Every Point Matters For Panthers in 2018-19
"It got a little frustrating hearing it all the time," Vincent Trocheck said at Thursday's Media Day at BB&T Center. "But we were. We were one point out… There's so many teams in the NHL that make the playoffs and we were one point short."
Tied with Nashville for the most points in the NHL after the All-Star break, the Panthers closed out last season on a staggering pace, going on a 25-8-2 tear to finish with 96 points - the third-best campaign in franchise history. Yet, somehow, it just wasn't enough. As they heated up, so did the teams they were chasing, which kept the Cats from climbing the standings.
In the end, the Panthers became just the second team to miss the postseason with 96 points.
"You learn from last season," Trocheck said. "You miss the playoffs by one point and you look back on the first half of the season and you think about one game or one point in overtime. There's 5-10 [games] we should have won in the first half that we didn't. We've learned a lot. A lot of us young guys have had enough experience to take that next step.
"We have the firepower in this locker room to win games. But at the same time we can't just show up and think it's going to be the same as it was in the second half. We have to remember what happened in the first half, learn from that and understand that one point cost us the playoffs. Every single point matters. In the first half, the second half, it doesn't matter what time of the year it is. Every single point matters."
Entering the second season under head coach Bob Boughner, the Panthers know they've run out of excuses. The system has become second nature and nearly every player from last year's roster is returning. The sour taste from last season's oh-so-close finish is shared among the team's young core, which should provide the players with some added fire out of the gate.
After starting off 4-8-2 and playing catchup all of last season, Boughner says the Panthers have "got to be in the fight from Day 1" come October.
"We did a lot of establishing our identity, building a culture and putting a foundation in place [last season]," he said. "Now, it's going to be about taking the next step. How are we going to get better? So it's not so much about establishing a culture, it's about building what we established and taking the next step."
While previous offseasons have often been rife with shakeups, Panthers general manager Dale Tallon preached stability this summer after last season's strong finish. On offense, he made only one notable acquisition, trading for power-play specialist Mike Hoffman, who bolsters and a top-six forward group that already features a pair of all-stars in Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov.
Led by Barkov, who registered a career-high 78 points in 79 games, the Panthers were the only team in the league last season to have four different players post at least 65 points, as Jonathan Huberdeau (69), Evgenii Dadonov (65), Trocheck (75) and Barkov all reached that mark. Coming off a 22-goal campaign with Ottawa, Hoffman believes he'll fit right in.
"There's one thing in their mind, and that's winning a championship," said Hoffman, who is projected to play alongside Trocheck and Huberdeau on the second line. "Any time that you can join a team like this, it brings a bright spot to your eyes. You want to take advantage of it as much as you can. I'm really looking forward to playing with the guys here."
On defense, the Panthers added Russian free agent defenseman Bogdan Kiselevich, who is expected to bring a strong physical presence to a blue line that returns all seven starters from last season. At 28, Kiselevich notched 23 goals and 100 assists in 393 career KHL games. "I like what I'm seeing," Tallon said of Kiselevich. "He'll be a good stabilizing influence on our back end. He moves the puck well, he plays his position very well, he's good defensively and he's also a good first-passer. He understands the game very well."
With the addition of Kiselevich, Boughner said he plans to tinker a bit with the team's defensive pairings during the season. While Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle spent last season as the top pairing, there could be some mixing and matching up and down the lineup in the coming weeks.
"I want to try some different pairs, some different combinations," Boughner said. "We had some success last year at the end of the year with certain guys playing with certain players. You need those top-four guys to be able to roll against anybody else's top lines. That's the big concern for me, who those four guys are going to be."
Then, in net, you have the Hall of Famer.
Entering his 19th NHL season, Roberto Luongo will potentially be the most important player for the Panthers this season. Boughner noted that when the 39-year-old was out of the lineup due to injuries last season, the team suffered. But when he was healthy, Luongo posted some of the best numbers of his career, going 18-11-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage - his best since 2003-04 during his first stint in South Florida.
"I want to play, but at the same time I have to hold myself back a little bit," said Luongo, who is one of just three goaltenders in NHL history to play at least 1,000 games. "If you play too much, that's when your body gets tired and things start to happen." Boughner said "in a perfect world" Luongo will start 50 games, with backup James Reimer picking up the slack.
"I think Louie's obviously feeling good right now," Boughner said. "He's had a good summer. He hasn't been rehabbing any kind of injuries. He's been building up his body for the long grind here… I think we take it day by day. I like our depth. Reims played some great hockey for us last year."
Having spent the entire summer hearing about the one point that kept them out of the playoffs, the Panthers believe that by keeping their core intact and adding a few key pieces that they've put themselves in a position to contend this season.
There will be no more "we'll get 'em next time" or "we just didn't have it tonight." In their minds, every point brings them one step closer to their goal of not only a earning a place in the playoffs, but a shot at the Stanley Cup.
"Missing the playoffs by a point is going to be a great motivator," Tallon said. "I already see that. I see a difference. I see the attitude and the approach is really solid. Guys are excited and ready to go. They want the season to start now."
