Experienced Panthers keeping cool in third straight Stanley Cup Final
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The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers held optional practices at Baptist Health Iceplex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Wednesday.
Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane directed a turtle motion at Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk during a scrum at the end of the first period on Monday night.
Oilers winger Corey Perry also directed the turtle gesture at the Florida bench while jawing with Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich. It didn't seem to bother the Panthers, who are taking great pride in turning the other cheek.
"You learn a lot just from experience," said Panthers centre Sam Bennett, who leads the playoffs with 14 goals. "Just from us being here the last couple years, we know what it takes. Sometimes you've got to take a punch, and that's just part of the game. We have a really focused group this year ... Guys are going to stand up for each other, but we have one goal in mind, and all the other stuff is just distracting and just to try to get you off your game."
It wasn't always this way. The Panthers crossed the line too many times during their unlikely run to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Florida took 13 more penalties than the Vegas Golden Knights during a five-game loss in the championship series that year.
Paul Maurice describes that as "a lesson learned."
"There's a lot of stuff going on," the Panthers coach said. "We play a fairly physical game, so there's just a lot of contact and you can't react to it. It was, I think, a really important part for us last year. You take a look at Matthew Tkachuk's line graph of his [penalties] and there's a significant drop after his first six months here, with the exception of whenever he and [younger brother] Brady [Tkachuk] play against each other."
Maurice smiled.
"Then there's this one-game spike."
The Panthers are the most penalized team in the NHL since Maurice took over behind the bench in the 2022-23 season. They have also drawn the second most penalties in the last three seasons.
When the temperature rises, Florida is most comfortable.
"I just think the group plays hard all the way through the season, really," said veteran winger Brad Marchand, who was acquired from the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline. "Just kind of in your face and just a physical game. Sometimes we get away with things. You can't call everything all the time. But, again, that's up to the refs to make their decisions. Things happen fast out there.
They're doing the best they can."
After the Panthers scored on their fourth power play of the first period in Game 3, Marchand pointed to his brain and told the Oilers bench to use their heads.
The teams combined for 140 penalty minutes on Monday with the Oilers getting dinged for 85.
After Game 3, Kane expressed frustration that the Panthers seem to get away with more than the Oilers.
"I’m not biting on that," Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad said when asked about the comment. "I'm not biting on that question."
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After holding a full practice on Tuesday, the expectation was most of the Oilers would stay off the ice on Wednesday.
"Guys will get a light workout here at the hotel or they have the option to skate," coach Kris Knoblauch said during a morning Zoom call with the media. "You don’t want our high-minute guys being on the ice ... I think it’s good for a majority of the guys to get away from the rink a little bit."
But Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl did not stay away. Edmonton's top two minute-munching forwards both hit the ice for a fourth straight day.
Based on what Marchand observed while playing for Team Canada alongside McDavid at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, it's no surprise that the Oilers captain is pushing the pace.
"I've seen his intensity level every day, just the way that he showed up in that tournament," Marchand recalled. "He's very impressive and does have those leadership qualities where he leads from the front and it shows in his play. A very gifted and talented player, but incredible leader as well."
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McDavid is showing no ill effects from a hit he absorbed from Ekblad in the second period on Monday night. It's unusual for the elusive and speedy McDavid to take a blow like that while rushing the puck up the ice.
"I don’t even think I got him that good, realistically," Ekblad insisted. "So, I don’t know, I’m just trying to get in his way and separate man from puck and that’s all you can ask for against a guy like that."
McDavid staggered and fell awkwardly after the hit. He went to the dressing room briefly following the collision.
"I didn’t think it was that big a hit," Ekblad said. "I don’t even think he fell, really. He fell after the fact, and I don’t think the hit had anything to do with it."
McDavid and Draisaitl both failed to hit the scoresheet in Game 3. McDavid had two shots on net while Draisaitl did not land any.
"Together or apart they’re two of the best players in the world and we have fun under that stress of trying to stop them," Ekblad said. "It’s extremely difficult, but it’s fun to do and we enjoy the challenge for sure."
The defensive duo of Ekblad and Gustav Forsling saw the most ice time against McDavid in Game 3.
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The Norris Trophy results were revealed on Wednesday and Colorado's Cale Makar is the winner for the second time. Forsling finished 13th in the voting for the league's top defenceman.
"If Forsy was playing top on the power play and getting all those free primary and secondary assists, I think he would be right up there with the top two, three, four guys," said Ekblad. "Does he get enough recognition? Probably not. It’s nice to see that he is now. At the end of the day, personal accolades are not something we chase. But he definitely deserves to be in that conversation every year and I love to be a supporting cast for it."
Forsling has produced one goal and four assists in 20 playoff games this year. He produced 11 goals and 20 assists in 80 regular season games. He also logs the toughest minutes for a stingy Panthers team that leads the playoffs in goals against.
"He's one of the best in the league at shutting down plays," said Bennett. "They've got, obviously, some guys that have a lot of skill on that team. It's a tough job for him, but he's so good at it. I think he's the best defensive defenceman in the league and his plays, they're really incredible."
Forsling seems to have perfected the art of the slide. He knows just when to leave his feet in order to shut down a play. The key?
"You cannot be scared to get a puck in the face," the 28-year-old said to laughs. "You gotta practice it for sure. You can't be too scared of what's gonna happen. But usually you want to force the forward to either shoot it quick or try to make a pass. You gotta have the right timing at the right time, and obviously the time [changes] if he's righty or lefty on how you slide. You want to have momentum going at the guy, too, but don't want to trip him either. It's hard."
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The Oilers are "likely" to make a lineup change for Game 4, per Knoblauch.
"We haven’t confirmed that," the coach added. "We haven’t discussed that with our players yet but there are some things we’ve been thinking about, and there may be a lineup change."
Defenceman John Klingberg committed a costly turnover on the Sam Reinhart goal, which put the Panthers up 3-1 in the second period on Monday. Klingberg has been on the ice for a team-high five 5-on-5 goals in the series.
Troy Stecher is an option to draw in. He hasn't played since Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on May 27.
"Troy’s been very valuable to our team," Knoblauch said. "Probably one thing we, as a coaching staff, appreciate a lot from Troy is just how dependable he is. No matter if he’s playing big minutes regularly [or] hasn’t played for a long period of time, anytime we’ve needed him he’s given us really good minutes and usually not making mistakes. As a defenceman that’s really important."
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Knoblauch said that forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who missed the last two practices, is once again considered a game-time decision.
Knoblauch declined to name his starting goalie for Thursday.