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PLAYOFF SAGA: I feel betrayed by Florida Panthers for letting me go this way
The Florida Panthers are finally getting their second chance at glory. They made the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back seasons and for the third time in franchise history by defeating the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final in six games. They face off against the Edmonton Oilers, a team looking to end the 31-year Canadian Cup drought after a rough start to their season.
One of the biggest successes for the Oilers has been in their special teams, which is currently operating at an NHL-best 37.3% conversion rate. Additionally, their penalty kill is also incredible with a 93.9% kill rate.
But Florida has also had a strong kill. While it is not at the same level as Edmonton, it’s still strong with an 88.2% success rate. But with the teams they’ve had to handle with strong power plays, this is a huge factor in their Final matchup.
Panthers Slowed Down the Lightning’s Dangerous Man-Advantage
Entering the postseason, the Tampa Bay Lightning owned the top power-play unit in the NHL at 28.6%. Florida had to find a way to deal with that for their first-round series.
Florida managed to get by it and win the series in six games. They also had a massive showing in Game 3 by allowing zero power play goals on four chances for Tampa. In the overall series, the Lightning only scored four power-play goals. The Panthers faced a tough unit and made it look easy.
Panthers Shut Down David Pastrnak and Company
The Boston Bruins had a good power play going into the postseason with a 22.2% success rate in the regular season. Along with their high-end talent, it was going to be a big task to handle for Aleksander Barkov and company. But, they made it look easy against the team they beat last postseason.
Through all six games of the series, the Bruins successfully converted on the man advantage only once out of 14 chances. That lone goal was scored by forward David Pastrnak in Game 4. The Panthers found a way to make the Bruins’ top stars vanish on the ice.
Panthers Curbed the High Flying Rangers
As previously mentioned, the Panthers took down the Rangers to get to the Cup Final itself, and one of the factors in getting past them was their elite penalty kill. Even after elimination, New York has the fifth-strongest man advantage in the playoffs at a 24% success rate. But even with all of the top offensive weapons for the Blueshirts, it was completely stunted by the strong kill of the Cats.
Just like their series against the Bruins, the Rangers only produced one power-play goal in six games. Ironically, that goal scorer was former Panther forward Vincent Trocheck. They kept most of their top stars off of the scoresheet on the man advantage. Because of that, they’re four wins away from achieving Lord Stanley’s holy grail.
Can the Penalty Kill Shut Down McDavid and Draisaitl?
It is only fitting that the final test for the unit is taking on two of the best in the NHL today. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are also looking to cement their legacy and win their very first Stanley Cup. As mentioned, they have the toughest power play to beat in the NHL currently.
But over the years, the Panthers have shown they can handle the noise and slow down even the strongest of offenses. Obviously, they should not have a parade to the penalty box with how good the kill is. But, it gives head coach Paul Maurice a ton of confidence going into the Cup Final. With the unit they have, they have a good chance of bringing the first Stanley Cup ever to Sunrise, Florida.
