Aaron Ekblad says the Florida Panthers have had a tough October, and the schedule keeps pushing them away from home again tonight.
The veteran defenseman spoke about the road-heavy start, and he didn't dress it up. "It hasn't been easy for us, obviously," Ekblad said.
Florida is at Winnipeg tonight, Tuesday, October 27. That's another road game for a team that has spent most of its early season living out of suitcases.
The numbers show how lopsided the calendar has been. Of the Panthers' 12 games, only three have been played at home, where they sit 2-1-0.
The road tells a busier story. Florida is 4-3-2 away from home, which means nine of its 12 games have come in someone else's building.
That's a lot of hotel lobbies for a team trying to find its footing. Winning four of those nine is respectable, but it hasn't been smooth.
Sunday in Chicago was a good example. The Panthers won 3-2 at CHI, a result that left them with a win in their last game.
Panthers' October grind could shape the Atlantic race
Florida sits 6th in the Atlantic Division and 15th in the NHL, with a 6-4-2 record and 14 points. That's mid-pack, and not where this group wants to be.
Here is the part that should bother Paul Maurice. The Panthers have scored 34 goals and allowed 36, a goal differential of -2.
Ekblad's own numbers reflect the struggle. The 30-year-old has 4 points in 10 games and a -6 rating, a tough line for the first pick of the 2014 draft.
Still, the Panthers captain's message wasn't a complaint. Here is what Ekblad said about how Florida plans to respond.
"We're going to try and find a way to get out of it on top, and it finishes with tonight," Ekblad said in the Panthers' post.
The Panthers are 5-4-1 over their last 10, so the pieces are there. But can a team really call itself on top if its best hockey is still waiting on a homestand?
Tonight in Winnipeg is the last stop of this stretch, according to Ekblad. What the Panthers do with the next stretch of games will tell us whether October was a bump or a warning.
Is the Panthers' road-heavy October a valid excuse for their 6-4-2 start?
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