The State of Hockey: three overtimes, four points and no captain

The Panthers played three games on the road this week, and all three went to overtime. The cats came out of it with four points and without their captain, so the whole week comes down to one left leg and a penalty box that never emptied.

My verdict: this team is perfectly fine at five-on-five and a mess on special teams. Florida has been shorthanded 14 times in three games, by our count, and the power play is 1 for 17, which means fixing those two numbers probably makes the cats 3-0.

The cats

The record is 1-0-2 after Florida beat Carolina 1-0 on banner night, came back from three down and lost in San Jose, then lost in Anaheim on a 4-on-3.

The game that mattered was San Jose, and not because of the score. Aleksander Barkov played 9.3 minutes before the leg went, per NHL data, and he's now on long-term injured reserve. He sees the team's doctors today, although Maurice already said it's 10 games anyway.

Who's rolling: Jacob Markstrom, who has a .917 save percentage, a 1.40 goals-against average and a shutout in two starts, and who stopped all 14 even-strength shots in Anaheim. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett have points in two straight, and Seth Jones is eating 28.4 minutes a night.

Then there's Brad Marchand, who played 13.2 minutes in his first game since March and tied it with the goalie pulled. A veteran returning from surgery to steal a road point is a Heat Culture shift.

Who owes the room a better week: the shooters. Sam Reinhart plays 22.3 minutes a night and has no points in three games, and Brady Tkachuk has none either. Three games is a small sample, but a power play with those two on it can't sit at 1 for 17.

The kill was 9 for 10 before Anaheim and 1 for 4 in it, undone by a hold, too many men, a cross-check and a trip in overtime. Nobody kills their way through October.

Lineup watch: Aaron Ekblad missed Anaheim and is day-to-day for personal reasons.

The upcoming schedule is short, starting Tuesday with the Kings in Los Angeles at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Kings have killed two of seven penalties, by our count, and I locked a Florida power-play goal in Sunday's Room. After that, the home opener is Saturday at 6 against Minnesota.

Across the bay

Tampa is 1-1, and the two games looked like they involved two completely different teams. Thursday in New York was a 5-1 loss that ended with Igor Shesterkin shooting one into the empty net.

Saturday's home opener was the appropriate answer, with Charle-Edouard D'Astous and Conor Geekie scoring in the first period of a 3-1 win over Washington. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves in his 600th game for career win 371, the most by any goalie through 600.

"We won a ton of battles, which was the complete opposite of what happened the night before," Jon Cooper said.

Here's what I'd watch if I rooted for them, and I don't. The power play is 0 for 10, by our count, even though Nikita Kucherov has a point in both games on 23.5 minutes a night. Tampa with a cold power play and a hot Vasilevskiy is still a hard two points for anybody.

Philadelphia is in Tampa tonight at 7, and the Flyers' power play hasn't scored yet either. Somebody's ends the drought, or nobody's does. Minnesota visits Thursday, and Saturday the Lightning are at the Islanders.

The Estero line

Training camp opened today at Hertz Arena, and the Everblades got seven new bodies to start it. All seven came down from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, because this is the Blades' first season as Pittsburgh's ECHL affiliate and that's where the call-up line runs now.

The name you know is Mark Senden, who had nine goals and 15 points in 23 playoff games on the 2024 Kelly Cup team, then spent two years in the AHL with Colorado, so he knows the room and already has a ring from this team.

The name to learn is Brent Johnson, who led ECHL rookie defensemen with 55 points in 72 games for Wheeling last year.

The read: Brad Ralph's team just got a 55-point defenseman and a proven playoff scorer on the same day. It's the ECHL, and that's still an excellent day in any league.

Orlando comes to Estero for preseason games Thursday and Friday at 7:30. Opening night is Oct. 17 against the same Solar Bears, when the fifth championship banner goes up. Team page.

Campus to Sunrise

Florida Gulf Coast did it again. I told the Gators last week to prove it in Estero, and Friday at Hertz Arena the Eagles beat Florida 9-3. It was 3-2 after two periods before FGCU scored six in the third, five of them in a stretch of 8:25.

Cole Bauman scored twice. Jake Court, Shayne Tomlinson and Chad Noetzel each had a goal and two assists, and Mason DeCaire stopped 29 of 32. The shots were 47-32 for the Eagles. Box score. Saturday's rematch hasn't posted, so FGCU still shows 4-2-0 and Florida 2-1-0.

USF took the first half of the Bay rivalry, 6-1 over Tampa in Clearwater. Ryan Koch stopped 42 of 43 while Ryan Lohrius and Jace Koenigsmark each scored twice, Grant Dietz had four assists, and three of the goals came on the power play. Box score. USF is 3-2-0 and second in M3 College Hockey South.

FAU got its first point of the M2 season the hard way. St. Thomas outshot the Owls 49-28 at Boca Ice, and it ended 2-2 after overtime. Rocco Bruno made 47 saves, and both FAU goals came on the power play. Box score.

Tampa's M2 team sits first in M2 College Hockey South at 4-1-0, but the rest of the weekend hasn't posted scores yet, and the Florida hub will have them when it does.

The one game to see next: Lindenwood at FGCU, Friday and Saturday at 8:30 at Hertz Arena (Friday, Saturday). The Eagles have scored 18 goals in their last three posted games.

State rankings

My ranking, my rules, argue below: every Florida team with a posted result, ordered by how its week went.

1. Florida Gulf Coast (1-0): Nine on the Gators, six of them in one period, and a second straight week at No. 1.

2. Panthers (1-0-2): Four of six points on the road, and the captain's on the shelf. I'll take it, and I won't enjoy it.

3. USF (1-0): Six goals, three of them on the power play, and a goalie who stopped 42.

4. Lightning (1-1): Embarrassed on Thursday and sharp on Saturday, and still without a power-play goal.

5. FAU (0-0-1): Outshot 49-28 and still got a point, so somebody should buy Bruno dinner.

6. Florida (0-1): Hung around for 40 minutes in Estero before the third period arrived. Not there yet.

7. Tampa (0-1): Put 43 shots on Koch and only one got by him, so the rematch is the real test.

The state of the state

Florida hockey is waiting on a single doctor's appointment. Whatever Barkov hears today, the cats have a goalie, a penalty kill that was good a week ago and a home opener on Saturday, and that's enough to work with.

Next week in Florida: Panthers at Los Angeles on Tuesday, then home to Minnesota on Saturday at 6. The Lightning host Philadelphia tonight and Minnesota on Thursday, then visit the Islanders on Saturday.

Everblades preseason against Orlando is Thursday and Friday in Estero, and Lindenwood is at FGCU both weekend nights.

South Carolina visits Florida's M3 team at the Community First Igloo Friday and Sunday.