Game 5 was a real gut punch for Panthers fans.
pain
byu/sammyspano inFloridaPanthers
After suffering an embarrassing Game 4 loss by a score of 8-1, I (like many) thought the Cats would bounce back and close it out Tuesday night.
We were wrong...
I'm not taking anything away from the Oilers, but, for me, the Panthers are in the position they're in largely due to the below:
Beating Themselves
What's that saying about the enemy between the ears..?
Why the Game 5 short-handed goal was brutal, there's something else going on with Florida's mental game.
The Panthers went on to give Edmonton 5 PP opportunities on Tuesday. The Oilers did what they do best and scored two on the man advantage. Penalties will happen, but the Cats need to do everything possible to
stay out of the box. EDM is back to form on their PP and it legitimately feels like they are going to score every time they have the extra man. Panthers have to play 5-on-5 as much as possible. That's where they are their best.
The Cats are also suffering from the panic that's caused by Edmonton's speed. It seems any time the Oilers go "off script" and stretch the Cats/use their legs, Florida gets out of position, which sends them scrambling to swarm the puck-carrier, rather than containing/taking away the ice and monitoring open men. In some ways, Florida seems to be struggling at adapting to EDM and then enforcing their game back onto the Oilers.
This is effecting every one of the ice, as we see Bob looking a bit rattled. He doesn't have that same level of confidence we've seen all postseason where he's coming out to challenge shooters, tapping his players on the legs after saves, and just generally zoned in. He's on the run right now - sitting further back in his crease and not playing as "big."
Their lack of confidence has also extended to their PP, where they are completely listless.
Despite the above, I know the Panthers are completely capable of getting back to their game and ending this thing. We saw it in the second half of Game 5. They were dominate for long stretches. Sustaining this type of play is what's needed. It's what they used to do.
If they're going to close it out in hostile territory Friday night, the confidence level has to be at 11, and never turn off. I don't care if they have to fake it. Whatever you need to do to know (or think) that makes them think they are the better team, and perform to how we know they can, they need to do.
How do they get back to their style of play?
Credit to the Oilers, too. Edmonton is playing good hockey right now. They have Florida on their heels and have the Cats doubting themselves. No doubt about it.
For me, it's the cliché of starting on time for the Panthers.
The Cats had whopping 44 hits to Edmonton's 16. They also dominated at the dot, winning 59.7% of face offs to the Oilers' 40.3%.
But they're not doing it for the full-60 like they can. They have to be relentless from the get-go, and they have to take the crowd out of it.
They have to lay it all out on the line tomorrow. Empty the tank and end this.
No player (or fan) wants to be the team to blow a three-game lead...
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Snap out of it!
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
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