The Florida Panthers got a much-needed win to end a rocky road trip Tuesday at Columbus.

Now they need to do something that has eluded them: win a game against anyone in their own division.

The Panthers are 0-4 within the highly competitive Atlantic Division. They will have an opportunity to break the spell Thursday at home against the last place team in the division. The Detroit Red Wings will come to Sunrise on a four-game losing streak.

Worth noting that the Red Wings’ most recent victory came at Florida on Nov. 2 when they scored three times in the third period.

The Panthers will undoubtedly be motivated to atone for that collapse. Whether they follow through on the script is far from predictable.

This Panthers team has been difficult to figure. Despite a star-studded lineup, their performance has been uneven, erratic.

Barkov, Marchand a couple weeks from return

Missing elite forwards Sasha Barkov and Brad Marchand since the opening week has obviously been a major factor. At 10-7-2 and positioned in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, they have weathered the injuries reasonably well.

But six of their 10 wins have come against Chicago, Columbus and Winnipeg, which are a combined 19-30-4.

They are 1-3-1 against a teams currently in playoff position. The lone win was at Carolina on opening night in overtime — the only game three-time Selke Trophy winner Barkov played in its entirety. They had one-sided losses to Boston, Ottawa and Minnesota, and in overtime to Anaheim.

True measure of Panthers remains elusive

So how good are these Panthers? Are the two-time champions capable of another serious run at the Stanley Cup? Or are they, as some claim, an older team that may no longer have the hunger or the edge.

Those are questions that cannot be answered until Barkov and Marchand return and Florida is playing with a full deck.

Consequently, the highlight of the latest road trip, more than the victory at Columbus, was that the two veterans, both recovering from leg injuries, were practicing with the team and could be back in the lineup by Thanksgiving, according to coach Paul Maurice.

That would be a happy Thanksgiving for Maurice, who frequently points to the importance of Barkov to the Panthers at both ends of the ice.

All things considered, Maurice said recently, “There's lots of things that I'm pretty happy with because Barkov has this incredible impact. We would argue that he should be in consideration as the best player in the world on both sides of the puck.

“But we’re closing in on 100 games and he’s played one for us, so we just don’t look the same.”

By that measure, the Panthers haven’t been themselves since Barkov skated with the Cup after the 2024-25 Final. He missed all of last season following knee surgery and went down again in the second game of this season at San Jose.

Panthers need a healthy Barkov to thrive

The uncertainty about Barkov’s impending return is whether he can stay healthy. Same with Marchand, who missed the end of last season, had surgery in the summer and then appeared in only two games before getting hurt again.

Without the two stars, the Panthers have remained dangerous but beatable. They are still tough to play but often find themselves playing from behind. The Comeback Cats persona has lost some luster as recent rallies have fallen a goal short.

There have been positive signs, notably the resurgence of the power play, which has scored in seven of the past eight games. Their 20 power-play goals rank fourth in the NHL, first in the Eastern Conference.

Point production has been mostly limited to a small group: Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Seth Jones. But Sam Bennett, after a slow start, has joined the party with four goals in his past five games, including two at Columbus.

They need more from players like Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, who are valuable as penalty killers but haven’t progressed as point producers. Lundell showed what he is capable of in a terrific setup for Bennett’s first goal against Columbus on a power play, the first of two assists for the 25-year-old center.

Likewise, defenseman Aaron Ekblad had two assists, encouraging for the blue line which has generated little offense except for Jones.

With a string of tough opponents on the schedule before Barkov’s expected return, the mystery cats will need as many hands pitching in as possible.