The Stanley Cup Final is finally here. The Florida Panthers vs Vegas Goldnen Knights. Two Southern, tax free, newer franchises. Thankfully Kyle Dubas left Toronto for Pittsburgh this week. It gave the Canadian hockey media something other than the Final to complain about. The media are who are complaining the most about the Final match up would be complaining if I heaven forbid called it the Stanley Cup Finals.
Hockey Purists, Yuck. If these two teams played in different cities no one would be care about the ratings. They would be enjoying two teams that play a fun, winning style of hockey.
How did we get here?
Eastern Conference – Florida Panthers beat Carolina Hurricanes 4-0.
The Florida Panthers won each game by one goal.
The series was Florida’s after Game 1. Anytime you lose after more than one overtime it feels like losing two games. How did Carolina feel after losing after a four overtimes loss?
Paul Maurice out coached Rod Brind’Amour. Coaches who lose their cool on the bench rarely win. Brind’Amour was too busy arguing a missed high stick call late in Game 3. He should have been rallying his team with the goalie pulled.
Brind’Amour embarrassed himself by refusing to call the series a sweep. Rod, I’m not great at math but I can count to 4.
Brind’Amour did not pull the I might retire card like Lebron James but Rod’s response to the loss was cringe worthy. The Panthers and hockey deserve better.
The Hurricanes could not handle the Panthers forecheck.
Carolina likes to play an aggressive forechecking game. Carolina being basketball country knows the saying teams that pressed don’t like to be pressed , same with forechecking.
Carolina All-Star Defensemen Jaccob Slavin was under siege all series. He made five horrible plays this series. He hadn’t made five horrible plays in his entire career before this series.
Sergei Bobrovsky was excellent in net for Panthers. He stopped every shot he saw. He saw almost every single Cane shot because the Panther defense cleared the crease and his field of vision brilliantly.
Television cameras got perfect views of Bobrovsky’s saves because no Panthers were in the way.
What more can you save about Matthew Tkachuk. He had three game winning goals, two were overtimes and he assisted on the other game winning goal.
Sam Bennett had the hit of the postseason. He went PlayStation on Jaccob Slavin. It was clean and violent. It is why we love hockey.
The Panthers second line of Tkachuk, Bennett and Nick Cousins carried the Panthers the first two rounds. The Big Cats top line o Sasha Barkov, Carter Verheaghe and Anthony Duclair had a major impact on this series. Their assertion gave Florida a deadly one-two punch.
Western Conference – Vegas Golden Knights beat Dallas Stars 4-2.
The Vegas Golden Knights are a better hockey team than the Dallas Stars. Vegas has more depth and are superior 1-18. Dallas has better high-end talent and goaltending but neither showed up consistently in this series.
Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger was supposed to give Dallas and advantage in net but Vegas’s 5th stringer Adin Hill outplayed him.
Vegas’ number one center Jack Eichel played like a number two overall pick in the draft.
Dallas number one center Roope Hintz was not the dominant force he was in previous rounds.
Jason Robertson played inspired hockey but couldn’t drag most of his other teammates to his level.
The Golden Knights Defense was an efficient unit of six. They are big, sturdy and mobile. Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen was impressive as always and Joel Hanley showed he’s a bona fide top four D-man.
The Stars other defensemen were ineffective against the Knights furious forecheck. Ryan Suter looked like the player the Wild bought out. Esa Lindell looked old. Jani Hakanpaa looked like a five -six defensemen on a bad team, big and slow.
Jamie Benn’s crosscheck on Mark Stone was not a good play but everyone needs to relax. He’s not Lee Harvey Oswald.
Use CodePHN15 Bartnick relaxes in one of these chairs when making his picks.
Prediction- The Florida Panthers defensemen are channeling Pittsburgh Penguins defense circa 2016. They are getting the puck of their zone by any means necessary. This will subdue the Knights forecheck. I don’t like what the ten days off might due to Sergei Bobrovsky but how can you go against Matthew Tkachuk.
PANTHERS in 6
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