3 Reasons for Florida Panthers Elimination From 2021 NHL Playoffs

It was a very exciting season for the Florida Panthers, who were near the top of the league standings all year long. Many expected that they could not only win their first playoff series since 1996, but go on a deep playoff run as a result. However, when it was confirmed they would be playing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round, everyone realized just how difficult that series would be.

As it turns out, the series did prove to be very tough, as despite a hard fought battle the Panthers lost out in six games. While it certainly stings right now, this is a very talented organization that has a very bright future ahead. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be this year. With that being said, here are the three main reasons Florida was eliminated in the first round.

3. Bad Penalties

Though the Lightning were the better team, the Panthers may have had a chance to advance if it weren’t for some extremely undisciplined play. Not only does their 106 penalty minutes currently lead all playoff teams, but the timing they took some of these penalties was very concerning. To make matters even worse, their penalty kill was atrocious at just 60 per cent.

Perhaps the worst penalty taken came in Game 1 when Sam Bennett hit Blake Coleman hard from behind. At the time of the play, the Panthers held a 4-3 lead with under 10 minutes remaining. However, the Lightning were able to score on the power play to tie things up, and scored shortly thereafter to take a 5-4 lead and never looked back. Not only did the dangerous and unnecessary help hand Tampa the victory, it also resulted in Bennett receiving a one game suspension.

2. Missing Ekblad

When Aaron Ekblad was drafted first overall by the Panthers in 2014, many thought that he had Norris Trophy potential. He certainly lived up to the hype in his rookie year, as he was awarded the Calder Trophy after a 39-point season. However, he failed to make the jump from good to elite. That changed this season, as the 25-year-old was having a potential Norris Trophy winning campaign prior to sustaining a season ending leg fracture.