Florida Panthers: one very interesting stat that gives fans real hope

The Florida Panthers keep winning ugly, and that is the whole point right now.

They are the defending champs, but this season has felt like survival hockey, not a victory lap.

Every week brings another lineup shuffle, another guy asked to play up a rung, another night where the group just tries to stay above water.

And yet here they are at 26-20-3 for 55 points, still hanging around the Eastern mix even with half the roster taped together.

A fan summed up the mood perfectly, Florida had more points at this point last year, but the gap is small considering what they've endured.

That tweet also nails the other truth, the Atlantic has been nastier this season, and the margin for comfort is basically gone.

So the Panthers aren't chasing style points, they're chasing oxygen, one shift, one period, one game at a time.

It looks like «next man up,» but it's really «next detail up,» because the system only works if everyone plays the same tight, stubborn way.

That's where the coaching matters, Maurice keeps selling belief, and the room keeps buying it, even when the bench is missing nameplates.

You saw it again in Winnipeg, a 2-1 shootout win where the structure held, the pace spiked in 3 on 3, and Florida still found a way.

That is Panthers identity at its loudest, defend hard, stay close, then trust skill and nerve when the game turns into a coin flip.

As a fan, you stop asking for easy wins and start respecting the grind, because this team refuses to fold.

The injuries have not changed their backbone, they have just forced it to show up every single night.

When the legs go, the veterans slow the game down with smart positioning and little battles that don't make highlight reels.

When the kids get called in, they don't have to be heroes, they just have to be reliable enough for the group to stay connected.

And when the building gets tense, the fans have leaned in, because nobody in South Florida wants to hear «it's over» until it's actually over.

The second half is going to be a long road, but if the Panthers keep banking points like this, the story won't be about how wounded they were, it'll be about how hard they were to kill.