3 Questions for the Florida Panthers as Post-Olympic Stretch Starts

With the Olympics over, is there time for a playoff push?

Amber Searls-Imagn Images

The diversion is over, and now the mad dash begins.

As the Olympic break ends, with Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk capturing a gold medal and six other Panthers returning with silver or bronze, the reality kicks in -- all seven of those players and more will be needed to make up a huge deficit in the NHL standings.

Coming off two straight Stanley Cup championships, the Panthers have been ravaged by injuries from training camp on, starting with the knee surgery of Sasha Barkov, and have only 61 points. That's more than only two teams in their conference, the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers. And that's eight points and five teams behind the Boston Bruins, who currently hold the last wild card spot.

Olympic gold medalist, Matthew Tkachuk 🥇 pic.twitter.com/5WwXyrxEra

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 22, 2026

It would be easy to let this go and call it an unfortunate gap year, sort of what's happened to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA following Tyrese Haliburton's season-ending injury in the NBA Finals. But the Panthers aren't necessarily made up that way.

So here's three things that need to go right if the Panthers are going to make this interesting:

1. Can Marchand and company stay healthy?

Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Nothing excited Brad Marchand more than qualifying for the Canadian Olympic team at this stage of his career. But he wasn't really a factor, scratched for several games and then ineffective when he played. There's speculation he's not physically right -- and that would be devastating for a Panthers group that needs his scoring and energy. The Panthers also need healthy returns from some in the supporting cast, and there's been good news lately from coach Paul Maurice that Dmitry Kulikov, Tomas Nosek and Jonah Gadjovich should be available sooner rather than later.

2. What does Bob have left?

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

With so many absences in front of him, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has slipped from last season, his goals against average up from 2.44 to 3.13 -- and his save percentage down from 90.6 to 87.1. It's hard to see how the Panthers go on any sort of streak unless he reverses those trends. He's played a lot of games at an advanced NHL age, and he doesn't like to sit. But if the Panthers fall too far out, it may not be wise to push him.

3. Are they simply gassed?

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

No team has played as many games, let alone high-pressure games, as the Panthers the past four years, with three Stanley Cup Finals appearances, several Game 7s, everything on the line every night as opponents circle them on calendars. It is reasonable to believe they're just emotionally exhausted, which is compounded by all the physical ailments and absences. Now even if they make the playoffs, it will be all uphill. What do they have left for all of this? We will see starting Feb. 26 against Toronto.