SUNRISE, Fla. _ The Florida Panthers set a standard on offense for all of hockey through the first 49 games of the season. They were averaging 3.7 goals per game, the most in the NHL, and it was enough to have the Panthers pointed toward their first trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2016.
In nine games since the NHL All-Star Game, Florida's offense has vanished and its postseason hopes have started to fade. The Panthers' offense was once again nearly invisible Saturday in a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers and it has Florida, averaging just two goals per game in February, searching for answers.
For Joel Quenneville, the answer is simple.
"We don't play hard enough," the coach said.
Quenneville said his Panthers (30-22-6) have been unpredictable all season long and now their slump has reached dangerous levels. They returned from a 10-day layoff Feb. 1 and their season has swung. They entered Saturday two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the third and final playoff spot berth from the Atlantic Division, and still trail the Philadelphia Flyers by five points for the second and final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference after losing to the Oilers.
On Saturday, Florida dropped the gloves to fight Edmonton (31-21-6) more often than it found the back of the net to score. Forward Noel Acciari first went after Matt Benning with 14:43 left in the second after the Edmonton defenseman crushed center Aleksander Barkov with a check against the boards, then defenseman Josh Brown fought Oilers forward Jujhar Khaira with 9:02 left in the period. The Panthers already trailed 1-0 at the time of the first fight and neither could spark their lifeless offense.
For the second straight game at the BB&T Center, Florida didn't score in the opening two periods. The Panthers have now dropped 7 of 9 in February and scored two goals or fewer in each of the seven losses. They've been outscored 35-18 this month after outscoring opponents by 20 goals before the break.
"I don't think we're working hard enough," All-Star winger Jonathan Huberdeau said. "We didn't take advantage of two games at home and that's where we're at. We can't do that right now. There's no emotion. It starts with us."
It took nearly 17 minutes for Florida to show any signs of life. The Panthers put just three shots on goal in the first 16 minutes before a goaltender-interference penalty finally set them up for the first power play of the game with 3:17 left in the opening period. Florida finally put some pressure on Mikko Koskinen.
In the final minute of the period, the Panthers peppered the Edmonton goaltender with three shots in a 17-second flurry. It was the only time they sustained offense.
Florida finished with 34 shots on goal and again wasted their only power-play chances, totaling just three shots on goal. It has now converted on just 2 of 26 extra-man opportunities this month after going 0 of 2 on Saturday.
Just 13 seconds into the third period, the Oilers buried the Panthers. They scored first on an uncontested slap shot by defenseman Adam Larsson with 4:46 left in the first period, then again with 19:47 left in the game. Florida iced the puck after winning the opening faceoff in the third period to give Edmonton a faceoff by the Panthers' net. All-Star forward Leon Draisaitl won the faceoff for the Oilers and threw a puck into traffic. A shot bounced off goaltender Samuel Montembeault, who started in place of sick superstar goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and Draisaitl flushed home the rebound.
For the final 20 minutes, the Panthers and Edmonton skated in front of an often silent, often restless crowd of 15,069. A goal by Huberdeau with 11:14 remaining could only ignite the Panthers so much. With 24 games left, Florida faces an uphill climb to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2016 and the task appears more daunting every time it takes the ice.
"I think before the All-Star break we had fun," Barkov said. "We played for each other, we battled for each other, we work hard and right now it feels like we're not first on the pucks, we don't get there first and all those little things we need to get better at."
