Florida Panthers Sit Atop Atlantic Division

Florida Panthers: Sunday’s Win Puts Florida on Top of Atlantic Division Standings

Florida Panthers took sole possession of top spot in the Atlantic after their 3-2 victory against Columbus on Sunday. The Panthers are now 20-12-4 with 44 points, including a 10-3-0 run in December. [yahoo] 

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During their impressive final month of the year, goalie Roberto Luongo is 7-3-0 with a 1.88 goals-against-average, and .925 save percentage. He’s not only proving he’s still one of the NHL’s top-tier goaltenders, but making a strong case for Team Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. [espn]

The Florida Panthers are getting most of their production from top-six forwards, and top two pair defenders. The top line of Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Jaromir Jagr have combined for 27 points in 13 games, including a +22 rating. During that stretch, both Barkov and Huberdeau have three goals and seven assists, for 10 points each. Huberdeau is +5 in 13 contests, Barkov is +11. Jagr has produced two goals and five assists over that span, going +6. [espn]

Florida’s second-line of Jussi Jokinen, Vincent Trocheck, and Reilly Smith have a combined 21 points in 13 games. Trocheck has scored three goals, adding five helpers, for eight points. He’s -1 over the past month since replacing the injured Nick Bjugstad, climbing up the depth chart for extra minutes. Young inexperienced forwards are expected to make mistakes as they grow and develop. In December, Jokinen produced one goal and five assists, for six points and +4. On the right side, Smith has five goals and two assists for seven points, and +4 rating. [espn]

On the back-end, Calder Trophy winner Aaron Ekblad is on fire in December, racking up five goals and two assists for seven points. He’s also a +8 in 13 games this month. Impending free-agent Brian Campbell has produced a strong final month of 2015 as well, with just three assists, but an excellent +8 rating. Florida is built very much the opposite way of Nashville. Instead of offensively gifted defenseman, the Panthers are much more responsible defensively. A cast of physical two-way defenders, this team promises to be strong in its own end for several years to come. [espn]

Next: 2016 NHL Draft: World Juniors - Day Two

Some in the hockey world are wondering whether the Florida Panthers are for real, if they should be considered a legitimate threat moving forward. The answer may be more complicated than it should be. There’s a lot of hypothetical scenarios, and pieces to fall into place that can ensure the Florida Panthers are legitimate playoff contenders for the next decade.

At this point, the Panthers aren’t deep enough up-front. It’s solid top-six with promising players in Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, and Reilly Smith. But, Florida lacks general depth with their forwards. There’s a few promising pieces in Quinton Howden, Corban Knight, Rocco Grimaldi, Lawson Crouse, Jayce Hawryluk, and Samuel Montembeault. If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from recent Stanley Cup winners, it’s that NHL teams need four lines of production to compete over four grueling rounds of playoffs.

Florida Panthers next game is on Tuesday (Dec.29) against the struggling Montreal Canadiens. Before losing Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher, Montreal was far atop the Atlantic Division standings, running away with it. A rough December has Montreal now tied with Detroit for 2nd in the East with 43 points.