MASSIVE Panthers updates...This changes EVERYTHING... | Florida Panthers News

The Florida Panthers are looking to close out their second round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can Paul Maurice's lines keep matching up the way that they have been against Toronto in the last three games? And who's going to step up for the Panthers tonight? Is it going to be Bennett, Marchand? Is Bob going to have to make big saves? Is it going to be the Stars? Is it going to be guys on defense? Or is this going to be an all-around team effort like it has been for this whole series, especially the last three games? Guys, thank you for joining me. I am your host, Greg Andrews. This is Panthers Digest. Please hit that subscribe button down below so you can stay up-to-date with anything and everything that has to do with your Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers. Wow, man. Tonight, Game 6. Big one at Amarant Bank Arena to close out the series and move on to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the next round, which will be another rough and tough series for whoever will come out of this series if we are extended to a Game 7. Let's hope that doesn't happen, Panthers fans. But we got a lot to get to, a lot of stats, guys. We're going to kind of go back in time and talk about what has happened since Game 1 and 2 and how did we get to where we are today and who do we need to have step up tonight so the Panthers can come out with the W and close out the series against what looked like, in Game 5, a Toronto Maple Leafs team that just didn't bother showing up. But again, one thing I want to say that Paul Maurice has said. This is playoff hockey. A 6-1 blowout win does not mean that the Leafs are rolling over. Last year, the Edmonton Oilers crushed us. Last year, I think it was 9-1 or 8-1. In Game 4, I believe it was, they came back, tied the series, and we had to win it in seven games. So, score from last game is not indicative of what will happen tonight. Anything is possible in playoff hockey. Even Paul Maurice has said it. So, let's get right into this, guys. We're just going to go right into the graphics. So, I want you guys to take a look at something here. So, these are the stats from Game 1 for the Florida Panthers. Every single line that I have here, that box is around that third line. They have kind of been that underrated but most outspoken when they're on the ice because they have done almost the most damage. Right now, in terms of the numbers, they have four goals and nine assists. Four goals and nine assists. One line is better is the Verhege, Bennett, and Kachuk line. They have five goals and eight assists. But still, that Bennett line has been energizing this team when they are on the ice. They're getting scrappy. They're making great moves. Marchand just looks like he's kind of turned back the clock again. I just think he likes to play against Toronto and just break your hearts, Leafs fans. I hate to tell you that, and that's kind of the way this series has been, especially since his Game 3 overtime winner. It's kind of changed the whole drama of the series and the turn of events that was there really just swung this whole series in favor of the Florida Panthers. But when we look at this, guys, look at Bob's numbers. Not very good. Five goals against those first two games were just terrible. Terrible. And the blocked shots, we didn't have many of them, and that's the other reason why I circled that on there. And then the face-off percentages. We were so bad in the face-off circle for those first two games. But it started to get a little bit better. A little bit. So we'll go back to that first one. There was one goal. Sorry, one goal, three assists on that third line. There wasn't a lot happening with the other lines again. But we look here, and then things start to pick up. There were two goals, three assists on that line. All right? And then I also want you guys to take a look in this first game, the minutes for Seth Jones. You're going to see in each one of those minutes start to go up a little, and then it will start to come back down because the whole team started playing better defense as we progressed through these games. In the last episode, I said, you know, Barkov said, look, we learn more from the games that we lose than the games that we win. Obviously, I mean, I think that's pretty self-explanatory. You're going to learn from your mistakes, try not to let them happen again, and this team has done just that. So we look at game number two. Those numbers are still high for Seth Jones. 27-39 the first game, 27-11 here. Face-off percentage was getting a little bit better. That third line started really coming to life in game number two, and Bob's numbers were still not very good. There were not a lot of blocked shots, and again, I said this. The blocked shots are going to be a big thing for the Panthers in every single series. They have to put their body on the line and not rely on that really, really aggressive forward checking because it's bitten them in the butt too many times, especially in this series, especially against a fast team like Toronto. But they seem to have found a way to avoid those odd man rushes as much as they had happened in the first two or three games. They've done a better job, especially on the penalty kill, and they've done a better job in neutral ice to get the puck on the stick of their players so they're not turning it over and causing some odd man rushes. So here we are, game three. This is where things start to shift. Look at the face-off win percentage. The numbers are starting to go up. The time on ice, obviously, the reason why I