The Florida Panthers have had a difficult early season. Despite this, the team is hanging on to the NHL playoff line.
The early season of the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers has been tinged with difficulties.
The team has fallen below the playoff line and has been ineffective in the flat Eastern Conference.
A significant factor in the Florida team’s difficult early season has been injuries. The team’s two top strikers, the champion captain Aleksander Barkov and the soul player Matthew Tkachukhave been sidelined for all of their team’s games.
The absence of the number one players has been reflected in the team’s performances. It is granted by the club’s Finnish team Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola.
– Of course it shows to some extent. They are our two top players and big leaders in the booth. Other players have had to get used to slightly different roles, Mikkola said.
Luostarinen, among others, have also been injured Jonah Gadjovich and Dmitry Kulikov.
Luostarinen has played in seven matches since his injury, of which the Panthers have won six. The return to the rink has been relished by the Savoie.
– It’s great that there wasn’t too long a break from games, and I was able to get back to playing and fighting for important points relatively quickly. We have a good streak now, and we have been able to play more of our style of hockey, Luostarinen beamed.
The players haven’t given up on the current season. At the time of writing, the Panthers are one point away from the playoff line.
And the Panthers already showed last season that all it needs is to make the playoffs to be successful.
The Panthers won their second straight championship last year despite starting each playoff series on the road.
Christmas in Florida
Eetu Luostarinen’s smile was delicate last summer. PDO
Finnish hockey players living in southern Florida will not see Christmas, but they will get a small taste of Finnish Christmas in their own homes.
They get fillings for their Christmas tables from the local Finnish church.
– Through this, we have been able to order quite traditional Finnish Christmas delicacies, such as ham. And of course the family can then bring chocolate and other basic things from Finland, Luostarinen said.
Luostarinen especially looks forward to traditional Christmas ham at Christmas.
– Ham with a good mustard coating and a little Turku mustard on top, it always tastes good, he said.
Mikkola is on the same lines as his teammate. However, Suomalaishärkä states that ham is not his number one thing at Christmas.
– Fazer’s Blue chocolate or something similar might be the thing for me.
NHL players’ Christmases don’t go quite as smoothly as many others.
The Panthers will play the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on the eve, after which they will be able to relax with their loved ones.
– We then have two or three days off. That time goes by fast. We have a little time to spend time with loved ones and relax, but then we go back to work, Mikkola decided.
Niko Mikkola celebrated the championship in Finland last summer. AOP / TOMI NATRI