When the Florida Panthers boarded their flight to Winnipeg on Wednesday afternoon, many of them carried bulky winter coats onto the plane. They also knew a poor showing on this quick three-game trip could put a dent their playoff aspirations.
Sure, there are still plenty of games remaining in this season.
But after getting beat on home ice by the San Jose Sharks in pretty convincing fashion on Monday night, the Panthers did not look like they had a lot of hop in their collective step.
They are flying high now.
The Panthers went 3-0 on this road trip, one that could have gone either way to be completely honest.
Florida won in a shootout at Winnipeg on Thursday, then beat Minnesota in overtime on Saturday night.
Sunday, two goals from Toby Bjornfot and a strong collective effort helped fuel a 5-1 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago.
The Panthers had not won in either Winnipeg or Chicago since Paul Maurice became coach in 2022.
Those six points certainly helped the Panthers feel a lot better about things.
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“This has been a pretty good trip for us, right?” Maurice said Sunday night after beating the Blackhawks.
“We won in a bunch of places … we have played some of our worst hockey in this building, and we were on tonight. So, impressed with the group, how important the fourth line was for the win.
“We got to the hotel at 3:30 in the morning, and then it’s a 6 o’clock start. It’s got all the reasons you should get the doors blown off you. But [we were] really patient, really hard, smart.”
Chicago would not seem like an important win for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, but for some reason, the Blackhawks have had Florida’s number at United Center over the years.
“This was easily the toughest game of the road trip for us,’’ Maurice said. “Really impressed with the way the men played.’’
Florida’s three wins helped pull them within three points of the Boston Bruins for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Getting Matthew Tkachuk back on Monday night was certainly a lift the Panthers needed.
Brad Marchand returning Saturday in St. Paul was just as big.
The Panthers, at least on this road trip, certainly looked themselves again.
Florida has 31 games left before the season ends and 17 of those games are on the road.
The Panthers have certainly not shied from playing away from Sunrise.
Florida is 14-10-0 on the road this season with wins in six of the past seven.
Maurice has often said Florida’s hard-nosed, north-south style plays well on the road and it certainly has.
It will need to continue to do so.
The Panthers are back home on Tuesday against a Utah Mammoth team which goes into its game tonight at Tampa with wins in five straight and eight of nine.
Utah, which had been building up into a contender all those years as the Arizona Coyotes, appears to have turned a corner.
But, so have the Panthers.
Florida has six games remaining before a good chunk of its team heads off to Italy to play for gold at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.
Four of those six are at home, and all but two are against teams currently holding down a playoff spot including the resurgent Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins.
The Panthers certainly would like to go into the long Olympic break holding a playoff spot — and the coming 10 days will be big ones.
“We have the pedigree that when it’s hard, that doesn’t mean you can’t win,’’ Maurice said.
ON DECK: GAME No. 52
UTAH MAMMOTH at FLORIDA PANTHERS
