Carter Verhaeghe says the Florida Panthers are "starting to build on something a little bit" as they go for a fourth straight win tonight against the Red Wings.
The timing matters. Florida sits 8-4-2 and fifth in the Atlantic, and the room knows how tight that division is.
Jameson Olive caught Verhaeghe on the way into tonight's game, and the center made it clear where the focus is.
Verhaeghe told the team's official account that every game is important, and that stringing a couple together builds confidence and gets the team going in the right direction. Those are his words, and they sound like a veteran who has seen both sides of a season.
He has earned the right to talk that way. Verhaeghe has 8 goals and 12 points in 14 games, including 4 power-play goals and 2 game-winners.
The Panthers beat Winnipeg 5-2 on Friday for their third straight win, and they are 6-4-0 over their last 10. Detroit comes in 6-5-3 and lost its last game 5-4 to St. Louis on Saturday.
Aaron Ekblad wasn't about to oversell it. Ahead of the game, he told the team's account that nothing is working better or worse than before, and that the style Florida plays gives up very little off the rush.
Why Paul Maurice calls tonight critical
The coach framed it as a division game first. Maurice said it is "a divisional game. Really, really critical with every one of these teams being legit and five points apart."
Florida is 10th in the NHL, but the Atlantic is where the pressure sits. Detroit is eighth in the division, so the Red Wings have more to chase than the Panthers do.
A goal differential of +5 is solid, not dominant. Florida has scored 44 and allowed 39, which fits Ekblad's point that the team survives by limiting good looks rather than by outscoring everyone.
That is a fine formula as long as Verhaeghe keeps finishing. If the power play keeps cashing in through him, a fourth win tonight pushes Florida further from the pack, and it might be the first real separation the Panthers have had in the Atlantic this season.
Are the Panthers a real threat in the Atlantic or just riding a soft stretch?
Voting closed
Latest Stories
Lineup Change: Jack Devine enters Panthers lineupBIG INJURY NEWS FROM PANTHERS CAMPPaul Maurice says the Panthers are within two weeks of getting Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand back, per Mark Scheig.
Injury Update: Paul Maurice on Barkov and MarchandTHE PANTHERS SHAKE UP THEIR LINESBrady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk skated with Sam Bennett in the middle at the Florida Panthers' morning skate in Columbus.
Lineup Change: Tkachuks reunite with Bennett in ColumbusCOLUMBUS HAS MADE ITS GOALIE CALLRick Bowness just confirmed that Cam Talbot will start in net for the Blue Jackets tonight against the Panthers, per beat reporter Doug Plagens.
Rick Bowness sets Blue Jackets goalie for Panthers gameA GOALIE CLUE IN COLUMBUS THIS MORNINGBrian Hedger just reported that Cameron Talbot looks set to start for the Blue Jackets tonight against the Florida Panthers.
Blue Jackets tip their hand before the Panthers visitOTTAWA JUST SET A NEW STANDARDBrady Tkachuk's return night in Ottawa is still echoing around the league as the Panthers head to Columbus tonight.
Brady Tkachuk's Ottawa night still echoes around the NHLANOTHER RULING PANTHERS FANS WON'T LIKEFlaHockeyNow just reported that Tom Wilson will not be suspended for his boarding hit on Sandis Vilmanis, and the Panthers beat has a clear opinion on it.
Tom Wilson avoids suspension for the Vilmanis hitA HALL OF FAME SHOUTOUT FOR A PANTHERPatrice Bergeron just thanked Brad Marchand, now a Panther, from the Hockey Hall of Fame stage tonight.
Patrice Bergeron has a message for Brad Marchand