circled that is because that was the overtime game. A lot of time on ice for those defenders. A lot of time on ice for everybody. It was a long game. Almost four full periods. But that line again, that Marchand line, I know he won. There wasn't a lot of numbers there, but they did enough in overtime. They did enough on the ice intermittently that they were kind of this ghost line that did have an impact on the game mentally. You know, Luserainen and Lundell still throw their bodies around. They still do enough. And as well as these other guys. I put Gajovic on there because those are the guys, these unspoken guys, these unspoken heroes on the team that are scoring that usually don't. They're throwing pucks at the net. They're getting smart. I think Paul Maurice has really said to them, guys, you've got to throw the puck at the net. Do what Toronto was doing to us in those first two games. Throw it at the net. Somebody could get a stick on it. It could hit a defender and deflect into the net, and it's been doing just that, especially in the last game. A lot of deflections, especially the Kulikov shot. That was a 95-mile-an-hour slap shot off of one of the sticks of Toronto, and it went right into the back of the net. I mean, it's been a big turn of events. A big turn of events after that game number three. Excuse me. Game number four. This is where we saw a big shift. Again, not a lot of numbers for that third line, but look at everybody else. It was only a two-goal win for the Panthers. Two-nothing. Yes, it was a shutout. Bob was great. Stood on his head, but the defense is what did the trick. And it's been doing that this whole series and the last series, too. The Panthers' defense, the Panthers' special teams, have been outplaying their opponent. They've been shutting down their opponent's power play. The penalty kill has been nothing short of an unbelievable surprising stat, and it's got to stay that way, especially tonight. They have to stay out of the penalty box, and if they're in there, they've got to kill those penalties because, again, the Maple Leafs literally have nothing to lose tonight. They are backed into a corner. They're going to be rabid. They're going to be coming after these Florida Panthers, and I know they're going to be physical. I know they're going to be physical. I think it's going to be the most physical game in the whole series, and it's going to get dangerous out there because the Maple Leafs have nothing to lose. They don't want to lose this series. They don't. They don't want to have another happening where it looks good, then they shoot themselves in the foot, and they just fall off the edge of the earth and they end up losing the series. They don't want to have that happen again. The fans are already frustrated. They're getting frustrated. It makes me a little nervous tonight, but I think Paul Maurice and his Panthers team, with that championship pedigree, it will show tonight. I think they're going to come out, and they're going to say, we're not letting you push us around in our own building, and we are going to take it to you guys instead of you taking it to us. They're going to be physical. I think Bob's going to be playing amazing, yet again, that defense is going to be stellar, and that's what we need to really focus on. Big game from Bob. I'm going to get into his numbers in just a second. This was the big game, number five. Face-off win percentage was so much better. That really helped us score a lot of our goals in the offensive zone, and it also helped us on our defense as well, when we were on our defensive third. Just a great overall game. We just had their number that night, and you can see the guys, those little hashes that I have there, those are the guys that are usually the unspoken heroes that scored that night and not usually scoring all that time, but I do want to go over a few of these lines. The first line is Boquist, who has taken the place of Evan Rodriguez, has actually been great. Boquist, Barkov, and Reinhardt. They have four goals and five assists in this series. The second line was Verhege, Bennett, and Kachuk. They have five goals, eight assists. Luserin and Lundell and Marchand have four goals, nine assists, and Gajevic, Nosik, and Greer. Samaskevic and Sturm are out. They've been out since the second game, and it was Gajevic and Nosik that have come in, and Greer has still been there. They have two goals and two assists, but defensively, there are five goals and 11 assists in this series for this Panthers team. So that defense, they've been throwing it in the puck at the net, and they've been going in. They've got to keep doing it, and look at the numbers here. Again, look at the time on ice. There's been a big change if we go back here a little bit. The numbers are coming down. Those guys are getting more rest. That third line, three assists. The team is starting to find a way to play as a team, to get their guys to rest a little bit more, to give them the time. Look at the numbers above for all the forwards and centermen. Not a single guy in 20 minutes. Not a single guy. That's great. They're playing great shifts. They're not putting too much time on ice for some of their big-name players, so that way they're spreading the love around a little bit. They're putting those guys on the specific shifts. Again, Paul Maurice's genius of having lines pair up with Toronto, depending on who is it. If you're going to have this fast line out there, then we're going to put ours up there, who are great defenders and can catch up. That Forsling line is phenomenal. When he's out there defensively with Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, any one of