The Florida Panthers awaited the Boston Bruins in their Stanley Cup second-round playoff series.
And patience paid off.
The Panthers and Bruins tied 1-1 in Game 6 on Friday until defenseman Gustav Forsling broke the deadlock for Florida with just over ninety seconds left in regulation. Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman let slip the juiciest rebound he would love to have, and Forsling made no mistake in sealing the Panthers' ticket to an Eastern Conference final against New York.
That should be a high scoring issue.
How the Panthers got there, and what to expect from their series against the Rangers, is here.
The clever Sergei
Most goalkeepers will admit that it's best to stay busy. And in this series against Boston, Sergei Bobrovsky was decidedly not. Boston averaged the fewest shots on goal among the remaining playoff teams (25 per game), and there were long stretches when Bobrovsky didn't have much to do.
It would be easy to dismiss his contributions to Florida's success just by looking at the numbers (.896 save percentage, 2.51 goals against average) but that doesn't tell the whole Bobrovsky story.
The Panthers got timely saves from their veteran. He didn't leak at the wrong time, despite not having enough work. Additionally, taking into account the Panthers' 5-1 loss in Game 1, Bobrovsky didn't allow more than two goals in an outing the rest of the game.
Being guarded in crucial moments is how goaltenders distinguish themselves in the playoffs, and that's what Bobrovsky did for Florida during the second round.
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Bobrovsky makes consecutive saves in heroic fashion
Bobrovsky makes consecutive saves in heroic fashion
Sergei Bobrovsky makes two consecutive saves in the final minutes of the second half.
Strengthened by balance
The Panthers took advantage of 12 different scorers against the Bruins, and all but three of their forwards ended up on the scoresheet with at least one. There was no singular scoring star (although Aleksander Barkov came closest to that moniker, pacing the group with three), so Boston had its hands full trying to keep the four lines from running through them.
Florida didn't need its best skaters to do all the heavy lifting, and that's a critical component come playoff time. Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman was fantastic again in this series against a Panthers group that took the second-most shots on net among the remaining playoff teams (36.5 per game), and that's a difficult request for any goalkeeper to face when he is not one. offering the kind of goal support that Florida offers. That's one of the main reasons the Panthers are moving forward, and Boston is heading home to finish the season.
Do not sleep on special equipment.
It's the great equalizer, right? Generally, the team that wins that special teams battle wins the series.
Florida was the unequivocal winner against Boston there.
The Panthers scored six power-play goals, and one shorthanded score, while the Bruins managed just one man-advantage goal. The difference that this makes is undeniable in the final result for both sides. Florida won by larger margins in this series (including two games by four goals or more) than they did against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round (where only two wins were by two goals or more), but the Lightning matched them on special teams.
When the Bruins fell in that area, the Panthers surged to the series victory.
Postseason Poise
There is something to be said for owning the moment. Florida did just that.
The blowout in Game 1 could have shaken the Panthers and set an ominous tone for the series to come. Instead, it seemed to reassure them. There's confidence that comes with overcoming initial obstacles, and any challenges the Panthers faced from there were met with composure.
Florida didn't go broke without Sam Bennett in Games 1 and 2, while the Bruins fared worse without Brad Marchand in Games 4 and 5. The Panthers were able to stay the course when Boston led 1-0 after the first period in Game 4 and finally fought his way back to victory. Yes, there was a controversial goalie interference sequence that factored into Florida's victory, but the decision was out of their control.
The Panthers focused on what they could do to be successful, and that paid off with a back-to-back run to the Eastern Conference finals.
How the Panthers face the New York Rangers
A conference finals matchup between the Rangers and Panthers could break playoff scoring records.
Not seriously.
Florida and New York are the third and fourth largest offenses in the entire playoff field, averaging 3.70 and 3.50 goals per game respectively. Their power plays are excellent (31.4% for New York and 23.7% for Florida) and the Panthers are second in shots on net (34.0 per game), which would only increase the potential firepower they These two computers could generate on a single sheet.
However, Matthew Tkachuk (four goals and 13 points in the postseason), Barkov (five goals and 13 points) and Carter Verhaeghe (six goals and 10 points) would give the Rangers elite a run for their money, especially if The game opens quickly.
New York's defense would have to improve its performance in the second round to prevent them from spiraling out of control. However, the back-and-forth that could emerge from this series would highlight what made Florida and New York so entertaining in their second-round series respectively (although the Rangers stumbled a bit towards the end in trying to close out Carolina).
Another interesting aspect of a Rangers-Panthers series is, of course, in the crease. Sergei Bobrovksy's numbers (.896 SV%, 2.51 GAA) aren't exactly on par with Igor Shesterkin's (.923 SV%, 2.40). But Bobrovsky wasn't tested often by Boston and that, as mentioned above, can affect a goalie's performance.
Anyway, Bobrovsky was fantastic when he had to be. Shesterkin has been that and more for the Rangers throughout the playoffs. However, New York's bread and butter has been its forward attack in addition to its excellent nethandling, and a series against Florida would give them the opportunity to lean on both.
