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Stanley Cup Finals: Game 4 |
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Three down, one to go…
The Florida Panthers sit on the cusp of achieving something that has never been done in their 30-year history: Winning the Stanley Cup.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. There is still work to do be done that continues tonight in Game 4…
Things got a bit dicey the tail end of Game 3 when Edmonton mounted a comeback and got things within one. Thankfully, the Cats walked away with the 4-3 victory.
One of the major things that stands out to me in this series is the combination of Panthers pressure and Edmonton’s mistakes.
I keep going back to that comment from Messier (mentioned in a previous blog), where he says that this time of year isn’t about what you give, it’s what you give up.
We know that Florida has done a great job of pressuring the Oilers on the forecheck, pinning them in the offensive zone, and then swarming around the net for prime opportunities.
This creates a two--factor result for success. The pressure from the Cats is the first factor. The second factor is the mistakes made by EDM as a result of said pressure.
We have seen Oiler defensemen abandon their post in front of the net, resulting in both defensemen collapsing in on the puck carrier. This action leaves Panthers open in front of the net — where they have scored a few times from.
Actually, the play we have seen from Edmonton thus far reminds me a lot of what the Panthers looked liked in last year’s finals against VGK. They have key injuries, star players are neutralized/quiet, and a spotty defense prone to making mistakes.
With Edmonton on the ropes, I expect the probability of mistakes from them to increase in Game 4 as they will undoubtedly be forced to take chances as they lay it all on the line. I read from McDavid that they plan to move away from their set PP formulas. Instead, they plan on relying on instincts and not set plays.
The Oilers PP has been nasty all season/ playoffs, until the recent skid in the finals. I’m actually kind of nervous hearing this from McDavid because it could cause some distribution to the Cats PK that has been working well. I guess we’ll just have to see…or, just stay out of the box (haha).
Elimination games are always the hardest. Florida will need to be flexible in their approach because I expect Edmonton to throw a lot of different looks at them. Bend, don’t break.
It’s always easy to say the other team will be ramped up and bringing the heat - which they will. But we sometimes tend to forget that the other guys will be doing the same. That being said, I totally expect the Panthers to be ready to clamp down and end this thing tonight on enemy ice!
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Bring the hardware to South Florida, fellas…Go Panthers!
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
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