Do or die tonight.
Being a Florida Panthers fan is a tough thing. We have endured years of directionless ownership, signing players past their prime/at the wrong time, relocation speculation, and all the jokes about attendance numbers you can think of.
Then things started to change. New ownership came in and different results started to happen. The Cats made it into the playoffs the past few seasons and gained new respect around the league — even posting their best season in franchise history during the 2021-22 when they won the President’s Trophy.
But their postseason performances have been an exercise in insanity, as Albert Einstein has been attributed to saying:
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
This series against Boston has been especially maddening for Florida fans. Partly because the Panthers face elimination tonight, but even more so (at least for me) because they can hang with these guys, as evident by the Game 2 victory, but consistently find a way to take themselves out of the game.
The Bruins are the superior team. No one is disputing that. Not only do they have the better talent and ability to execute a cohesive scheme, they also have a deeper roster.
That being said, two key pieces of their lineup in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci have been out with injury, the whole Bruins lineup has been affected by a flu bug, and the Cats have failed to take advantage.
But where my frustration really comes in is with Florida’s lack of discipline. This has been the difference-maker in the series. While I appreciate the emotion/passion the Cats are trying to press on the Bruins, the nonsensical penalties are killing Florida. In fact, it seems that everyone (from fans to analysts) know the Panthers need to stop taking stupid penalties except for the Panthers themselves.
Obviously penalties are going to happen. But the Panthers aren’t really taking any “good” penalties, or accidental ones for that matter. A number of Florida’s infractions stem from poor decisions and flaring tempers. There’s been a bunch of needless cross-checking penalties, with the most egregious coming last game when Montour took out a Bruin in open ice for no reason and then actually tried arguing it with the ref…
Boston isn’t doing this, nor are they being drawn into making poor decisions. That’s the difference between a team that’s been coached to play disciplined, understanding selfish plays put the team in a tough spot, versus one that’s firing from the hip every shift.
Keys to a W
Despite my frustration, I truly do believe these guys can beat Boston. However, they desperately need to tighten some things up for this to happen.
1. STOP TAKING STUPID PENALTIES. Show some restraint and self-control in order to keep things 5-on-5 because that’s where Florida has their best chance at competing.
2. The energy Florida came out with in Game 4 was the same we saw in Game 2 that put Boston on their heels. The Panthers need to take it to them again from the opening faceoff and keep the Bruins off balance and uncomfortable. We saw in Game 2 that Boston is not used to that and the result was frantic play and uncharacteristic turnovers that the Panthers took advantage of.
3. We’re broken records at this point and I’m not sure what to say that hasn’t been said the past few seasons, but Barkov needs to get going. Heck, him, Verhaeghe, Reinhart, etc., need to find ways to score. And if they’re not going to do it then the supporting cast has to step up.
4. Bob was not the reason they lost Game 4 but his rebound control was weak. It’s most likely rust that he’s working through. That being said, I would go back to Lyon. What’s the worst that happens? You have to pull him and put in Bob? So be it.
5. The Power Play: Do I even need to say it, guys..?
6. Drive the pace and intensity
7. Keep the aggressive forecheck up
8. Play a full 60 minutes
Maurice says Ekblad and Duclair are back in but drops this bad news:
__________________________
These past two days have been ripe with the standard, “we know what we have to do” and “we’re taking it one game at a time” talk. My opinion is they need to take it one shift at a time. Start there. When you win your shifts, the snowball starts rolling. No one should be thinking about Game 6. It’s time to focus on the shift in front of you…
So let’s see if they really know what they need to do to get this win…Go Panthers!
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