Tonight the Florida Panthers will take the ice in Sunrise and face a very tough Philadelphia Flyers squad that is 9 pts ahead in the Eastern Conference standings. The Panthers themselves sit 1 pt behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the last playoff spot. Now, there is a lot of season left, but a good show tonight will help the psyche down the stretch of an organization who haven’t tasted the playoffs in years.

There are positives to long breaks in the schedule, the biggest being rest. Many hockey players go the entire season nursing bumps and bruises, days off provide an opportunity for healing and rest. The Panthers entered this 5 day break having played 11 games in 21 days, getting 2 days in a row off just twice. The team now begins a stretch of 4 games in 6 days.

On the other hand, time off can mess with the momentum and timing of the team. While the layoff was nice in terms of getting rest, rust also builds over long breaks and the Panthers were riding a 5 game stretch of solid performances. The recent past shows that extended breaks haven’t been kind to the Panthers either. The Panthers were 6-2-0 in an 8 game stretch prior to a 3 day break in mid December, after the break the Panthers went 2-3-1 in their next 6.

In 5 games this season that followed 3 days or more off, the Panthers are 1-3-1. From the outside, a break in the schedule always seems welcome as a chance for the team to catch its breath and for players who are dinged up to get some rest. In reality, hockey is all about momentum and for a team that was 4-0-1 in its past 5, the break could prove to be a disadvantage as players can lose their touch just a little and the team can get out of a groove. Hopefully the Panthers can avoid this and keep their 3 game win streak rolling.