The Florida Panthers have to be feeling good after wrapping up their four-game western road trip on Monday night.
Despite starting the trip with an ugly loss, Florida bounced back and played three consecutive solid games, capped off by Monday’s 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Now they will head back to Sunrise for an extended period of games on home ice, where they can hopefully build off the positive momentum that was found during their visit to the west coast.
In a tightly packed Eastern Conference, it won’t take more than a solid week for the Cats to get right back in a prominent position in the Atlantic Division.
Here are Monday’s takeaways:
VINTAGE BENCH
Over the past several seasons, we’ve often heard Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice talk about how the team will often manage itself during games.
When he’s standing behind Florida’s bench, and the team is humming along like a well-oiled machine, as he’s said more than once, “there’s not a lot of coaching going on there.”
The players manage themselves. They hold each other accountable and are all pulling on the rope equally.
On Monday, the team was giving their coach those kind of vibes again.
“I liked the bench,” Maurice said after the win. “There was lots of juice and enthusiasm for that game. The 5-on-3 (penalty) kill, I liked the energy on the bench. The end of a road trip, (playing a) really good team looking to get back on track, so they were going to push real hard…yeah, I liked the energy on the bench.
THREE STRAIGHT TO BE PROUD OF
Florida held their only practice of the road trip the day after losing to Anaheim.
They arrived in the Los Angeles area (the Kings’ practice facility is in El Segundo) and held a back-to-basics kind of skate, something Maurice and his staff have been able to put together in previous instances where the Cats have seemingly fallen out of their grove when it comes to playing their physical, fast five-man defensive systems.
Since then, the Panthers have more resembled the team they want to be than any other stretch on the road this season.
If not for an outstanding effort by San Jose Sharks’ goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, Florida would likely be flying home on the heels of three straight wins.
Truly, there is a lot for the Panthers to feel good about as they make the trip back east.
“I think we’ve been good in our last three, really good,” Maurice said. “Even if you’ve won some games in the past, you have to fight for your confidence. So now, style of game and energy level, you can bring that back home and feel really good about your last three.”
IMPORTANT POWER PLAY GOAL
While the win is always the ultimate goal, Florida also getting to ride home with a fresh power play goal on the scoresheet is a nice cherry on top.
After picking up a PPG during their loss in Anaheim, Florida went 12 straight man advantages without scoring a goal.
Those missed opportunities stretched from the Anaheim game all the way through to Vegas.
But it was the last power play of the trip that Florida cashed in on, and boy was it a biggie.
“Maybe the most important piece, because again, we talk about confidence,” Maurice said. “We’ve got a little cold here for the last four or five games, and to have it be the game winner (was great). I thought they moved (the puck) really well. We had a great chance back door that didn’t go, and now you’re starting to feel snake bit, because we’ve had a few of those, so it’s good that it’s a game winner, and off a shot tip.”
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Photo caption: Nov 10, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates with team mates after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period at T-Mobile Arena. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images)
