By WAYNE REDSHAW
The Stanley Cup finals open tonight and it should be a dandy series between the Florida Panthers, the Eastern Conference champions, and the Edmonton Oilers, the Western champs.
With the Panthers, it marks the fifth straight year a team from Florida has represented the Sunshine State in the finals. The Tampa Bay Lightning earned the right three consecutive years (2020, 2021 and 2022) winning the coveted Cup the first two years before bowing to the Colorado Avalanche the third time around.
Meanwhile, the Panthers qualified last year but lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games and now they are back again
So you ask what is so special that Florida teams have qualified five consecutive years for the BIG Dance? Is it that Florida Sunshine that has given these two NHL clubs extra energy come playoff time? Or is it some smart trades or some excellent free agent signings that sealed the deal for the two clubs?
No question numerous trades plus free-agent signings paid dividends for the Lightning during their three-year run to the finals and the same can be said about the Panthers.
What I also considered a contributing factor was head coaches for both clubs. Jon Cooper seemed to push the right bottoms at the right time in guiding Tampa Bay three straight years. And Panthers’ Paul Maurice has been very patient at the controls to lead his squad the past two seasons.
As for the Oilers, there’s a few questions that have to be answered too. First and foremost, can the Oilers end the Canadian drought of winning the Cup? It’s been 31 years (1993) since the last Canadian-based team (Montreal Canadiens) won the Stanley Cup.
A big question mark for the Oilers is goaltender Stuart Skinner. He looked out to lunch in round two against the Vancouver Canucks. He surprised me in round three against the Dallas Stars, especially in the sixth and deciding game. He delivered in a big way to carry the Oilers into the finals. Now, can Skinner keep it up against the Panthers?
Back in mid-November the Oilers stood 31st as a result of disastrous 3-9-1 start. The Oilers brass fired head coach Jay Woodcroft and replaced him with Kris Knoblauch, who had coached the New York Rangers farm club, the Hartford Wolf. Under Knoblauch’s direction Edmonton went 46-18-5. In the playoffs Oilers have compiled a 12-6 record so far.
Now the question is can the Oilers win four more? Being Canadian, I would like to see the Oilers end that 31-year drought. They certainly have plenty of scoring power and have the top four among the Cup point leaders. That foursome includes: Connor McDavid 31 points, Leon Draisaitl 28, Evan Bouchard 27 and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 20. The Oilers also have the top sniper in Zach Hyman with 14 goals. Bouchard I feel, has been the Oilers best defenceman. He’s been solid going both ways.
In special teams, the Oilers have the edge, especially with a potent power play. In the playoffs to date Edmonton has scored 19 times with a man advantage on 63 attempts. Their penalty kill is outstanding as they haven’t allowed a power play goal in the past 10 games.
So can Edmonton do it? With the Panthers losing out to the Golden Knights last year, I think that experience they gained is very vital this time around. Last year if you recall the Panthers had some injuries and that hampered them. This time around, they are healthy.
Florida has good balance and depth. So far in three rounds 14 different players have contributed in the scoring department. They have a good blend of two-way forwards in the likes of Matthew Tkachuk (5 goals 14 assists). Aleksander Barkov (6 and 11), Carter Verhaeghe (9 and 8), Sam Reinhardt (8 and 4), and Sam Bennett (6 and 4).
On the blueline, the Panthers are solid led by Gustav Forcling, Brandon Montour, Aaron Ekblad, Oliver Emmanuel-Larson and Dimitry Kulikov.
And in goal, Florida has Sergei Bobrovsky whose 12 wins so far tops all playoff goaltenders. And he has been outstanding and he’ll have continue that in facing the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl and Hyman.
In the three previous playoff rounds the Panthers did an excellent job of shutting down the big guns with Tampa, Boston and New York. Now with Edmonton, they will need a repeat performance, especially with McDavid and Draisaitl. And while the Panthers like to play a physical style of hockey, they have to cut down on taking penalties. So far, the Panthers have been assessed 69 penalties in three rounds. The potent Edmonton power play can be trouble if afforded the opportunity.
Prediction: Panthers in seven games. Overtime may be necessary a couple of games.
Overall Record: 9 for 14.
Recap: Round One: 6 for 8 Round Two: 3 for 4 Round Three: 0 for 2
(Wayne Redshaw covered the NHL for 40 seasons. He was named a Life Member of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association in 1987 and was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hockey Hall of Fame as a media member in 2000).
fromareportersnotebook 