CBS4's Steve Goldstein on the Florida Panthers return home
SUNRISE - It's safe to say the Florida Panthers' road trip to the "wild west" lived up to its billing.
The Panthers split the four game trip, with every game coming down to the very end, as has been the nightly case this season. There were numerous line-up changes due to injury and suspension as the trip had a little bit of everything.
Adversity means opportunity so the Panthers have had their share of chances to find out about themselves already.
Take The Points
The Panthers had their eye on gaining at least six points, playing three of the bottom teams in the league in Arizona, San Jose, and Anaheim. They ended up with four points due to a surprising loss to the Coyotes. The Panthers had leads in every game and were caught in each one, even the games they won.
Who Went Out
Patrick Hornqvist took a dirty hit to the head in game two in San Jose and didn't play again. He is day to day.
Matthew Tkachuk was suspended for 2 games. The Anaheim game was the first and he will miss Wednesday's home game against Carolina. The NHL department of player safety ruled he intentionally high sticked Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick. Rudy Balcers only played a couple of minutes in that game after taking a high stick in the face early on.
Sams' Club
There have been scoring opportunities galore for Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett. They finally broke through with Reinhart getting the game winner against the Ducks, his first goal of the season, and Bennett scoring his second for the insurance goal. Reinhart added the empty netter as well. The "Sams" are too talented to have the scoring drought go on all season but it was imperative they find the back of the net when they did.
Montour Star
With Aaron Ekblad out with injury, Brandon Montour continues his remarkable rise as the team's top defenseman. He tied a career high and franchise record for a defenseman with a four point game against his former team in Anaheim. Montour's skating ability is high end and he is flourishing offensively with good instincts and finding shooting lanes. He's also been excellent defensively developing into a full-package blueliner.
Offense Uprising
It's been a strange scoring season so far. The Panthers lead the NHL in quality scoring chances and shots. They are in the top 3 in most offense-driving statistical analyses, yet they are middle of the pack in goals. The law of averages has started to take effect, they've scored 12 goals in the past 3 games with the depth scoring and power play starting to pick up. Players still need to bear down more and finish plays at the net but the last few games have been encouraging.
On The Horizon
After playing 9 of the first 13 games on the road, albeit mostly against lower teams in the standings, the Panthers return home for an extended time. Besides a one-game trip to Columbus, they are home through Thanksgiving and need to make up some wins. Aaron Ekblad will return shortly to boost the defense and Tkachuk will be back from his suspension. The team has gone a fairly impressive 5-4-1 without Ekblad but left points on the table against Philadelphia, Chicago, Arizona and Los Angeles. Paul Maurice has said it takes about 20 games with a new team and system to assess the roster and players to get comfortable. The Panthers are approaching that mark soon.
