There was no rest for the wicked as the Florida Panthers have begun the 2024-25 NHL season with a stretch of five games in eight days. The Panthers start was a little up and down, starting out hot with a 6-4 win over the Bruins, before struggling on the road in Ottawa and Buffalo, before rebounding with 4-3 wins in back to back road wins in Boston and Columbus. The story of the Panthers season so far has been injuries. Both Aleksander Barkov (ankle) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness) each have missed the last three games, while Adam Boqvist sat for the Ottawa game due to a facial injury suffered on Opening Night. That’s not to mention Tomas Nosek, who has yet to make his Panthers regular season debut, being placed on LTIR. Overall, the Panthers have had 12 man games lost due to injury, and that number will likely keep increasing over the next couple of games. Nonetheless, its been a solid start for the Panthers, considering they have weathered the adversity from the losses of their primary two locker room leaders and have had to play with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen in their last three games. Here are five observations I’ve taken from the first five games of the season.

Observation #1: Mackie Samoskevich may need more time in the AHL

Throughout the offseason, the former first round pick’s name was penciled in on the third line right wing spot alongside Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. The Michigan man failed to produce a point in 7 NHL games last season, but was excellent in the AHL, putting up 22 goals and 54 points in 64 games for the Charlotte Checkers. An injury suffered in the offseason meant he missed almost all of preseason, yet Samoskevich took the ice on opening night against the Bruins, as he won the battle over Patrick Giles, Sandis Vilmanis and an injured Justin Sourdif. Samoskevich is still looking for his first NHL point as he enters his 13th NHL game, which is concerning, considering he is supposed to be an offensively producing forward. He’s shown flashes of his potential offensively, but with the injuries has been separated from the Finns and often playing with regular fourth liners.

It probably won’t be long before he records his first NHL point, but the big concerns right now are in how Samoskevich plays defensively and along the boards. He’s lost a lot of board battles, and has made several defensive mistakes, and has generally looked like one of the weakest defensive forwards on a team that prides itself on defensive forwards. He wasn’t drafted to be a defensive forward, but he needs to be able to win more battles and play better defensively. With the injuries to Barkov and Tkachuk, Patrick Giles was recalled and made his NHL debut, and has looked better in his three NHL games of action. Giles seems like a much better fit for the Maurice playstyle, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he sticks around in Sunrise, and Mackie heads back to Charlotte once Barkov and Tkachuk return to the lineup. Jesper Boqvist has some offensive ability that could be utilized in the Top 9 and he may push Samoskevich out. I expect a lot of eyeballs behind the Panthers bench and in the management suite to be on the rookie in the next two games, because if he doesn’t record a point in either of those two games, he may be going back to Charlotte.

Observation #2: The Bottom Pair Defensive Battle

Coming into the season, Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling were put in as anchors on the top pairing, with Niko Mikkola also anchored to the second pair. This left a battle for Mikkola’s partner and the bottom pairing, with Dmitry Kulikov securing the Top 4 spot, while Uvis Balinskis and Adam Boqvist beat out Nate Schmidt for the third pair. However, Boqvist was injured on opening night and Schmidt drew in against the Senators. When Boqvist came back for the Sabres game, the team were without Barkov and Tkachuk and with no cap space to call up a 12th forward, Balinskis was moved to play forward. Schmidt is the only one of the three to score a goal, opening the scoring in Buffalo. Balinskis has been deployed as a forward recently and it has gone about as well as one would expect a defender to play as a 4th line forward. He hasn’t been bad, but he is clearly a defenseman. I’m wondering if Paul Maurice should give Adam Boqvist a shot up front. He has the most offensive upside out of the three, and has struggled a bit defensively to start the season. Then again, he’s been running the powerplay without Barkov and Tkachuk, and took a puck to the face to start the season. Maurice likes Balinskis and has given the Latvian time on the powerplay. It wouldn’t be surprising if Boqvist is the odd man out when the team is back to full strength.

Observation #3: Spencer Knight remains an enigma

The start of the season has also seen Spencer Knight return to the NHL. Knight had not played an NHL game since February 2023 when he suited up for the Panthers on Saturday night and his NHL return was not good. Knight struggled, letting in four goals on 22 shots against a young Sabres team and the shots he let in were not exactly quality goals. However, once again one must remember the caveat- the team didn’t have Barkov and Tkachuk, and Barkov’s presence was sorely missed against the upstart Sabres who kept the Panthers pinned in their zone for much of the game. Knight acknowledged his rough outing after the game, but got a shot at redemption on Tuesday against Columbus. Facing an emotional Blue Jackets team, Knight kept his composure, turning in a strong performance against a late Columbus onslaught to stop 35 out of 38 pucks and to secure his first NHL win since January 3rd, 2023. He’s only played two games, so it is hard to give a verdict on how he looks. The Buffalo performance was concerning, the Columbus performance gave us optimism. Simply put, a larger sample size is needed to see whether he is ready to take over as the Panthers starter of the future within the next couple of years.

Observation #4: The Panthers aren’t satisfied

One question entering the season was whether or not the Panthers would experience a Stanley Cup hangover. Early returns seem to indicate that the team looks completely sober and focused on bringing the Cup back to South Florida. Sam Reinhart has picked up right where he left off, tied for 2nd in the NHL in points with 8 and tied for 2nd in goals with 4. After a lackluster performance in Ottawa, Anton Lundell has reignited his playoff offensive form, recording 3 goals and 4 points in the back-to-back and has performed well on the PK without Aleksander Barkov. Sam Bennett has also started hot, with 3 goals and 2 assists in the opening 5 games. Most impressive, however, is that other than the rookies (Giles and Samoskevich), every skater in the Panthers lineup has recorded a point so far this season. With 18 different skaters having appeared on the scoresheet, the Panthers lead the league in regards to having the most skaters having at least one point so far this season. A little concerning is Carter Verhaeghe’s struggles to start the year, with him only getting off the board with an assist against Columbus on Tuesday. However, I don’t expect him to be goalless for long.

Observation #5: Jonah Gadjovich may be an everyday NHL player

After being signed last year, Jonah Gadjovich suited up in 39 regular season games for the Panthers. Unfortunately, as the 15th forward, Gadjo didn’t make an appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the Panthers petition to get his name on the Cup was granted. Gadjovich managed to win an opening night roster spot out of training camp, and doesn’t appear to be letting that go. He scored the Game Winning Goal on Opening Night, and while he hasn’t been on the scoresheet since, he’s done an excellent job in the Panthers system. He’s getting into the right places off the puck, he’s managed to hold his own on a makeshift line with a rookie non-natural center up the middle and a defenseman on the wing. With the Panthers cap strapped, the Panthers seem to want to keep him in the NHL and it wouldn’t be surprising if he manages to become an everyday player this season.