Marchessault: Panthers' season has been a disappointment

After posting a franchise-high 103 points last season, things haven't gone so swimmingly in 2017 for the Florida Panthers.

The team dropped its seventh game in its last eight in a 7-4 trouncing by the Minnesota Wild on Friday night. Afterward, it was clear panic is beginning to ooze into the team's mindset.

"It was a good battle, but they got seven (goals) on us, so that's terrible. There's not much to say," Jonathan Marchessault said, according to George Richards of the Miami Herald.

"Our whole season, right now, has been a disappointment. ... At this point of the year, time is limited. We have less games; we need to turn this boat around."

This season certainly hasn't gone the way the club envisioned, especially considering that even if the club were to win each of their remaining 16 games, they would still fall short of last season's win and points totals.

The Panthers find themselves in a precarious position, sitting six points outside the final playoff spot and just seven from last place in the Eastern Conference.

If they're to make a push, things need to change, and, as Keith Yandle explains, that needs to start Saturday night.

"We did some good things but we did some things which are costly this late in the season," Yandle said. "The things we did will hurt you, and they did (Friday night). When you give up as many goals as we did, you can't be happy. We'll look at it, try and be better (Saturday night)."

Saturday's game won't be any easier, as the Panthers will duel with their Florida rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who sit two points above them in the standings.