year.
The last week or so has been especially frustrating. The Panthers are 1-3 in their last four games, and they’ve surrendered 14 goals in those contests. What’s worse is that the losses have come against the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Arizona Coyotes.
It’s not all bad for the Florida Panthers.
Sure, some of those teams are off to surprisingly strong starts, but most fans still expect those to be some of the worst teams in hockey and therefore teams that the Cats should beat.
With all of that said, there is one definite bright spot for Florida: Matthew Tkachuk. As we all know, the Panthers acquired the 24-year-old left-winger from the Calgary Flames over the summer, and he’s been tasked with replacing the production of Jonathan Huberdeau.
So far, he has not disappointed. In ten games this season, Tkachuk has scored five goals and eight assists for 13 points. He leads the Panthers in all three categories and has five more points than his next closest teammate.
The first-year Panther is averaging 21:28 of ice time per game, which is fifth among Florida skaters and second among forwards behind captain Aleksander Barkov.
Whether we’re looking at the ten-game start to the new campaign or the 82-game season as a whole, the Cats want to know that their new superstar is playing at the same level at which he played in Calgary. To this point, it looks like they’re going to get what they paid for.
There’s a lot of season left for Florida to start playing at a higher level as a team, but for now, they should take comfort in the play of Matthew Tkachuk.