The Cats find themselves in the midst of a tailspin as they gear up to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight.
Florida charged out of the gates to an 11-3-1 record. But that strong play evaporated, and the Cats are now 1-6-0 in their last seven games.
Somebody mentioned in the last blog about FLA players saying they need to get back to playing “Panthers hockey” and wondered what that entailed.
To me, “Panthers hockey” is marked by tenacity and hard play each shift. Florida seems to have lost that scrappy attitude, where they grind down the opposition with relentlessly digging for the puck and causing pressure via the forecheck.
When winning, Florida entered every game with the confidence they could compete with/beat anyone. This “look” and “feel” on the ice has been absent during this stretch of losing. Defensive lapses, Bob/Knight being chased from the net, and poor possession, coupled with inability to score, has all fed into more marks for the L column than the W.
The loss to Chicago should have been the eye-opener to snap out of it and get back on track...
Things will only get tougher tonight for the Cats, as the top dog in the Atlantic Division, Maple Leafs, come to town.
As our friends at
Litter Box Cats point out:
“
The well-rested Maple Leafs come into tonight’s tilt riding a four-game winning streak that has allowed them to pass the flagging Panthers in the standings. In their last outing on Sunday, the surging Buds parlayed a strong second period into a 3-2 victory over the visiting Utah Hockey Club. Leading scorer Mitch Marner tallied twice and Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots to give Toronto a 7-2-1 record over its last ten. Auston Matthews, who has missed Toronto’s last eight games, could make his return.”
The 12-9-1 Florida Panthers are desperate, and with each loss, inch closer to .500 and serious regression.
Who will be the one(s) to step up and lead them out of this poor play?
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Go Panthers!
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
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