FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers continue to do that with penalty kills.
Despite both Aaron Ekblad and Dmitry Kulikov were missing, the defensive champion of the Stanley Cup was NHL toast in terms of killing the March penalty.
This month, he ranks second in the league with a 88.6% success rate in kills.
In comparison, they killed 79% of the penalties in February.
“I think it was pretty solid all year round,” defensive man Nico Miccola said of the penalty shootout. “They (our opponent) achieved some slow goals. That was probably the problem. We need two minutes to clear the pack. Last month, it’s working.”
The Panthers scored 15-15-15 in their first four games of the month. This includes the standout 7-7, 7-7, which won 2-1 over rival Tampa Bay Lightning on March 3rd.
Team effort, 12 different Panther skaters recorded at least seven minutes of shorthand ice time this month.
Gustav Forsling did the heaviest lift in an ICE time of 34:25 on a penalty kill, but rookie Seth Jones is behind at 27:58.
With these heavy portions, Jones was on the ice with one power play target.
“He was solid everywhere,” Miccola said of Jones. “He’s on the PP, penalty kick and plays at a high level 5-5. He was great to watch. He was perfect for us.”
Eetu Luostarinen leads Florida forwards with 26:44 shortmand ice time in March.
Plus, newcomer like Jones, Nico Sturm, also had an immediate impact in advance.
In addition to winning keys with penalty kills, Sturm, who was bought from San Jose’s Sharks before the trade deadline, has seen shorthand ice time at 16:15 in just eight games since joining the Panthers.
Two of the biggest beneficiaries are Alexander Barkov and Sam Reinhart.
In February, Barkov and Reinhart were on the ice with 29.9% and 33.7% of Florida’s penalty kills. Since Sturm arrived, both have fallen below 27% in time stocks.
“We added a key feature to our team. Sturm took part in the penalty kill,” coach Paul Maurice said. “Then it coincided with the sense that we were out of aggression. It’s just as related to a heavy schedule. Before these 11 games, we were really heavy schedules.
As they always say, goaltenders are often the best penalty kills on the team.
For the Panthers, both were strong in March.
In this month’s penalty kill, Sergei Bobrovsky has saved 1.28 goals more than expected, but yet another important addition before the trading deadline, Vitek Vanecek has scored 0.73 in two starts.
With the playoffs approaching, penalty kills are a key element for the Panthers.
On his way to the first-ever Stanley Cup, Maurice described the year-over-year improvement in last year’s penalty kills as the “driver” behind the team’s epic championship run.
To maintain South Florida’s Stanley Lord and travel three times in a row to the final, the Panthers expect to have to be equally sharp to get fast-handed and get the job done.
“Obviously, the 5-5 game is tight and it’s difficult to score in the playoffs,” Miccola said. “Power plays and penalty kills usually make a difference to the series.”
With only 11 games left in the regular season, in a fierce race in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers will continue to click on penalty kills when they held the Utah Hockey Club at Amerant Bank Arena at 7pm on Friday.
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