Dwork On Sports: Relax, The Panthers Are Going To Be Fine
Welcome to the Dwork On Sports blog. This is a place where I'll cover all things related to South Florida sports, with a steady combination of facts and opinions while ultimately keeping a close eye on anything and everything related to our local teams.
Following a franchise-best record and a division championship last season, the expectations around the Florida Panthers ballooned over the summer. And in many ways, rightly so.
The Panthers have a ton of young talent that is still improving and the right mix of veteran production and leadership that leads many to believe that Florida is finally in the 'cup contender' category.
Things seemed to be all good when the Panthers opened the season with a 3-1-1 record after playing four of their first five games at home, but with the team's first road trip came the first bumps in the road.
Already without Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad due to injury, Florida lost Jussi Jokinen to a lower body injury that has kept him out for almost two weeks now.
The depth of the Panthers has been put to the test early this season and while the team has played some very good hockey, the consistency has been lacking.
Florida dropped three straight on the road in Pittsburgh, Toronto and Buffalo despite holding third period leads during the first two games.
So after 10 games the Panthers are holding a very mediocre 4-5-1 record, but I'm here to tell you that it's not time to panic. Or worry. Or sweat.
The team is going to be fine. They'll be in the playoffs and they'll be feared.
Starting at the back, Florida's goaltending is as solid as it's ever been with Roberto Luongo and James Reimer.
While I'm still not sold on Reimer as Luongo's heir apparent, he's got the talent to be a starting goalie in this league but the sample size with the Panthers is just too small to make a long-term judgement.
As for the defense, the new guys brought in during the offseason are doing exactly what was expected.
Just like with a new line combo, it's takes a little while for offensive defensemen to adapt to the forwards on a new team.
Give Yandle and Demers a little time to get better acclimated with their new teammates. Mark Pysyk is solid defensively with some offensive capabilities, definitely an upgrade over Dmitry Kulikov.
But the person I've been most impressed with this season is Alex Petrovic. He looks like a whole new player, providing mistake-free defense and still helping to create scoring chances.
It doesn't surprise me that the pairing of Yandle and Aaron Ekblad didn't last. It reminded me too much of when Ekblad was paired with Kulikov last season, just not enough defensive accountability which led to way too many scoring chances for the opposition.
Ekblad and rookie Mike Matheson are intriguing as a duo. They played well during the playoffs last season, though it was just for five games.
Matheson is still finding his footing and adjusting to the NHL but I expect him, like Ekblad, to learn on the fly and improve quickly and rapidly.
Moving on down the bench, Florida's forward unit is stacked, full of ascending talent that will be on the rise for a while.
Sometime in the next week the Panthers will get Nick Bjugstad and Jussi Jokinen back in the lineup.
Jokinen's return to the second line with Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith should spark the unit that has, much like the team, shown flashes of greatness but not the consistency that we saw a season ago.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Bjugstad when he comes back as he is expected to jump back into the third line center role.
Yes, Bjugstad is a third line center. That's how deep the forwards are.
What that means for rookie Dennis Malgin is yet to be seen. He's played very well in Bjugstad's absence but it's unknown if Gerard Gallant will move him to the wing in order to keep him on that third line.
If not, it would make the most sense to send Malgin to the AHL and get playing time with Springfield.
If Gallant moves Malgin to wing, expect Jared McCann to be the odd man out.
We're still at least two months away from seeing Jonathan Huberdeau back on the ice so we can discuss what to do with leading scorer Jonathan Marchessault at that time.
For now, Marchessault is the only thing keeping that top line afloat.
It's still the most skilled line on the team but for whatever reason it looks like Sasha Barkov and Jaromir Jagr are still trying to find their footing on the new season.
When they begin to tighten things up and do what they do best, create turnovers and control the puck in the offensive zone, the line's production level will pick up quickly.