The Panthers are in one right now. It seems they either win by four or five goals, or lose by four or five. The only consistency they have is in their inconsistency and that’s not where you want to be.

The 5-2 loss at the hands of the Kraken (who, by the way, were on a three-game skid entering that game) was especially frustrating because of the amount of bad/lazy turnovers that led to good scoring opportunities, if not goals. Even worse is the trend of Florida defensemen leaving the opposition alone, completley uncontested, in front of the net. Jordan Eberle’s goal (Seattle’s third) was a fantastic illustration of that.

We feel like broken records repeating the same errors and pitfalls we see every night — only to become more upset when they’re not corrected by the next game.

We can only speculate what’s going on with this team at the present moment, but it feels like there is something much bigger than injuries and illnesses — because every team deals with those and they figure it out. I have seen some fans theorize that there’s a disconnect between Maurice and the team, that perhaps he’s lost the locker room. The lack of fight/general lifelessness at points, combined with guys frequently missing assignments and out of position, backs up that theory.

And so the Panthers get back to work tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team they lost to in their previous meeting.

Per Jameson Olive:

“The Panthers will be looking for some payback when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets (10-15-2) at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday. In their first meeting this season back on Nov. 20, the Blue Jackets secured a 5-3 win over the Panthers in Columbus. Coming out on top in each of their last two games, the Blue Jackets enter this week on the heels of a 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Kings in which Johnny Gaudreau scored 40 seconds into overtime to seal the two points. First on the team in scoring, Gaudreau has racked up 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists). Far behind in second, Boone Jenner has produced 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists). Starting each of the last four games, Elvis Merzlikins has gone 4-7-0 with a .862 save percentage this season. For the Panthers, look for Eric Staal to keep on picking up points in this contest. Finding his way onto the scoresheet in five of the last six games, he's tallied one goal and five assists in that stretch.”

I believe Florida will pull out of this tailspin, only to fall into another, pull out of that one, and so on…it’s just feels like it’s going to be that kind of season now that we’re 29 games in.

What do you guys think?

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Let’s see some inspired play tonight. Go Panthers!

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