Brind'Amour calls Panthers 'the juggernaut team'

Rod Brind'Amour thinks highly of his team's old Southeast Division rivals.

The Carolina Hurricanes head coach praised the Florida Panthers when asked about them at All-Star media day in Las Vegas on Friday.

"That's the juggernaut team for me," Brind'Amour said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "That management (group) has done a great job in the way (it's) assembled that team. There's no weaknesses.

"They play to their identity, which all the top teams do," he added. "You’re going to get high-octane. You've got to be on your toes ... It’s a fun team to watch, not so much fun to play against."

The Panthers lead the Atlantic Division and are third in the NHL standings based on points percentage. Florida has the most points in the league at the break, but the club has played more games than most of the other top teams.

Still, Florida has been a force to be reckoned with this season. The team is tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the league lead with 4.09 goals per game and leads the NHL with 36.6 shots per contest. The Panthers haven't been great at suppressing shots or goals overall, posting the 20th-best rate of shots against and 16th-fewest goals allowed per contest.

However, Florida is dominating the possession game at five-on-five, ranking second in scoring chances for percentage and third in expected goals percentage in those situations, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Hurricanes sit atop the Metropolitan Division with five games in hand on the New York Rangers, who share Carolina's 64-point total. The Hurricanes are second in the overall standings by points percentage, with a narrow edge over the Panthers.