SUNRISE — When the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions have a losing streak and sits in last place in their division, people take notice and that has been the case with the Florida Panthers.
It seems almost everyone has a reason for the losses — and are more than willing to offer up a solution.
Not that easy.
The reasons offered for the losses are plentiful.
The solutions? Not that easy to come by.
The Panthers are 0-3-1 in what is their longest homestand of the season, one that wraps up with games against the Columbus Blue Jackets today, and the New York Islanders on Sunday.
“I had not noticed,’’ Paul Maurice deadpanned Friday.
Two of the four teams Florida has lost to have losing records; three of the four did not make the playoffs last season.
So, what ails the champion Panthers?
One glaring deficiency is their inability to hold a lead.
The term “Comeback Cats” was once very descriptive of the team.
Not so much today.
In three of the past four losses, the Panthers scored first.
Against Calgary and Philadelphia, Florida led 2-0. Each game in their four-game losing streak was winnable going into the third, only the Panthers were outscored 6-1 in the final frame.
Over 26 games, the Panthers are 9-3-1 when scoring first, not much different than in years past over the same number of games.
The difference, however, is that two of the three losses and the overtime loss came in the last four games.
Maurice could easily blame injuries for the team’s current woes.
He has brought it up, sure, but throwing that out as an excuse is not his style.
Other teams have the same handicap. Injuries have taken a heavy toll league-wide this season.
“This is our team” is his frequent response to the injury issue.
Maurice appreciates the effort he is getting from the present squad. Say what you will about the Panthers, but they play hard every single night.
“You’ve got to be careful how hard you squeeze a team that’s got a bunch of guys out and a bunch of new guys trying their butts off,’’ Maurice said. “You’re just careful with it.”
For the record, seven Panthers are out injured, six of whom played in last year’s Stanley Cup Final.
The entire fourth line in Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Predators — Noah Gregor, Jack Studnicka, and Luke Kunin — were acquired in the off-season.
One of the more difficult tasks in a losing streak is to maintain confidence in themselves.
This is where a coach like Maurice excels.
“You’re not going to be confident (in a losing streak). It’s an impossible thing to give. It’s got to be earned,’’ Maurice said. “You just need to stack up smaller plays, break your game down to incremental things. Moving the puck on the tape, finishing checks, just getting pucks on the net instead of picking corners but – we’re cracking posts right now but the opportunity is there.”
Columbus and the New York Islanders come to Sunrise over the weekend.
Both teams are just out of a playoff berth but are close enough in the standings to be considered contenders.
Both teams have their share of injuries: Columbus is missing Boone Jenner, Erik Gudbranson, and Mathieu Olivier. The Islanders have a huge casualty list, headed by goalie Semyon Varlamov, Kyle Palmieri, Jonathan Drouin, and J.G. Pageau.
The Blue Jackets and Islanders both won their past games.
The Islanders ended streaks of two pretty good teams, Colorado and Tampa Bay.
Things will not get easier for the depleted Panthers.
Perhaps that is how they like it.
“You have to keep your wits about you when you are in this kind of adversity,” Aaron Ekblad said.
“It’s never going to be easy. We know that. We don’t want it to be easy. Nobody would talk about it if it was easy. We are excited about the challenge of turning the season around and getting to the point where we feel comfortable. We’re going to scratch and claw for points the whole way.”
ON DECK: GAME No. 27
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS at FLORIDA PANTHERS
