The Florida Panthers are midway through November in their quest to replicate the early 1980s New York Islanders and win three-straight Stanley Cups. With a record of 9-7-1 and 19 points, they sit just one measly point behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card spot and behind the Islanders for the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Additionally, they sit three points behind the Boston Bruins for the third spot in the Atlantic Division.
As shown in the standings, they’re not off to the best of starts, but it looks like they’re beginning to turn it around with two-straight wins. Much of their struggles are due to their laundry list of injuries. Furthermore, one veteran piece that has also not been performing well is the newly-acquired piece in Jeff Petry, who signed a one-year deal worth $775,000 this past offseason.
The “Petry Dish” Has Not Been a Good Serving for the Panthers
Since taking the ice in Florida, Petry has not been the best. He’s played in all 17 games for the team, but has only tallied five assists and has a minus-3 rating. Additionally, he has the third-most giveaways on the team with 18 and the third-most defensive zone giveaways with 10. Along with that, he has failed to register a single takeaway.
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This brings his career points to 390 (96 goals and 294 assists) and a minus-131 rating through 998 games played. “Ouch” would be an understatement.
He’s Had a Revolving Door of Defensive Partners
Due to injury and line shakeups from head coach Paul Maurice, Petry has had three different defensive partners on the third pairing over the past month and a half.
He was originally paired with Dmitry Kulikov until Kulikov went down with an upper-body injury in the first week of the season. It ultimately required surgery and will keep him out of the lineup for five months.
Petry was then paired with young Latvian Uvis Balinskis, but it brought the same results, including struggles for Balinskis.
In an attempt to get the pair rolling, Maurice paired him up with their newest waiver acquisition, Donovan Sebrango. While Sebrango has shown potential, he hasn’t really worked out with Petry.
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Due to this revolving door of different partners, Petry has failed to develop any chemistry with any of them. This is a huge factor in his struggles.
Luckily, There Is Time to Right the Ship
Thankfully, Petry’s struggles are occurring early on in what has been a tough season for the defense as a whole. Through 17 games, the team has a minus-2 goal differential. Petry is no stranger to the ups and downs of the NHL, considering he’s played in nearly 1000 regular-season games and 48 playoff games since his rookie 2010-11 season.
Despite his struggles throughout most of the season, the Ann Arbor, Michigan native has tallied three assists and has had a plus-1 rating in his last five games. This could be a sign the 37-year-old is beginning to bounce back.
However, this rebound has to happen quickly, otherwise the quest to win three-straight Cups will crash and burn. Petry has the veteran skills to be a solid defenseman, but he has to bring out the arsenal soon.
