Panthers still searching for consistency...and wins

The fact that last season's Presidents' Trophy champion is on the outside of the playoff picture looking in entering the second is one of the biggest surprises of 2022-23

Matthew Tkachuk has been one of the few bright spots for the Panthers this season.

The Florida Panthers went into their game Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs looking for their third straight winning streak of the season on their fifth attempt. That should tell you everything you need to know about the shocking descent of the Presidents’ Trophy champion from last season.

All the Panthers can realistically hope for now is to sneak in as a wildcard team in the Eastern Conference. And while there’s still a far bit of runway left, it’s shocking that this team finds itself in 10th place in the conference, four games out of the final wildcard spot. If the adage is true that a good goaltender makes a good coach, Paul Maurice is not a very good coach at the moment. But there’s hope that he’s getting better because Sergei Bobrovsky, who would have to rank very high on anyone’s list of the most overpaid players in the NHL, might just be coming around. And he’d better or the Panthers are sunk regardless of how well they play in front of him.