FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers continue to get it done on the penalty kill.
Despite missing both Aaron Ekblad and Dmitry Kulikov, the defending Stanley Cup champions have been the toast of the NHL in terms of killing penalties in March.
Going 31-for-35 this month, their 88.6% success rate on the kill ranks second in the league.
By comparison, they were killing off 79% of their penalties in February.
“I think it’s been pretty solid the whole year,” defenseman Niko Mikkola said of the PK. “They (our opponents) have gotten some late goals, and that’s probably been the issue. We need the whole two minutes and to clear the puck. The last month, it’s been working.”
The Panthers went a perfect 15-for-15 over their first four games this month, including an outstanding 7-for-7 showing in a 2-1 win over the rival Tampa Bay Lightning on March 3.
A team effort, 12 different Panthers skaters have logged at least seven minutes of shorthanded ice time this month.
Gustav Forsling has done the heaviest lifting with 34:25 of ice time on the penalty kill, while newcomer Seth Jones is close behind with 27:58.
In those heavy minutes, Jones has been on the ice for just one power-play goal against.
“He’s been solid all around,” Mikkola said of Jones, who the Panthers picked up from the Chicago Blackhawks prior to the trade deadline earlier this month. “He’s been on the PP, PK, and playing 5-on-5 at a high level. He’s been great to see. He’s been a good fit for us.”
Eetu Luostarinen leads Florida’s forwards with 26:44 shorthanded ice time in March.
Additionally, Nico Sturm, a newcomer like Jones, has also made an immediate impact up front.
Not only winning key draws on the penalty kill, Sturm, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks prior to the trade deadline, has seen 16:15 of shorthanded ice time in just eight games since joining the Panthers, which has allowed other forwards to rest up.
Two of the biggest beneficiaries have been Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart.
In February, Barkov and Reinhart were on the ice for 29.9% and 33.7%, respectively, of Florida’s penalty kills. Since Sturm’s arrival, both have seen their time shares dip to under 27%.
“We’ve added an important feature to our team with Sturm coming in on the penalty kill,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Then, it coincided with a feeling that we’d come off our aggressiveness. That’s related as much as much to a heavy schedule. Prior to these 11 games, we were in a real heavy schedule. We were slightly maybe undermanned up front, so I’m running Barkov and Reinhart more than I want to. We get a little more depth.”
Like they always say, a goaltender is also often a team’s best penalty kill.
For the Panthers, both have been strong in March.
On the penalty kill this month, Sergei Bobrovsky has 1.28 goals saved above expected, while Vitek Vanecek, yet another key addition prior to the trade deadline, has 0.73 over two starts.
With the playoffs fast approaching, the penalty kill is a key element for the Panthers.
En route to their first-ever Stanley Cup, Maurice described the year-over-year improvement to last year’s penalty kill as “a driving force” behind the team’s epic championship run.
Trying to keep Lord Stanley in South Florida and make a third straight trip to the Final, the Panthers expect they’ll need to be just as sharp while shorthanded to get the job done.
“Obviously, the 5-on-5 game is tight and it’s hard to score in the playoffs,” Mikkola said. “The power play and penalty kill usually makes the difference in a series.”
With only 11 games left in the regular season and in a heated race for first place in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers will look to keep clicking on the penalty kill when they host the Utah Hockey Club at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
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