Dineen says Panthers deserve the worst record in the NHL

The Florida Panthers lost again last night.

Check that: they lost badly again last night.

The 5-2 defeat in Tampa Bay was the Panthers’ fifth straight loss, a stretch that’s seen them outscored by a 23-5 margin.

After the game, Florida head coach Kevin Dineen was asked if his team deserved to be 1-5-0, which happens to be the worst record in the NHL.

“I think so,” Dineen said, per the Sun-Sentinel.

“Our record is fairly accurate of what we played the last four games. I hate to say it, we deserve to be where we are right now. I like the fact we have people in here that for a lot of us it’s a little bit of foreign territory. It’s a matter of us deciding how we’re going to deal with it and we will.”

Dineen’s remarks were somewhat more measured than the ones he made after Saturday’s 7-1 loss to the Flyers — a performance he called “embarrassing” and “atrocious.”

The Panthers were a surprise playoff team last season, winning the subpar Southeast Division with a 38-26-18 record. In the first round, they nearly eliminated the eventual Stanley Cup finalists New Jersey Devils, losing Games 6 and 7 in overtime.

But the playoffs seem like a long shot after just six games of the 2013 season. More likely is another high draft pick to add to their collection.

The fact the Panthers have the league’s worst goals-against average (4.00) also begs the question: Should GM Dale Tallon make a trade for Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo?

Florida hosts Winnipeg Thursday.