Florida Panthers Mailbag: Bennett, Defensive Upgrades & More

Welcome to the December edition of the Pucks and Palms mailbag! Become a paid subscriber to participate in each month’s mailbag.

Well, things are a bit interesting here in Pantherland.

The Florida Panthers suffered their second consecutive shutout loss on Saturday, making 146:01 without scoring a goal, but still, they are very much on the same pace they were last season — when they won the Stanley Cup.

Florida is tied for first place in the Atlantic Division and currently stands at 18-11-2 through 31 games. On Dec. 16 of last year, when the team was also on its Western Canada road trip, it stood at 18-10-2 through its first 30 games.

Still, a Stanley Cup adds more scrutiny to the team, which presented an interesting collection of questions from all corners of the internet for this week’s mailbag.

And they go into perhaps their most anticipated game of the year tonight — a Stanley Cup Final rematch with the Edmonton Oilers.

Let’s get right into them.