2020–21 Florida Panthers season

The 2020–21 Florida Panthers season was the 27th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established in 1993. Head coach Joel Quenneville coached his second season with the team.[2] On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment, the Panthers would play this season in the Central Division and would only play games against the other teams in their new division during the regular season, and potentially, the first two rounds of the playoffs.

2020–21 Florida Panthers
Division2nd Central
2020–21 record37–14–5
Home record20–5–3
Road record17–9–2
Goals for189
Goals against153
Team information
General managerBill Zito
CoachJoel Quenneville
CaptainAleksander Barkov
Alternate captainsAaron Ekblad
Patric Hornqvist
Jonathan Huberdeau
Keith Yandle
ArenaBB&T Center
Minor league affiliate(s)Charlotte Checkers (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch (AHL)[1]
Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsAleksander Barkov (26)
AssistsJonathan Huberdeau (41)
PointsJonathan Huberdeau (61)
Penalty minutesRyan Lomberg (67)
Plus/minusMacKenzie Weegar (+29)
WinsSergei Bobrovsky (19)
Goals against averageChris Driedger (2.07)

On April 27, the Panthers clinched a playoff berth after a 7–4 win over the Nashville Predators.[3] In the first round, they met their rivals the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs for the first time. They were eliminated with a 4-0 loss in game six on May 26, continuing the league's longest playoff series win drought.

Standings

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Central Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL RW GF GA GD Pts
1 y – Carolina Hurricanes 56 36 12 8 27 179 136 +43 80
2 x – Florida Panthers 56 37 14 5 26 189 153 +36 79
3 x – Tampa Bay Lightning 56 36 17 3 29 181 147 +34 75
4 x – Nashville Predators 56 31 23 2 21 156 154 +2 64
5 e – Dallas Stars 56 23 19 14 17 158 154 +4 60
6 e – Chicago Blackhawks 56 24 25 7 15 161 186 −25 55
7 e – Detroit Red Wings 56 19 27 10 17 127 171 −44 48
8 e – Columbus Blue Jackets 56 18 26 12 12 137 187 −50 48
Source: National Hockey League[4]
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
e – Eliminated from playoff contention; x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

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Regular season

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The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.[5]

2020–21 game log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)   Postponement

Playoffs

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2021 Stanley Cup playoffs

Legend:   Win   Loss


Draft picks

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Below are the Florida Panthers selection at the 2020 NHL Draft which was held on October 6–7 at NHL Network Studios.

Round # Player Pos Nationally College/Junior/Club team (league)
1 12 Anton Lundell (C)   Finland HIFK (Liiga)
2 43 Emil Heineman (LW)   Sweden Leksands IF (SHL)
3 74 Ty Smilanic (C)   United States U.S. NTDP (USHL)
3 87 Justin Sourdif (RW)   Canada Vancouver Giants (WHL)
4 105 Zachry Uens (D)   Canada Merrimack Warriors (H-East)
5 153 Kasper Puutio (D)   Finland Everett Slivertips (WHL)
7 198 Elliot Ekmark (C)   Sweden Linkoping J20 (SuperElit)
7 212 Devon Levi (G)   Canada Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL)

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Spectators were in attendance, but the exact number was not reported.

