The Florida Panthers' penalty kill has been on a tear. In Sunday's win over the Blackhawks, they were absolutely lights-out.
Florida was red-hot in every phase of the game. But their penalty kill finished a perfect 7-for-7. That was much-needed for Florida, which was outscored 9-1 in their previous two matchups heading into Sunday's contest.
But that has been just the tip of the iceberg. Per Jameson Olive of the Panthers' team site, "Finishing the game 7-for-7 on the penalty kill, Florida has gone 26-for-27 since Oct. 13."
That's impressive. Lars Eller further summed things up regarding Sunday's contest, saying:
"I think we're just in sync. All four players, we know the game plan. We trust each other. Everybody knows what each other's doing and everybody's willing to block shots. At the same time, your goalie has got to be probably your best penalty killer, and he was really good today."
Eller's explanation probably points to the way Florida's penalty kill has been playing over the past two weeks. And they are simple ingredients to the success of any PK unit in hockey. If any of them are struggling, they may want to check out Eller's comments and watch some film on what the Panthers have been doing.
Debates on goaltending can be polarizing. Some fans and analysts look at team play as a whole, while others point to goaltenders as the last line of a team's defense. Those who think in the latter category believe goalies should come up big when given the opportunity.
For the Panthers, they have been forced to roll with two young and inexperienced goaltenders since Jacob Markstrom went down with an injury. Before Sunday's matchup, both netminders had their issues.
Akira Schmid posted just an .867 save percentage, a 3.62 GAA, and a .250 quality starts percentage. Cooper Black debuted in Florida's 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and finished with an .850 save percentage.
In Florida's case, the debate has worked both ways. Eller wasn't wrong when he said: "…your goalie has got to be probably your best penalty killer." But when the netminder is young and hasn't been playing particularly well, it is also up to the entire penalty-kill unit to step up.
The Panthers did that on Sunday. They need to keep doing that if they want to hang around in what has been a tight race so far in the Atlantic Division.
Florida must continue the blueprint Eller shared when they find themselves at 4-on-5. Their next two games feature a home-and-home against the Winnipeg Jets . Then, they kick off the month of November at home vs. the Detroit Red Wings .
Winnipeg and Detroit have struggled offensively. But heading into last weekend, both boasted a solid 22.22 power-play percentage, putting their units in the top half of the league. With the Red Wings and Jets looking good early on in the power play, they give Lars Eller and the Florida Panthers three challenging matchups.
If the penalty-kill unit holds against Winnipeg and Detroit, then this early-season trend of stopping opposing power-play units could be in for one of its best seasons in team history.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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