That Panthers had possibly their worst outing of the season (at a crucial time) Saturday night when they were embarrassed by a score of 8-1 in Game 4.
There’s not a lot to say about it. They were flat and EDM was charged up facing elimination. There were a bunch of defensive breakdowns, almost like they traded positions with the Oilers in that regard.
Florida was just out of sorts and couldn’t match Edmonton.
If there was a positive to come out of it, it was the play of Stolarz. I thought he looked really good for not playing in a very long time.
The reality is that’s a game you forget about and move on to the next one. We know (hope) that type of play isn’t in the Cats’ DNA.
The above is definitely easier said than done.
I will admit that that game was so awful it rattled me a bit. If they played that bad, it’s certainly possible they can play bad again. Was it really a fluke? And now Edmonton has some life and mojo - they’re feeling confident (even though it’s still a tall hill to climb).
Thankfully
Litter Box Cats had me feeling a little better:
“
Saturday night’s rout was an ugly one, but on the good news front, the Panthers have gone 4-1 after a loss and have dropped back-to-back games just once this postseason.
In a very similar situation (and result) to Saturday night’s tilt, with a chance to sweep the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bolts ran roughshod over the Cats, posting a 6-3 victory at Amalie Arena before Florida rebounded to knock them out the playoffs with a 6-1 win on home ice.
The Panthers responded to each loss against the Boston Bruins with wins. After Boston took the opening game 5-1, Florida crushed them 6-1 in Game 2. The Bruins won Game 5 at Amerant Bank Arena, but the Cats bounced back to eliminate Boston 2-1 at TD Garden.
Florida’s only consecutive losses of the playoffs came against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final. After blanking the Broadway Blueshirts to open the series, the Panthers dropped overtime decisions in Game 2 and in Game 3 before running off three wins to take the Prince of Wales Trophy.“
The Panthers just need to get back to their game tonight. That begins with setting the tone/pace from the opening faceoff.
Florida has pinned teams in their zone all season long, and it’s worked great in the postseason - especially when they add the physicality. They couldn’t establish that game on Saturday night. As a result, they were scrambling around because they couldn’t adjust.
It will be crucial to get the heavy forecheck and physical game going tonight. Edmonton has legs, but Panthers have the conditioning to grind teams down with the body.
And so Multics will call on the hired gun of energy: Ryan Lomberg.
Lomberg in, Lorentz out.
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Don’t be silly. End this thing tonight…
Go Panthers!
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