those guys. If it's Ekblad, Jones, or Forsling, they are able to do such great work defensively against the Neylanders, who they've been stopping and shutting down. Matthews, we've been shutting him down, and we'll get into that in a second. Tavares. I mean, the Panthers defensively have been nothing short of just this perfectly sound machine that has been well-oiled to stop these guys. They figured them out. So let's move on. 15 different scores for the Panthers in this series, guys. Tremendous. Evan Rodriguez is out there. You can also see Sturm at the bottom, and Sam Miscavige. They really don't have a lot of numbers in this series, but the change has worked for the Panthers. Paul Maurice was right in bringing him in. And you see Brad Marchand at the top of that list there. He has been the thorn in the side, as I've said in previous episodes, for the Toronto Maple Leafs. But 15 different scores, guys. 15 different scores for this Panthers team. Matthew Kachuk doesn't have a single goal in this series, but I think that's going to change tonight. He doesn't look like the same player. The series feels to me like he's in it. He's there. He's a body. He's taking up space, and he's throwing it around, and it's more about the psychological play, that hockey IQ that he's using. But it's not really about him throwing the puck in the back of the net like it was in the first-round series against Tampa Bay. It's changed a little bit. There might be something going on. We haven't heard a lot. But you know what? Don't fix what isn't broken. Everything's working right now. The lines are the same tonight. This is the thing I want people to look at. These are Toronto's numbers in this series. They only have nine goal scores. Nine. Austin Matthews, zero goals and only three assists. That's it. Power play goals. Only two in the series. The Panthers' penalty kill has been great, and it's continuing to do so. Paul Maurice has really, really stepped up the defensive prowess of this Panthers team and has really shined and come to life. All of these changes that have happened for the trades have been nothing short of spectacular by Paul Maurice and the GM Bill Zito. They did an excellent job adding these guys in, these pieces to help them win big-time playoff matchups like this one, and Paul Maurice is figuring it out. It's the genius of Paul Maurice and getting his lines to match up. Again, it's not line one against Toronto's line one. He's finding better matchups that work for his players in terms of the speed, the forechecking, the defense, and the scrappiness in the corners, trying to get the puck away and just really disrupt that offense of Toronto from getting in sync. They've done such a great job. Such a great job of this. So we're going to go to a graphic really quick. This is Brad Marchand. The last game has no impact on tonight. If anything, it's going to make them hungrier to have a bounce-back game and prove a lot of people wrong, which is a very dangerous combination. We have to play our best game tonight. No question about it. You're right. No question about it. This is going to be the hardest game of the series, if not in this playoffs, that the Panthers are going to have to put forward their best effort tonight. Because you know Toronto's going to come out here just kicking and fighting and putting everything they have into this game. Like I said, they've got nothing to lose tonight. Nothing to lose. They already know. They lose this game, they're out. So guess what? They're going to come at it. They're going to bring 150 percent, not 100 percent, 150 percent onto that ice as soon as the puck is dropped. They are going to come out swinging and it is not going to be a light-hearted affair tonight. I think we're going to see some scrappiness. I think we're going to see a lot of penalties. I think we're going to see a lot of scrums after the whistle. It's going to get ugly out there, guys. It is going to get ugly. Just a few other stats here. The Panthers are 5-1 all-time when leading a seven-game series 3-2. Those are pretty good numbers for the Panthers. And they have not trailed for over 170 minutes since Verhege's goal that tied Game 3 in the second period. That's pretty incredible. Like I said, this Panthers team turned things around in Game 3 when they won. Whatever happened with that Marchand goal, whatever the mentality was, whatever Paul Maurice ended up figuring out, it has been working in the favor of the Panthers. And tonight, we got to cross our fingers that his method is still going to keep working. These lineups that are going against each other are still going to keep doing what they've been doing for the last three games. I would say the last two, let's hope, because they've put a strong stranglehold on this Toronto offense and really put them at bay, guys. Kept them at bay, excuse me. This is going to be a crazy game tonight, but we need big-time goaltending. The defense needs to really come out there and step up with that forward checking and be aggressive, but not overly aggressive. We want to limit those odd-man rushes, and we have to make sure that we're throwing the puck at the net every chance we get, because they will get by wall. They will. It's going to be scrappy tonight, guys. Get your popcorn ready. Get your beers. Get whatever it is. Buckle in, because it is going to be one hell of a ride tonight. I cannot wait for this one. So guys, let's go Panthers. Wear your red tonight. Cheer as loud as you can. Let's close out this series, boys, and on to the next one against the Carolina Hurricanes. Let's see what happens tonight first, guys. Big-time game six. Let's end it tonight, guys. Go Cats!