SUNRISE — The 80s music was cranking in a joyous Florida Panthers locker room on Wednesday night, the playlist shifting from Tom Petty to Neil Diamond without a break.
Yeah, when the Panthers are winning, life is good in Sunrise.
And the music has been turned up to 11 a lot lately.
The Panthers have turned things around in a hurry, going from last place in the Eastern Division following a lackluster loss to the rival Toronto Maple Leafs back on Dec. 2 back into a playoff spot — at least temporarily — after Wednesday’s wackadoo 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
After the win, former Panthers defenseman Jason Demers, now an analyst for NHL Network, tweeted out that ‘he rest of the Eastern conference should ashamed they let the Florida Panthers back into the playoff picture. Now you’re all in big trouble 🔥🔥.’
Well, the Western Conference has certainly had a say in Florida’s comeback.
And, since we’re not even in January yet, it is not much to brag about.
Florida’s tie with Montreal for the last playoff spot was short lived.
The New Jersey Devils slid into the final playoff spot (with like 50 games remaining) after beating Vegas in a shootout.
But the Panthers are a mere three points back of Detroit for first in the Atlantic so, that’s something anyway.
The rest of the Eastern conference should ashamed they let the Florida Panthers back into the playoff picture. Now you’re all in big trouble 🔥🔥
P.S
Sam Bennett is a ⭐️
— jason demers (@jasondemers5) December 18, 2025
Since the 4-1 loss to the Maple Leafs, the Panthers have ripped off a stretch where they have won six of the past seven with points in seven of eight.
It all started when Carter Verhaeghe came back from his one-game paternity sabbatical and scored in what was a 2-1 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators.
Florida has now beaten Columbus, the Islanders, Utah, Dallas, Tampa Bay, and the Kings — three of the six wins coming against the West.
Regardless, the Panthers appear to be back on track.
They are certainly enjoying themselves.
“At the start of the year, it was a little bit of a struggle to get going,’’ said Verhaeghe, who scored again Wednesday, giving him nine goals in the past 11 games.
“Now, we’re finally starting to go. I don’t know what’s changed, but we’re having fun out there.”
Indeed.
Paul Maurice was asked a couple of times what has been the difference since that loss to Toronto, one he said his Panthers “got beat. We got beat. I’m not just saying that. We got beat.’’
Florida, after all, had lost five straight home games — it’s longest Sunrise Slide since just before Covid shut things down in 2020 — and had sunk below every other team in the Eastern Conference standings.
Getting Eetu Luostarinen back from a freak accident in which he was severely burned after his propane grill exploded while attempting to cook up some steaks, Maurice said, has been the difference.
Yes, Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett are burning up the scoresheet, but having Luostarinen back and doing what he does on both ends of the ice has brought balance back to the Florida lineup.
Florida was without Verhaeghe and Luostarinen against Toronto, absences which only added to the team’s injury woes and tested its depth in a most negative manner.
“We were down eight, and when you get to that number, you’re going to have a hard time,’’ Maurice said. “Carter came back after his wife had the baby, and we got a point. We played a little bit better. Then Luosty came back into the lineup. So, now, you’re back to a more manageable number of injuries and I think we started to play better.”
The Panthers are also getting some pretty solid goaltending.
Sure, Sergei Bobrovsky has been good.
But so has been Daniil Tarasov who made 27 saves on Wednesday.
The only two goals going against him were a power-play deflection in front of the net and another off the shin pad of Kevin Fiala when Gus Forsling sent a rocket of a clearing attempt that ricocheted into the only slice of net the Florida goalie did not have time to cover.
“Sometimes bad bounces happen,” Tarasov said with a grin when asked about the goal. “And, I was like ‘nothing happened.’ … It was kind of a funny moment.”
Florida’s three goals, by the way, did not come conventionally, either.
Anton Lundell bunted a shot from Aaron Ekblad through to tie the score in the second before Verhaeghe sent a pass toward the net that was just out of Bennett’s reach but hit someone in front and made the puck slip through.
Just 10 seconds into the third, Brad Marchand picked off an errant clearing attempt deep in the zone, threw a quick shot at the net.
The shot looked like it would have gone in clean, only Bennett’s stick was in front and it went off that and past Anton Forsberg who certainly deserved better than getting this L.
Both the Kings and Panthers had their moments of dominance, with Los Angeles bringing it hard and heavy in the third after pulling within a goal.
But the bounces went Florida’s way this night.
Sometimes, that’s what happens when a team is winning.
And having fun doing so.
“Over the last couple of weeks, it’s kind of clicked,’’ Lundell said. “We all know how to play, so it’s been more about finding the same page with all the small details. I think now we’re executing those details better and that’s obviously helping our play. It shows on the scoreboard as well.”
ON DECK: GAME No. 34
CAROLINA HURRICANES at FLORIDA PANTHERS
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
Series Schedule — At Panthers: Friday. At Carolina: Tuesday; Jan. 16
Last Regular Season: Panthers Won 2-1
All-Time Regular Season Series: Carolina/Hartford leads 74-49-10, 11 ties
Postseason History: Florida 2-0 (d. Carolina in 2023 ECF in 4; 2025 ECF in 5)
