Panthers Face Uphill Battle in Post-Olympic Sprint to Stay in Playoff Hunt
The Florida Panthers are heading into the Olympic break with a lot more questions than answers-and not much time to figure things out once the puck drops again. With just 25 games left on the schedule, the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions find themselves in unfamiliar territory: on the outside of the playoff picture, chasing points and momentum in a season that’s rapidly slipping away.
Thursday night’s 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t just sting-it underscored how far the Panthers have to go. Tampa Bay, winners in 19 of their last 21 games and riding a 20-game point streak, looked every bit the juggernaut.
The Panthers, meanwhile, looked like a team running on fumes. That game wrapped up the season series between the two rivals, with the Lightning taking it 3-1.
For Florida, the only silver lining is that they won’t have to see the Lightning again this regular season. But that’s cold comfort when you're staring up at the standings.
Right now, the Panthers sit at 61 points, eight back of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. With 50 points left on the table, Florida likely needs to grab at least 37 of them to hit the 98-point mark-a number that might not even guarantee a ticket to the postseason, but gives them a fighting chance. That means winning 18 of their final 25 games, and probably squeezing out a few overtime losses along the way.
And they’ll have to do it under some brutal circumstances.
Head coach Paul Maurice, who was ejected from Thursday’s game after what was likely a not-so-friendly exchange with the officials, has been open about his frustrations with the compact schedule. The NHL jammed the back half of the season to accommodate the league’s return to the Olympics in Milan, and the result is a gauntlet: 25 games in 49 days. That’s a game basically every other night, with minimal time for rest, let alone practice.
Maurice will get his team back on the ice around February 21 for a short training window, but he won’t have a full roster. Ten Panthers players are headed to the Olympics, and many of them likely won’t return until the very end of the break. That makes preparation for the final stretch even more complicated.
The Panthers return to action with a home back-to-back against Toronto and Buffalo-two teams they’re directly competing with in the wild-card race. Those games carry playoff-level stakes.
There’s simply no room for error anymore. The points they let slip earlier in the season-against the Rangers, Jets, and Blues-can’t be recovered.
From here on out, every shift matters.
Health is another looming concern. The good news?
Key players like Seth Jones, Dmitry Kulikov, and Jonah Gadjovich are expected to return soon, which should bolster the lineup. But Thursday’s game brought more bad news on that front.
Backup goalie Daniil Tarasov went down with what looked like a groin injury after a collision near the net. He needed help getting off the ice, and the early signs didn’t look promising.
Given the sheer volume of games ahead, more injuries feel almost inevitable. That’s the nature of the beast when you’re playing high-stakes hockey every other night with limited recovery time.
Florida’s margin for error is gone. The road ahead is steep, the schedule is unforgiving, and the playoff race is heating up. If the Panthers are going to make it seven straight postseason appearances-and keep their title defense alive-they’ll need to rediscover their championship form in a hurry.
The sprint starts soon. And there’s no looking back.