Panthers look to start a new winning streak after Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Devils
The Panthers returned to work in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday afternoon, a day after their nine-game winning streak ended.
There was little time to ponder what was and what could have been: Florida plays host to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday at 1 p.m.
The Panthers are happy they get the chance to start a new streak.
“We know what it takes to win every night, and this is a tough league,’’ defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “If we keep playing like that, we are going to give ourselves a chance to win.’’
On Saturday, the Panthers were down 2-0 to the visiting New Jersey Devils after the first period.
The Devils scored their first goal when an Alexander Holtz shot hit the stick of defender Dmitry Kulikov and beat Sergei Bobrovsky.
New Jersey led 3-0 when former Florida center Erik Haula — acquired from Carolina as part of the Vincent Trocheck deal in 2020 — fired a shot from the right circle.
“They had a couple of good bounces in our end and they capitalized on it,’’ said Bobrovsky, who was selected to his third All-Star team earlier Saturday.
The Panthers finally scored in the waning seconds of the period, Sam Reinhart scoring his 31st of the season on a power play pass from Matthew Tkachuk.
Florida got no closer. New Jersey backup Nico Daws stopped all 16 shots in the third, and the Devils won 4-1.
“I feel like, if we are going to lose a game, I liked how we did it,” coach Paul Maurice said after practice at the team’s new Iceplex facility at War Memorial Auditorium.
“Their goalie was really, really good. But we did not play a casual game. It did not come easy. But that’s what you need. The danger we face now is that we’re playing some teams in that so-called ‘danger zone.’ It’s like all the teams who had to play us last January. We were just hungrier than they were. You cannot manufacture that. We just have to deal with it and match up because teams are fighting for it.”
Many good things happened for the Panthers during the nine-game streak, which started Dec. 23 when Florida got a small measure of revenge against Vegas with a 4-2 win.
The Panthers beat the Golden Knights twice during the streak, with wins against playoff contenders Tampa Bay, the Rangers, Arizona, Colorado, St. Louis, and Los Angeles.
It was the third-longest winning streak in franchise history. The record is 13 consecutive victories from March 29 to April 23, 2022.
Florida won 12 in a row during the 2015-16 season.
And, when the Panthers go into Monday’s matinee against the Ducks, some pretty nice streaks are still alive.
Reinhart, for instance, has scored a power-play goal in six straight games to become just the fourth player in NHL history ever to do so.
He scored in all six games of 2024, becoming the 11th player with a six-game goal streak to begin a calendar year. The record is eight, set by Montreal’s Newsy Lalonde in 1920.
Meanwhile, Tkachuk saw his five-game goal streak end, but he has a point in eight straight games, scoring seven goals with 17 points during that time.
“It is a long season,’’ Brandon Montour said. “You are not going to be perfect every night, and I think we eased up a bit. We gave them a few chances. We know how to play the right way, we know our strengths. When we play to that, we are a dangerous hockey team.’’
