SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers have a point to make this season.
A point to make up, too.
Ordinarily, 96 points in the standings gets a team into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Since the league went to its current points format — where a tie after regulation guarantees both teams one point — 99
So once again, the goal in Florida going into a new year is the same — change the narrative and make the playoffs, something that hasn't happened in 15 of their last 17 seasons.
"It got a little frustrating hearing it all the time, but we were, we were one point out," said Panthers
The Panthers figured things out a bit too late last season, their first under coach Bob Boughner.
Over the season's final 35 games, Florida was one of two teams to post 25 victories — Winnipeg being the other. The problem was, over the first 47 games, Florida had the fifth-fewest wins in the league with only 19. In the end, it added up to the third-best regular-season record in franchise history, and nothing else.
"I do think we went from probably not a lot of structure to having a ton of structure," said Panthers forward Derek MacKenzie, the team's captain last season. "That probably did take a little bit of time. This coaching staff is super-prepared, super-detailed and that was definitely a learning curve for a lot of the guys."
Some other things to know about the Panthers' season:
LEADERSHIP CHANGES
Aleksander Barkov, Florida's leading scorer last season — and someone the Panthers believe is right up there with the very best players in the NHL — has taken over for MacKenzie as captain. Trocheck, Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau and Keith Yandle will assist Barkov as assistant captains, two of them for home games, the other two on the road.
GOALIE DEPTH
The Panthers go into this season with Roberto Luongo, who turns 40 in the final week of the regular season, as their No. 1 goalie. The plan is for him to share time again with James Reimer, and Boughner doesn't plan on having either play both ends of back-to-backs. It would help if the Panthers let whoever is in net see fewer pucks — Florida allowed 2,838 shots on goal last season, third-most in the NHL behind the Islanders (2,918) and Rangers (2,898).
FOUR IS ENOUGH
Florida was 25-1-3 when scoring at least four goals last season. When held to three goals or less, the Panthers went 19-29-5. And as one might expect, the inverse held true on the defensive end — when allowing four or more goals, Florida went 6-23-3. When allowing three goals or less, Florida was 38-7-5.
HOME COOKING
Florida set a franchise record with 27 victories on home ice last season, despite routinely playing in a building that is far less than filled — though, to be fair, the Panthers' attendance situation has gotten considerably better in recent years. "Even when the building isn't that full, our fans get loud. You can hear it and feel it," Luongo said.
ADDING HOFFMAN
The big
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press