SUNRISE (CBSMiami) – The first place Panthers are in California for their annual West Coast swing.
They went west riding a five-game winning streak and a five-game road winning streak.
With some injuries at forward, the team’s depth is being tested, but so far passing with flying colors.
There are seven weeks left in the regular season, and then things really get ratcheted up in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Deadline
The NHL is a trading league and March 21 is the trade deadline.
The rumor mill has been active regarding the Panthers, but they are just that, rumors.
Sure, if General Manager Bill Zito can work more magic and add another defenseman or a high-end forward, he will. But it is easier said than done with the salary cap, the desire not to mess with the team’s great chemistry too much and a shortage of draft capital due to trades that brought in Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Brandon Montour over the past 13 months.
But the Panthers do have a number of well-regarded young forwards below the NHL level that are attractive to other teams. They can afford to give up a couple as they have just about all of their key forwards on the current roster signed for next season and many beyond that.
The assumption is the Cats will get at least one deal done to give this team the best chance to win a championship. Seasons like this one don’t come along often. The Panthers are firmly in the small mix of teams with a legitimate chance of winning the Cup.
Los Angeles Loss
The trip started with a tough shootout loss to the Kings, ending both winning streaks. It was a tough loss because Los Angeles was shorthanded due to injuries. And while the Panthers weren’t at their best and didn’t have their usual explosive offensive game, they did have a 2-1 lead in the final minute. The officials didn’t do Florida any favors as LA scored on the power play to tie the game with 32 seconds left. In the playoffs, teams must fight through adversity, such as calls not going your way. It was a good “lesson game” and the Cats still picked up one point to maintain their small cushion on second place Tampa Bay.
Knight Returns
Despite the loss, it was encouraging to see 20-year-old Spencer Knight have another good game in goal. After beating Buffalo 6-1 last week, Knight made 35 saves, allowing 2 goals in Los Angeles.
With back-to-back games in Vegas and Anaheim later in the week, Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky will likely split the games in net on this four-game trip.
It is imperative to keep Knight in the rotation playing games and not sitting for too long between starts. It’s a fair assumption that the Panthers want to keep Bobrovsky at approximately 55 games played, maximum, before what they hope is a long playoff run. That would leave the goalie split in Bobrovsky’s favor at about 14 games to nine games the rest of the way.
Offensive History… Again
All season the Panthers’ dynamic offense has set franchise and NHL records.
The latest has Florida as the highest scoring team in the last 25 years through 60 games of a season. And they still have a game to go to hit 60.
Numerous players are setting career highs for goals, assists and points led by Jonathan Huberdeau’s MVP-caliber season.
Huberedeau has shattered his own franchise record for assists in a season, 62, with plenty of games left. He is tracking to set the team record for points in a season, 96, held by Aleksander Barkov.
The NHL record for assists by a left winger is 70, and Huberdeau is on pace to blow that away and set the all-time record. It has been fun to watch the skill, playmaking ability and the elevation of Huberdeau’s game this season