Panthers, Penguins finding their stride heading into matchup

The Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins may be on opposite ends of the standings in the NHL, but both teams will carry three-game winning streaks into their game Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.

The Panthers, whose 31 points led the Atlantic Division by one over Toronto entering Monday, head to the Steel City having beaten the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 and 6-0 in a home-and-home series between last season's Eastern Conference finalists over the holiday weekend. It was the second time in franchise history that the Panthers scored six goals each on back-to-back days.

Those wins, as well as a 5-1 home win last Wednesday over the Toronto Maple Leafs, have come on the heels of a four-game losing streak. Saturday's shutout of the Hurricanes in Sunrise, Fla., included a season-high three power-play goals.

After Saturday's 6-0 home win, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the current streak isn't an indication that anything was fixed aside from the team's energy level, which he added may have been affected by its trip to Finland at the beginning of November. Florida swept Dallas in the two-game series in Europe and then won its next two games before dropping six out of seven.

"We're not behind it that much, but we're not at our level, our game," Maurice said Saturday. "I think the veterans and the leadership got the room wound up. There's a recognition that we weren't played on a high enough level, and they got them going."

Team captain Aleksander Barkov was among the top skaters in the NHL during November. He ended the month with five goals and 16 assists. The 21 points tied him with Washington's Dylan Strome for the second-most points in the month, one behind Carolina's Martin Necas. He also reached the 20-point plateau in a month for the fifth time in his career, tying him with Pavel Bure for the Panthers' record.

Pittsburgh is in last place in the Metropolitan Division, tied with the New York Islanders at 24 points. However, the Penguins have put together a season-best three-game winning streak on the heels of a disastrous nine-game stretch where the Penguins gave up 39 goals and scored only 18 en route to a 2-5-2 mark.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan credited the turnaround to the team committing to playing a "simplified version" of their game that has eliminated scoring chances for opponents.

In Saturday's 6-2 home win over Calgary, the Penguins jumped out to a 5-0 lead. They also scored three power-play goals for the first time since beating Florida 7-6 in overtime on Jan. 24, 2023. Michael Bunting and Kris Letang both scored three points in the team's most decisive win of the season.

"I just think when you play an honest game, and you don't chase offense, and you don't turn into a high-risk team, you have the ability to create offense in different ways," Sullivan said on Tuesday. "But more importantly, you're not giving your opponents easy offense, and you're making it harder for them to get quality looks."

Tuesday's game may be an indicator of whether Pittsburgh's approach is working. The Penguins are the first team to reach 100 goals allowed this season, and their 3.77 goals-against average is second-highest in the NHL. Meanwhile, the Panthers' offense ranks fifth in the league, averaging 3.64 goals per game.

--Field Level Media