Panthers focused on winning, not style points

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WASHINGTON The Florida Panthers are not looking for style points at this stage of the season. Missing defensemen Aaron Ekblad  upper body  and Brandon Montour  upper body  and center Sam Bennett lower body , three players who played key roles in their run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, the Panthers are simply trying to find ways to win games. So, in that way, Florida's 4 3 overtime win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Wednesday was exactly what it needed.  The Panthers fell behind 1 0 in the first period and trailed 3 2 entering the third, but they rebounded each time before winning on Sam Reinhart's goal 15 seconds into the extra period. 'It's not going to be perfect right now,' Florida coach Paul Maurice said Hurricanes T-Shirts.  'We don't have that expectation. 'But the Panthers do have an expectation to win.  That has carried over from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, when they advanced to the Final before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. After opening the season with consecutive losses, Florida has gone 7 2 1 in its past 10 games, including overcoming another third period deficit in a 5 4 overtime victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. 'They're two games that haven't been pretty from start to finish,' Reinhart said.  'We had our moments in them, but we were able to stick with it.  Those are the type of points that are huge at this time of the year and that pay off later. 'If there were questions on the outside about how Florida would survive without Ekblad and Montour, who each had offseason shoulder surgery after playing through his injury in the playoffs, the Panthers say there weren't any inside their locker room. Granted, not having Bennett for all but one game because of two different lower body injuries added to the challenge, but the Panthers have more than gotten by with timely offensive contributions from their top players, such as Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, and a commitment to team defense. Florida is tied for 12th in the NHL in goals against per game  2. 92  and seventh in the League in shots allowed per game  28.  That's how many shots the Capitals had Wednesday. 'I think everyone has stepped up a little bit,' said defenseman Gustav Forsling, whose backdoor pass set up Evan Rodriguesfor the goal that tied it 3 3 at 3:33 of the third period Jesper Fast Jersey.  'We miss two real good guys for us, so I think it's up to the rest of us.  But I know we've got great players here, so we've been handling it very well, I think. 'Knowing Ekblad and Montour would miss the start of the season, the Panthers bolstered their defense in the offseason by signing Oliver Ekman Larsson to a one year contract, Niko Mikkola to a three year contract, and Dmitry Kulikovto a one year contract.  As a result, the defense should get even stronger when Ekblad and Montour are ready to play, which Maurice said earlier this week could be during a three game homestand that begins against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov.  20. Regardless, it's been a collective effort for the Panthers, particularly without Bennett at center, who Maurice referred to as 'that linchpin' connecting the forwards with the defensemen in the team's defensive system. 'I think the forward group did learn a whole lot about the way we play in the playoffs,' Maurice said.  'That is the one holdover from last year, the work ethic of our forwards, the back pressure, the commitment to battling and winning one on one battles.  That's still there. 'Reinhart and Barkov played a key role in the offense on Wednesday, each finishing with a goal and an assist.  Reinhart set up Barkov's goal from the left circle that gave Florida a 2 1 lead at 16:45 of the first period.  Barkov then returned the favor in overtime with a cross ice pass that banked off the boards to Reinhart, who skated down the right wing before scoring the winning goal with a shot over goalie Darcy Kuemper's glove. 'They're driving the offensive game for us right now,' Maurice said.  'We know that we're a little challenged offensively, but those guys certainly aren't. 'Florida will now head home for a rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday  7 p. m.  ET; BSSO, BSFL  https://www.hurricanesprostore.com/justin-robidas-jersey.  The Panthers swept that series with four one goal victories, including a 3 2 win in four overtimes in Game 1, to reach the Cup Final for the second time in their history  1996. Although they aspire to get that far again and take the next step this season, they know it won't be easy.  No team has returned to Stanley Cup Final the season after losing in it since the Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost in six games to the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 Cup Final but bounced back to defeat the Red Wings in seven games in the 2009 Cup Final. Getting through this start of the season without Ekblad, Montour and Bennett is an important step in that direction. "The identity we're wanting to play, the game plan we're trying to execute on a nightly basis, it's to be successful when you're not 100 percent, because what it comes down to is you can't be 100 percent all the time, and we saw that last year,' Reinhart said.  'These are important ones at this time of year to kind of build that structure and build that consistency. "