Examining the Florida Panthers numbers

Advantage Margin: -106
The Panthers made life tough on themselves with their inability to draw penalties and stay out of the box. They were next-to-last in the League in power-play chances at home (172) and dead last on the road (165 — 61 less than they allowed).

Even-Strength Goals Margin: +14
Olli Jokinen has quietly developed into one of the NHL’s best players. He had 29 of his 39 goals at even strength and was tied for third with 62 even-strength points. Nathan Horton showed signs that he may be developing into a star as well, scoring 32 goals — 23 at even strength.  

Special Teams Goal Margin: -18
Stephen Weiss (10) was the only Panther to reach double figures in power-play goals. Florida was outscored 39-37 at home and 39-24 on the road, and the Panthers managed only five shorthanded goals.

Goals by defensemen: 29
Jay Bouwmeester (12 goals) is starting to live up to the expectations the Panthers had when they made him the third overall pick in 2002. He’ll still be only 24 when the season starts. Adding power-play quarterback Cory Murphy and promising ex-Penguin Noah Welch should help.

Goals by forwards: 216
The 1-2 punch of Jokinen and Horton produced 70 goals, and the Panthers are expecting more from Weiss, a 20-goal scorer last season who’s starting to live up to his status as the No. 4 overall pick in 2001.

Overtime Record: 5-8-8 (OT: 3-8, SO: 2-8)
The Panthers missed postseason play because of their inability to turn one point into two in games that went past regulation. Had the Panthers turned just five of their league-worst 16 post-regulation losses into wins, they’d have made the playoffs. It’s one reason they dealt for goaltender Tomas Vokoun from Nashville.

Times Scored First/Record: 37 (Record: 24-7-6)
No team had a bigger home/road divide in first goals than the Panthers, who were dynamite at home (26 first goals, 18-5-3) but awful on the road (a league-low 11 first goals, 6-2-3).

Best 06-07 Number: 16-11
Florida’s record in games decided by three or more goals. The Panthers actually won more games in blowouts than they did by one goal (13, in 36 games), and were 10-4 at home in 3-plus-goal contests.

Worst 06-07 Number: 5
Overtime power-play goals allowed by the Panthers, the most in the NHL. Florida allowed only three OT goals at even strength, but was outscored 5-0 on the power play in overtime.

Scheduling:
The Panthers play their first two home games against New Jersey in a six-day span. They don’t have a road trip of more than four games until after the All-Star break, and play their last 10 games in March within the state of Florida, including a seven-game homestand.