Hyde: Panthers are good, but how good?
Next 3 games vs. Tampa likely to prove whether Panthers’ opening month is legit
Anyone who has been all-in on the Florida Panthers for the last quarter-century remains fixated on that stupid clearing pass in Game 3 of the 1997 playoffs by Jody Hull in Madison Square Garden that was knocked down by New York Rangers defenseman Ulf Samuelsson and deposited in the back of the Panthers net.
You remember, right? The Eastern Conference quarterfinal series changed then. The karma changed then. The Panthers went dark then.
And now they’re back.
Let me repeat that: THEY’RE BACK, BABY!
Well, maybe. Possibly. And maybe, possibly, it’s just overreaction fueled by a good first month and a quarter-century of hope against history that hockey is relevant in town again. But look at the Central Division standings after one month:
1. Tampa Bay Lightning. 19 points.
2. Florida Panthers. 16 points. On Thursday, the Panthers start a three-game series against Tampa Bay to answer the big question too.
No, the question isn’t: Did baseball take over hockey’s schedule-making? The question is whether this start is a tease, a fluke — a nice run but no reason to start throwing rats.
Tampa is a good measure too. It’s the rich cousin you’re jealous of these days. Look at its past sports year — it won the Super Bowl, it won the Stanley Cup, it lost in the World
Series just to keep everyone humble. The only way Tampa could have more fun is for Tom Brady to skate with the Lightning on Thursday.
Jealous?
Who isn’t?
And now the champs come to town Thursday to explain this Panthers start. Florida had a chance to earn 20 points through its first 10 games; it got 16. The only thing that’s stopped the firstmonth rampage is the pandemic that postponed four games.
So what’s different from last year — from most years, really?
“I think in [the] course of [the] game there’s a little more enthusiasm in our team game,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I think we play faster, a little harder, [with] more purpose across the board.
“The team has [been] going into games — whether it’s a belief, whether it’s attitude, whether it’s doing things the right way or harder to play against — it’s all the things we talk about.
“I think they’re improved. And I think we got some depth. There’s a number of guys pushing to get in the lineup or trying to stay in the lineup. I think that can be healthy. We’ve got to manage that so it remains.”
Here’s what you heard: enthusiasm, purpose, belief. attitude.
All better. All important intangibles.
Here’s what you didn’t hear: tangibles, things such as more goals scored, fewer goals against, better goaltending and better special teams.
You didn’t hear anything about the tangibles because, really, no single number explains this except a 6-2 record in one-goal games (including overtimes). The Panthers’ goal scoring is down about a half-goal a game, but that’s reflected a change in tempo, as seen by goals-against being down from a third-worst 3.25 a game last year to this month’s 22nd-ranked 2.65.
So the defense has tightened up, headlined by the goaltending, right? Well, hmm. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had his first good game in a while in Tuesday’s 2-1 win against Detroit. He still ranks 44th in the league with a 3.07 goals-against average. Meanwhile, reserve Chris Dreidger’s 1.99 goals-against is 11th in the league.
Translation: It’s too early for conclusions, but not too early for the pitter-patter of hockey hope. No matter whether the Panthers’ schedule has been heavy with low-hanging teams such as Nashville, Chicago and Detroit. They’ve been lumped in such groups for years.
“I just think when we are in these kind of games, we’re comfortable,” Quenneville said of Tuesday’s one-goal win. “You’re comfortable on the ice, trusting everybody. Everybody gets a turn, and they are getting the job done. We can learn from these games.”
Now comes Tampa Bay to decide just what this good first month means for the Panthers. Three games. Three litmus tests. Three nights to measure whether it’s too soon to conclude this franchise simply had a good first month or such a good first month to say big things are ahead.
The Panthers are back. Maybe. Possibly. Stay tuned.