Florida Panthers Western Canada Road Trip Recap

After winning three straight games, the Panthers balanced it out by losing three of four games on their Western Canada road trip. Ironically, the only game they won was against Edmonton, where they iced a lineup that had their best defensive core that they’ve had all season. The road trip ended on a sour note, not because they lost, but because A.J. Greer performed a very dangerous hit on Zary in the final period, and a knee-on-knee hit to Mikkola resulted in him needing to be helped off the ice. 

To start where the road trip ended in Calgary, the match was close for most of the game until Greer hit Zary into the boards. That resulted in Greer getting a 2-minute hooking, a 5-minute interference, and a 10-minute game misconduct. More than fair for what happened on ice. As of Saturday morning, there hasn’t been any news from DoPS as to whether there’ll be a hearing or extra discipline, tho the general sentiment online and even among Florida fans is that a suspension is warranted. Mikkola went down later in the period after a knee-on-knee hit; he needed to be helped off the ice and was unable to put weight on his leg. After the game, HC Paul Maurice gave his standard “we’ll have him looked at tomorrow” answer, but also said that they expect Mikkola to miss time. Bennett said, “We’re a really close group. We all care about each other a lot. You never want to see that, but you’ve got to stick together. When guys go down, other guys have got to step up.” Sebrango called Mikkola the hardest worker on the team and someone he models his game after. The Flames earned the 1-4 win after all was said and done. 

The Panthers started the road trip with back-to-back losses to Seattle and Vancouver. During the stretch, the Cats have been holding guys out and giving them rest days. The results aren’t surprising given that it’s very similar to what they did last season, although they’re not going to the playoffs this year. Being bad down the stretch keeps them down in the bottom part of the league with a good chance at getting their first-round pick back. Even in years past, when the team has been great, they’ve struggled on the Western Canada trip. Last year, they went 2-2 on the trip, losing to both Calgary and Vancouver and gaining a shootout win against the Kraken and a 6-5 barn burner win over Edmonton. Even though they won that Seattle game last season, they didn’t look great and struggled to generate offense. Now it’s just about getting to the offseason and getting all the injured players rehabbed back healthy so they can have another real go at things next season. 

Florida decided to do the funniest thing possible and have their only win on this road trip be against the Oilers. No one was held out for a rest day, and the Panthers played their best defensive game of the season. Bobrovsky was stellar in net, where he got the shutout and made 21 saves on the night. The Cats got goals from Cole Reinhardt, A.J. Greer, Anton Lundell, and Carter Verhaeghe. It was a nice reminder that the championship team is still there while Florida gets a look at some younger players. Mike Benning had two primary assists and has three assists in four games since getting called up from Charlotte. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make the roster next season instead of the Panthers signing a free agent to fill their last defensive spot. This was a bright spot game in a year that’s been filled with so much adversity. 

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