Now that the full Florida Panthers schedule for the 2026-27 season has been released, it gives us a chance to dive into the details and analyze what we find.
An element of a schedule that is often highly scrutinized due to its impact on a team’s advantage, or disadvantage, on a given night are back-to-back games.
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Teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back set have traditionally had a much harder time obtaining two points than when they played the night before.
Last season, the Florida Panthers played 13 back-to-back sets. On the second night of those occasions, Florida went just 4-8-1.
Looking at the new schedule, the Panthers are among a group of five teams (Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Washington Capitals) who will play 14 sets of back-to-back games this season.
Only the Pittsburgh Penguins will play more, as they’ll play on consecutive nights 15 times.
On the flip side, facing a team playing on the second night of a back-to-back can be a major advantage, one that Florida will enjoy only nine times this season, which is among the lowest amount in the league.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets will play a team on the back end of a back-to-backer just five times, which is the fewest of all teams, while the Minnesota Wild will play seven teams in the same situation, the Bruins, Senators and Utah Mammoth will face eight such teams, and then it’s the Panthers and the San Jose Sharks at nine.
At the opposite end of that you’ll find the Montreal Canadiens, who will face a team that played the night before 19 times this season, followed by the Anaheim Ducks at 18, the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues at 16 and a group of five teams – the Calgary Glames, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Capitals, looking forward to 15 such games.
From the Florida perspective, the argument would be that a fully healthy Panthers squad will be able to take care of business on might nights regardless of when or where they may be playing.
Add it to the list of reasons why the Cats will be carrying a chip on their collective shoulder as they embark on their latest quest to re-claim the Stanley Cup.
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Will it make a difference?
Stay tuned to find out.
Same Cat time, same Cat channel.
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Photo caption: Apr 15, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice speaks to assistant coach Jamie Kompon against the Detroit Red Wings during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
