"As a team, you play with a little more confidence that if you take a penalty trying to create something that you have guys there to cover for you," said Sceviour, whose three shorthanded goals were the most by any Panthers skater since Tom Fitzgerald tallied six in 1995-96. "You can play a more aggressive style of game because you know that if something happens, you guys feel comfortable that you can kill off any situation. That definitely helps the team out."
As injuries to key players ravaged the top of Florida's lineup for the majority of the season (Barkov and Huberdeau combined to miss a total of 72 games), under-the-radar free agent singing Jonathan Marchessault emerged as one of the team's breakout stars on offense, becoming the Panthers' first 30-goal scorer since David Booth potted 31 in 2008-09.
"I think I proved that I can play in the NHL," said Marchessault, who had just eight career goals coming into this season. "I'm confident. I'm happy with what I did this year. I'm not the kind of guy that takes a year off or something like that. I know I'm going to come ready to play next year and do the same thing. I always want to beat what I did the year before. I think that's what makes you a better hockey player. I'll be ready."
With the emergence of players like Marchessault and Sceviour, and with core players like Barkov, Huberdeau and Ekblad returning to full health, the Panthers are confident that the surprising struggles of this past season were nothing more an anomaly, a small bump in the road on their quest for a Stanley Cup.
"We obviously have to go forward from here," Marchessault said. "I think, as a group, everybody has to learn from this year. The expectations were there and we were way below that. We're all going to learn and next year I'm sure we'll be a way better team."
Looking ahead to next season, the belief among players in the locker room seemingly hasn't faltered. The goal moving forward remains the same: just win.
"We like our team. We have good chemistry," said Huberdeau, who had 26 points (10-16-26) in 31 games after returning from injury. "Yeah, it's been a tough season, but next year we're going to come back stronger. We know we have a good group and we know what we can do."