The hottest team in hockey right now are the Florida Panthers? That's right, the team that usually is a basement-dweller in the Atlantic Division is four points clear of the second place Detroit Red Wings in the Atlantic Division, despite being well behind the Eastern Conference leading Washington Capitals.
Led by veterans in Jaromir Jagr and Willie Mitchell, as well as young stars in Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, the Panthers have used a team-first approach, with no player having more than 15 goals at the halfway point of the season.
The team's defense has been good. Ekblad has 19 points and is tied for sixth in the NHL with a +17 +/- rating. His defensive partner Brian Campbell is finally earning his massive salary, contributing 12 assists and a +13 rating. Dmitry Kulikov and Willie Mitchell both have positive ratings as well, while former No.3 overall pick Erik Gudbranson, taken after Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin in 2010, is middling on the team's third defensive pairing with five points, but an even 0 rating. They are benefitting both from their own good play, but also the play of goalie Roberto Luongo. Luongo looks like his old self again; sitting fourth in the NHL with 19 wins and eighth in save percentage.
The problem is the lack of scorers on the team. Nearly every playoff series has a player that seems to take over and put their team on their back. It's almost always a different player each series, but the Panthers don't have any players that seem to have the scoring touch to be dominant. Jagr doesn't seem like he can still be the dominant player he once was, despite his good play. Huberdeau and Barkov might, but to assume they'll dominate in their first playoff run seems unlikely, especially considering the fact that they probably can't even grow playoff beards.
Another major issue is the playoff resume of Luongo. It hasn't come up in recent years, due to him not being on playoff teams, but many remember when Luongo would collapse in the playoffs. In 2009 and 2010, his teams were routed in Game 6's against the Blackhawks, giving up 7 and 5 goals in those two games. In 2011 he was benched following a few bad performances, only reclaiming the job when Cory Schneider was injured.
It would be tough for the Panthers to get past the lack of explosiveness, Luongo's misfortune, as well as the obvious lack of playoff experience. While there are some veteran leaders, the team does not look like a team built for a deep playoff run this season.
