The Florida Panthers have been in a position to take a commanding 2-0 collection lead within the Jap Convention Ultimate on Thursday after a dominant 5-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Listed here are some key takeaways from their win as they’re now simply two wins away from a 3rd consecutive journey to the Stanley Cup Ultimate.
This was scientific precision by the Panthers
The Florida Panthers despatched a message of their Sport 1 win.
They expanded on it in Sport 2.
Let’s hold one factor in thoughts right here: The Carolina Hurricanes are an excellent hockey group, and so they have been an excellent hockey group for a number of years. They persistently win a playoff collection or two yearly, they’ll compete with anyone and so they do just about the whole lot effectively. That is no pushover hockey group. And Florida is completely dominating them. Crushing them. They’re making it look straightforward.
All of that could be a testomony to only how nice this Panthers group is — and the way significantly better it has been than everyone else within the NHL the previous three years.
Not solely did they rating 5 objectives towards one of many NHL’s finest defensive groups, however they restricted the league’s finest volume-shooting group to a season-low 17 pictures on objective. It is just the fourth time all 12 months (82 common season video games and 12 playoff video games) that Carolina didn’t register not less than 20 pictures on objective in a recreation.
Their stars shined offensively as Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe all recorded three factors, Matthew Tkachuk had three and beginning goalie Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his third shutout of the playoffs.
It is nonetheless arduous to think about any person beating this group 4 instances in a seven-game stretch.
Now Carolina has to beat them 4 instances in a five-game stretch. That simply looks like an impossibly tall activity.
Panthers proceed to be street warriors
By taking the primary two video games of the collection on the street, the Panthers continued their street dominance and improved to 7-2 away from south Florida this season.
They’ve additionally gained their previous 4 street video games in slightly decisive style, outscoring Toronto and Carolina by a 22-4 margin.
