The Florida Panthers Are Waking Up at the Right Time

The Florida Panthers have spent chunks of this season duct-taping lineups together and daring the NHL to deal with it.

No Matthew Tkachuk.

No Aleksander Barkov.

No Tomas Nosek, Cole Schwindt, Dmitry Kulikov, or Jonah Gadjovich.

On paper, that’s a mess.

In reality? The Panthers are starting to look dangerous again.

As the Christmas break arrives, Florida sits at 20–14–2, winners of eight of their last ten games, and suddenly playing like a team that remembers exactly how to win in May and June. Back-to-back Stanley Cup banners don’t just hang there for decoration.

Depth Has Carried the Load While the Stars Heal

With Tkachuk and Barkov sidelined to start the season, Florida needed someone to grab the wheel.

Several someones did.

New father Carter Verhaeghe kept skating like sleep was optional. Brad Marchand turned into a one-man chaos engine. And Sam Bennett kept doing Sam Bennett things.

Marchand has been the heartbeat of the offense, leading the team in goals (20), assists (21), and points (41). That’s not just production. That’s tone-setting.

And it showed in the Panthers’ most recent outing on Dec. 23, when they erased a 2–0 third-period deficit and dropped five unanswered goals on the Carolina Hurricanes for a 5–2 win.

That’s not luck. That’s belief.

From the Basement to the Playoff Picture

Not long ago, Florida was sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Now? They’re right back in the mix.

With 42 points, the Panthers currently hold the final Wild Card spot in the East, trailing only the Detroit Red Wings (47 points), Montreal Canadiens (45), and the Tampa Bay Lightning (43).And about that Lightning team…

A Statement Stretch Starts Now

Florida’s post-break schedule doesn’t ease them back in. It throws them straight into the fire.

The Lightning visit Amerant Bank Arena on Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. ET, kicking off a five-game homestand that includes the Panthers’ Winter Classic showdown at loanDepot Park on Jan. 2.

By then, reinforcements should be arriving. Tkachuk and Nosek are expected back soon, finally making their debuts for the 2025–26 season.

And if Florida keeps playing like this when the cavalry returns?

That “slow start” conversation is going to disappear real fast.

Because the Panthers aren’t just surviving December.

They’re heating up.

And everyone in the East knows what happens when this team catches fire.