One stat that perfectly captures the Florida Panthers identity

What's jumped out to me is how calm Florida looks when the score tightens, even when the building gets loud and the game turns messy. That's usually a sign of structure, and Paul Maurice's teams tend to live off it.

On Monday in Buffalo, the Panthers didn't need a perfect night, they just needed their usual backbone. They beat the Sabres 4-3, with A.J. Greer scoring twice and Anton Lundell bagging the eventual winner.

Buffalo came in flying, winners of 13 of their last 15, and that's why this one mattered beyond the standings math. Sergei Bobrovsky only faced 23 shots, but his 20 saves kept Florida composed when momentum tried to flip.

As a fan watching this group, you can feel that quiet belief when they defend a lead, it's like everyone trusts the next read. That confidence shows up in little details, a hard backcheck, a smart rim, a clean change.

Greer is a good example of why Maurice buys into his roster, because he rewards simple, honest shifts. Carter Verhaeghe chipped in three assists, Sam Bennett added two, and suddenly a line has teeth without needing it to be fancy.

Bill Lindsay even tossed some wild «tight game» numbers out there that match the eye test, Florida rarely panics when it's close.

The bigger point is that this team's identity travels, and it travels because Bobrovsky stays steady behind it. When your goalie doesn't chase saves, the bench doesn't chase offense.

Florida still has work to do, but the path is obvious, defend hard, get pucks deep, and trust the next shift. If they keep stacking games like Monday, the next milestone is turning this mini-surge into a real run.