Florida Panthers Playing Tired

Before anything, if you get bored, scroll to the bottom to see the most important info.

Good thing: The Panther's are shooting 31.8 shots on goal per game (ranks fifth in the NHL).

Bad thing: The Panther's are giving up 33 shots on goal per game (ranked 28th in the NHL) and that is not what they intended to do when they acquired the defensemen this summer. I am not saying they are playing bad. In fact, I feel the opposite. The Panthers' defense is playing great, but why are they giving up so many shots?

Here's a few things to look at...

The Panthers are 3-for-27 on the power play and have a total of 36 shots on net (1.333 shots per PP).

Panthers' average 12.7 penalty minutes per game (Ranks sixth in the NHL).

On the PK the Panthers are 22 of 28 and are (ranks 21st in the NHL) giving up a total of 47 shots (1.666 per PP).

The PK is not bad and 1.666 shots per PP in my book is very good.

The PP is terrible. 1.333 shots per PP is horrendous. Two minutes with one less guy in your face and they can only put up a little more than a shot.

But 47 shots is only eight shots per game given up on the PP.

The Panthers average 10 shots in the first period, 12 in the second, and 10 in the third. But, our opponents average eight shots in the first period, 14 shots in the second, and 11 shots in the third.

Total Shots By Period

Florida: Period one—60 shots. Period two—72 shots. Period three—59 shots.

Opponent: Period One—50 shots. Period two—81 shots. Period three—67 shots.

Goals By Period

Panthers: First period (six) Second Period (seven) Third Period (one) Overtime (one)

Opponent: First Period (four) Second Period (eight) Third Period (six) (actually four goals because two were empty net goals) Overtime (zero)

So, if we just go by non empty net goals, the Panthers are +2 in the first period, a -1 in the second, a -3 in the third and a +1 in overtime.

This shows me the team is tired in the second and players lose that burst to finish in the third. That one goal in the third period came in the first game. The Panthers start well, but have trouble finishing. I am sure this will be address by Coach Deboer.