Sitting fourth last in the Eastern Conference, the Florida Panthers find themselves sitting 12 points out of the final wild card spot.
Mired in a six-game losing streak, only three points separate the Panthers from the basement of the East, albeit being tied with the Islanders and Blues for the least amount of games played in the league. The Panthers latest loss came Sunday night in Vancouver at the hands of the Canucks in a 5-1 defeat.
Florida will have the opportunity to get back in the win column on Tuesday night when they work their way back out east to tackle the Montreal Canadiens, who are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Boston Bruins.
Speaking with reporters following Tuesday's morning skate and a team meeting, Jonathan Huberdeau was to the point about the Panthers struggles, speaking in both a micro and macro sense.
"I hope it's the last (meeting), we need to stop talking and just work," translates the quote Huberdeau explained to RDS reporter Patrick Friolet.
"It's been 7 years that I've been here and I've made the playoffs once. I'm tired."
The product of Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, told Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette that the Panthers will need to play with a ton of urgency in Tuesday's matchup.
"As a team now we know … we had a couple of meetings … we know we got to come out hard. Especially they played last night, so we got to try and get on them early.”
Huberdeau potted one goal and two assists in the first round of the 2016 NHL post-season when the Panthers were eliminated in six games against the New York Islanders.
This season, the 25-year-old left winger is doing his part, scoring at a career pace with 12 goals, 35 assists for 47 points in 44 games, but has a -22 rating.
(h/t Patrick Friolet & the Montreal Gazette)
