The Florida Panthers have spent the opening stretch of the 2026-27 NHL season living on the edge, and the numbers are starting to make the case that it’s more than just their usual physical edge.
Through 12 games, Florida sits last in the league in average penalty minutes at 15.1. That figure stands out even more because the Calgary Flames, who are 31st, are averaging only 12.8. The gap is wide, and it’s the kind of number that gets attention even when the results haven’t fully punished a team yet.
At 6-4-2 with 14 points, the Panthers have managed to keep the damage contained for now. They’re sixth in the Atlantic Division, and their penalty kill has done enough to prevent the issue from turning into a full-blown problem. Florida ranks sixth in the NHL on the penalty kill at 84.9 percent.
Still, the way they’re playing is the sort of thing that can catch up fast. The Panthers have already run into three teams ranked in the top 10 in power-play percentage - the Carolina Hurricanes, San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild.
They beat Carolina in the season opener without giving up a power-play goal, but the other two meetings went the wrong way. Florida fell 4-3 to San Jose and allowed a power-play goal, then dropped a 4-1 decision to Minnesota while giving up another one.
That’s the risk with a team built the way Florida is built. The Panthers aren’t going to morph into a passive club, and nobody expects them to.
They play hard, they play mean, and they want opposing teams to know it from the opening puck drop. But there’s a difference between physical and careless.
Offsetting penalties and fights aren’t really the issue here. If players like Bokondji Imama, Garnet Hathaway and the Tkachuk brothers are piling up minutes because of scrums and fights, that’s part of the deal. The bigger concern is that players such as Radko Gudas, Dmitry Kulikov, Niko Mikkola and Aaron Ekblad have each taken at least four minor penalties.
That’s where the Panthers can hurt themselves. Those minors force too much work onto the penalty kill and the goaltending, and that’s a dangerous way to live over the course of a season.
The schedule only makes that more relevant from here. Florida has played just two divisional games so far, but November and December are set to bring plenty more Atlantic Division opponents. If the Panthers keep handing out power-play chances, those teams are going to cash in.
The Panthers don’t need an identity change. They do need to be sharper within it.
Playing physical is one thing. Taking fewer penalties is another.
In Other News...
Panthers Look Dangerous For One Big Reason After Jets Rout
The Panthers got exactly the kind of emphatic response they were looking for, rolling past Winnipeg 5-1 behind a power play that looked every bit as dangerous as advertised. Carter Verhaeghe set the tone with a pair of early man-advantage goals, while Matthew Tkachuk kept pucks moving and chances coming as Florida built control of the game. Brady Tkachuk, Niko Mikkola and Sam Reinhart also found the net, giving the Panthers the sort of balanced scoring night that can make them tough to track when they get rolling.
For a team that has spent much of the season trying to stay sharp on special teams, this was a reminder of how much damage Florida can do when it turns pressure into goals. Winnipeg had little answer after Adam Lowrys lone tally, and the Jets have now dropped six straight, but the bigger takeaway for the Panthers was the way they dictated terms with the extra attacker. When Verhaeghe is finishing plays and Matthew Tkachuk is stacking up setup chances, Florida starts to look less like a team that can win and more like one opponents have to survive. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuks Message In Ottawa Adds To A Brutal Panthers Night
Brady Tkachuks return to Ottawa already carried plenty of edge, and it got even sharper once he beat his former club on the scoreboard. The Panthers forward has long been part of the emotional undercurrent in this rivalry, and the night had the kind of feisty feel that tends to follow him whenever he comes back to face the Senators.
What stood out afterward was the way the game seemed to swing hard in Ottawas direction after Tkachuks goal. Senators owner Michael Andlauer said Tkachuk had a message for the bench, and from there the night only got rougher for Florida as Ottawa answered with five straight goals to put the game out of reach. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Catch Winnipeg At A Desperate Time In This Road Test
Florida heads into Winnipeg catching the Jets in an uneasy spot, with a road trip that suddenly looks a lot less routine than it did a week ago. The Panthers are coming off a win over the Blackhawks and now get a club trying to steady itself after a stretch of close losses, all by a single goal, in a season where offense has been hard to find and key players have not produced at the level Winnipeg needs.
The matchup also comes with an added layer of uncertainty for the home side, which has had to keep adjusting as the roster and lineup have shifted. For Florida, it is the kind of game that can turn into a statement road test if it can keep the pressure on a team already searching for answers and avoid letting a desperate opponent turn the building into a factor. [Read more 🡒]