References

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  1. ^ "Syracuse Crunch will have dual affiliation in 2021". The Post-Standard. January 6, 2021.
  2. ^ Whyno, Stephen (October 6, 2020). "NHL trageting Jan. 1 to begin next season". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "Panthers rally past Predators, clinch playoff berth". NHL.com. April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  4. ^ "NHL Hockey Standings". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League.
  5. ^ "2020-21 NHL schedule announced". NHL.com. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  6. ^ "NHL schedule changes; Stars open season Jan. 22 due to coronavirus". NHL.com. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  7. ^ "Chicago Blackhawks - Florida Panthers - January 17th, 2021". NHL.com.
  8. ^ "Chicago Blackhawks - Florida Panthers - January 19th, 2021". NHL.com.
  9. ^ "Hurricanes games postponed through Jan. 23 because of COVID-19". NHL.com. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  10. ^ "Florida Panthers - Columbus Blue Jackets - January 26th, 2021". NHL.com.
  11. ^ "Florida Panthers - Columbus Blue Jackets - January 28th, 2021". NHL.com.
  12. ^ "Florida Panthers - Detroit Red Wings - January 30th, 2021". NHL.com.
  13. ^ "Florida Panthers - Detroit Red Wings - January 31st, 2021". NHL.com.
  14. ^ "Nashville Predators - Florida Panthers - February 4th, 2021". NHL.com.
  15. ^ "Nashville Predators - Florida Panthers - February 5th, 2021". NHL.com.
  16. ^ "Detroit Red Wings - Florida Panthers - February 7th, 2021". NHL.com.
  17. ^ "Detroit Red Wings - Florida Panthers - February 9th, 2021". NHL.com.
  18. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning - Florida Panthers - February 11th, 2021". NHL.com.
  19. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning - Florida Panthers - February 13th, 2021". NHL.com.
  20. ^ "Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - February 15th, 2021". NHL.com.
  21. ^ "Florida Panthers - Carolina Hurricanes - February 17th, 2021". NHL.com.
  22. ^ "Florida Panthers - Detroit Red Wings - February 19th, 2021". NHL.com.
  23. ^ "Florida Panthers - Detroit Red Wings - February 20th, 2021". NHL.com.
  24. ^ "Dallas Stars - Florida Panthers - February 22nd, 2021". NHL.com.
  25. ^ "Dallas Stars - Florida Panthers - February 24th, 2021". NHL.com.
  26. ^ "Dallas Stars - Florida Panthers - February 25th, 2021". NHL.com.
  27. ^ "Carolina Hurricanes - Florida Panthers - February 27th, 2021". NHL.com.
  28. ^ "Carolina Hurricanes - Florida Panthers - March 1st, 2021". NHL.com.
  29. ^ "Florida Panthers - Nashville Predators - March 4th, 2021". NHL.com.
  30. ^ "Florida Panthers - Nashville Predators - March 6th, 2021". NHL.com.
  31. ^ "Florida Panthers - Carolina Hurricanes - March 7th, 2021". NHL.com.
  32. ^ "Florida Panthers - Columbus Blue Jackets - March 9th, 2021". NHL.com.
  33. ^ "Nashville Predators - Carolina Hurricanes - March 11th, 2021". NHL.com.
  34. ^ "Chicago Blackhawks - Florida Panthers - March 13th, 2021". NHL.com.
  35. ^ "Chicago Blackhawks - Florida Panthers - March 15th, 2021". NHL.com.
  36. ^ "Nashville Predators - Florida Panthers - March 18th, 2021". NHL.com.
  37. ^ "Nashville Predators - Florida Panthers - March 20th, 2021". NHL.com.
  38. ^ "Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - March 21st, 2021". NHL.com.
  39. ^ "Florida Panthers - Chicago Blackhawks - March 23rd, 2021". NHL.com.
  40. ^ "Florida Panthers - Chicago Blackhawks - March 25th, 2021". NHL.com.
  41. ^ "Florida Panthers - Dallas Stars - March 27th, 2021". NHL.com.
  42. ^ "Florida Panthers - Dallas Stars - March 28th, 2021". NHL.com.
  43. ^ "Detroit Red Wings - Florida Panthers - March 30th, 2021". NHL.com.
  44. ^ "Detroit Red Wings - Florida Panthers - April 1st, 2021". NHL.com.
  45. ^ "Columbus Blue Jackets - Florida Panthers - April 3rd, 2021". NHL.com.
  46. ^ "Columbus Blue Jackets - Florida Panthers - April 4th, 2021". NHL.com.
  47. ^ "Florida Panthers - Carolina Hurricanes - April 6th, 2021". NHL.com.
  48. ^ "Florida Panthers - Carolina Hurricanes - April 8th, 2021". NHL.com.
  49. ^ "Florida Panthers - Dallas Stars - April 10th, 2021". NHL.com.
  50. ^ "Florida Panthers - Dallas Stars - April 13th, 2021". NHL.com.
  51. ^ "Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - April 15th, 2021". NHL.com.
  52. ^ "Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - April 17th, 2021". NHL.com.
  53. ^ "Columbus Blue Jackets - Florida Panthers - April 19th, 2021". NHL.com.
  54. ^ "Columbus Blue Jackets - Florida Panthers - April 20th, 2021". NHL.com.
  55. ^ "Carolina Hurricanes - Florida Panthers - April 22nd, 2021". NHL.com.
  56. ^ "Carolina Hurricanes - Florida Panthers - April 24th, 2021". NHL.com.
  57. ^ "Florida Panthers - Nashville Predators - April 26th, 2021". NHL.com.
  58. ^ "Florida Panthers - Nashville Predators - April 27th, 2021". NHL.com.
  59. ^ "Florida Panthers - Chicago Blackhawks - April 29th, 2021". NHL.com.
  60. ^ "Florida Panthers - Chicago Blackhawks - May 1st, 2021". NHL.com.
  61. ^ "Dallas Stars - Florida Panthers - May 3rd, 2021". NHL.com.
  62. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning - Florida Panthers - May 8th, 2021". NHL.com.
  63. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning - Florida Panthers - May 10th, 2021". NHL.com.
  64. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning - Florida Panthers - May 16th, 2021". NHL.com.
  65. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning - Florida Panthers - May 18th, 2021". NHL.com.
  66. ^ "Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - May 20th, 2021". NHL.com.
  67. ^ "Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - May 22nd, 2021". NHL.com.
  68. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning - Florida Panthers - May 24th, 2021". NHL.com.
  69. ^ "Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - May 26th, 2021". NHL.com.