Florida Panthers Offense Has Dried Up; What Happened?

The Florida Panthers have the worst offense in the league since Dec. 20. They still managed to go 4-3-0 in that span, but what happened?

Since Dec. 20, the Florida Panthers are tied for the worst offense in the NHL.

Florida has scored an even two goals per-game in that span, tied with the San Jose Sharks for dead last, while getting shut out twice and managing just two outings of over four goals in that seven-game stretch.

It’s not all bad.

They are 4-3-0 in that stretch while being tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for 12th in the league in goals against per-game (2.71) but the lack of offense is still a cause for concern.

Aleksander Barkov leads the team in points with five in the seven games since Dec. 20. Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Jesper Boqvist and Eetu Luostarinen share the team lead in goals with two in that span. And Boqvist’s two goals and three points both rank high despite him missing three games with an injury.

All the while, Tkachuk finally snapped an eight-game goalless drought in Friday night’s win over Pittsburgh while Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues have collectively combined for zero goals and two assists in that span. Bennett has not recorded a point since Dec. 16 and has not scored a goal since Dec. 3.

By the numbers, something doesn’t look right with this Panthers offense, but they have done just enough to keep winning and sit five points ahead of the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division.

But what is plaguing this Panthers team?

For one, it has been a lack of intensity in the offensive zone. Both in net-front battles and on the forecheck.

Especially from the second line of Bennett, Tkachuk and whoever coach Paul Maurice decides to put on the left wing, the Panthers have slowed down on the forecheck and have lost more battles than they’ve won near the front of the net. That has led to a lot more perimeter shots that have been met with fairly easy saves.

That was most notably the case when Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes shut them out in his NHL debut on Dec. 28.

It also very much has to do with the forwards shouldering a much bigger responsibility with Niko Mikkola missing the past four games with an injury, which was a drastic hit to Florida’s defense core.

Mikkola may be on his way back, but Aaron Ekblad sustaining an undisclosed injury (or ailment) in Friday’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins could prove to be even more detrimental. The Panthers will get official word on both when they take the ice on Monday for morning skate in Denver ahead of their clash with the Avalanche.

Maurice said on Sunday that more players than just Mikkola and Ekblad have been dealing with ailments — which could explain how so many players up front have looked a bit slower and hampered — and time could help in patching that up. But the Panthers need more speed and tenacity up front sooner rather than later to get out of this offensive slide.