The Florida Panthers are on the precipice of being bounced in just the second round of the NHL Playoffs despite ending the regular season as Presidents' Trophy winners. It seems their regular season luster has vanished here in the postseason, and they now have their backs against the wall following Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, which puts them down 3-0 in the series. After the loss, star forward Jonathan Huberdeau got brutally honest on the team's performance and how they can try to climb out of the hole they've dug for themselves.
#FlaPanthers Huberdeau: “We’re down 3-0, so not happy with the results. We’re probably playing the best goalie. He’s making saves and we’re not getting bounces, too.”
— Erin Brown (@rinkside) May 22, 2022
“We're down 3-0, so not happy with the results. We're probably playing the best goalie. He's making saves and we're not getting bounces, too,” said Huberdeau via Erin Brown.
The Lightning have held the Panthers to just one goal in each of their first three games this series. The lack of offensive production from the Panthers is vastly different to what fans grew accustomed to throughout the regular season, during which they were one of the highest-scoring teams in the league.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasileveskiy has been sensational, but it's not just the work he's done between the sticks that has caused the offensive drought for the Panthers. Tampa constantly has defenders putting their bodies on the line in order to block shots. Huberdeau himself was denied a goal on a wide-open net after Ryan McDonagh managed to get a stick to the puck. Vasilevskiy would have had no chance at a save, but the defender bailed him out, denying Huberdeau a goal.
Despite all that, Huberdeau thinks Florida still has a chance.
“It’s 3-0. Who cares. We can come back.” – Jonathan Huberdeau
— David Dwork (@DavidDwork) May 22, 2022
It'll be a long road back for the Panthers if they hope to somehow overcome the odds and win the series against the Lightning. Down 3-0, they will have minimal rest ahead of their next game, which is scheduled for Monday night in Tampa. Huberdeau and Co. need to lock in and get the offense going, and that starts with finding some success on the power play.
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