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Battle of Florida: Game 2 |
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Outside of the Panthers not getting the win, Game 1 delivered beyond what I thought it would…
I think we all knew it would be chippy, but, man…it was something else! The whole game was a demonstration in high-octane, skilled, physical play between two teams with a lot of hate for one another.
Loved it.
Were there missed calls? Absolutely. But I never want to get into the business of blaming the refs for a loss - although we you can make the case for some things. The reality (to me at least) was that there were a number of things that could have been called on both sides. The guy taking the biggest hit after this tilt is Sam Bennett, who was suspended for game two after his boarding of Blake Coleman. Who fills his spot for game two?
The formula tonight should be the same for the Panthers. I thought they really looked great, held their own and battled back. There’s just one big change needed: Stay. Out. Of. The. Box.
The Lightning went 3/4 on the man advantage. Penalties will happen, it’s part of the game, but Florida must do their best to avoid the box, and in many instances, keep their cool and not go for retaliation.
Tampa is too good on the Power Play to give them that advantage multiple times a game, and the Panthers PK unit struggled at times to clear the puck. That’s a bad combo.
While I’m obviously biased, I believe the Cats are the better team in this series, and showed that 5-on-5 Sunday night, but they cannot allow the Lightning to play to their strengths (PP being a big one) as much as they did.
The first game of this series was some of the best, most exciting hockey I have seen in a long time. I suspect that trend to continue. The crowd was hot and the action was fantastic.
Hey, how about Lomberg? For a guy that was in and out of the lineup all season, he earned a spot on the playoff roster in my book. Great pest/agitator that can get under Tampa’s skin, plays physical and is willing to go to bat for his teammates.
No more goals getting called back tonight, guys.
Round 2, here we come!
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Shut down Kuch and Hedman…Go Panthers!
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
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