The Florida Panthers have embarked upon a magical run to the Stanley Cup final. But after dropping the first two games of the series, has that magic run out?
SUNRISE, FLA – Ryan Lomberg stood shirtless at his stall in the Florida Panthers' locker room on Wednesday morning, his hat tilted backward and a water (???) cup in hand, as a veritable sea of reporters descended upon him.
Lomberg is not a star player, mind you. He's a role player. A supporting piece. The 28-year-old has played in only half of his team's games throughout their magical post-season run, scoring one goal in just under 12 minutes of nightly ice time.
And yet there Lomberg was, buried under a pile of jostling national media members, as he fielded questions from all directions ahead of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final that almost solely pertained to the daunting hole the Panthers have dug themselves into.
The pressure could not have been higher. And yet Lomberg could not have seemed more at ease.
"It is what it is. I mean, it's a playoff series," replied Lomberg when asked about the challenges of containing current Conn Smythe favorite Jonathan Marchessault.
"He's not Connor McDavid or anything. It's just a matchup in a series."
Marchessault might not be McDavid, but he has pumped the Panthers for three goals and four points through the first two games of the series – and 10 goals in his last nine playoff contests overall, as well – including a monster two-tally effort on Monday that spurred the Golden Knights' 7-2 blowout victory over Florida to back their opponent into a corner.
It would not be an exaggeration to deem Marchessault the hottest hockey player on the planet right now. His numbers support it. To Lomberg, though, he's just another body – a star capable of being shut down in the same way his teammates have done to so many others over the past two months.
That attitude is what defines these Florida Panthers. It's the fuel that feeds their engine, an energy that starts at the top of the lineup with the likes of Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov and trickles down the locker room and into the press box, where Lomberg has spent roughly half the post-season.
Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't deny that there's been a certain magic surrounding this club on its improbable jaunt to the Cup final.
This made it thoroughly confounding when that magic appeared to vanish completely in Games 1 and 2 – the latter, in particular, being a shocking display.
The Panthers unravelled at the hands of the Golden Knights on Monday, abandoning any semblance of a defensive structure while also taking the bait on every single post-whistle barb or meticulously timed slash thrown their way.
For a team whose brand is setting the physical tone during these playoffs, the Panthers have struggled mightily to match their opponents' key. Vegas turned the tables on them at the worst possible time in Game 2, and it resulted in a destructive series of events that shifted the series' power balance significantly in the opposite direction; Matthew Tkachuk earned not one but two 10-minute misconducts, the Panthers gave the Golden Knights four power plays of which they converted two, and Eric Staal, Anthony Duclair, Casey Fitzgerald, Nick Cousins and Sam Reinhart were all ejected from the game before the final horn blew.
To make matters worse, Sergei Bobrovsky looked quizzically mortal after embarking upon one of the greatest goaltending runs in the analytics era, surrendering four goals on 13 shots to get the hook less than halfway through regulation.
The Panthers are supposed to sucker other teams into tantrums, not throw their own. And it's not a surprise that when the club shifted from its unflappable s--- disturbing ways for the first time since going down 3-1 to the Bruins back in May, it pushed them right back to the precipice of failure.
Hope is not lost, though. There's nothing a few days off can't cure, and it appears as if the Panthers have re-discovered the proverbial chill they once radiated upon returning home.
This was a very relaxed group that went through the motions of Wednesday's practice, hooting and hollering at every goal scored or puck saved during drills while cracking jokes to each other even as the media horde packed the locker room to the rafters.
If the Panthers are to erase the towering hurdle in front of them – one placed there by their own doing – that level of calm will be essential. They'll need to prove the team that erased a 3-1 deficit against the greatest regular-season squad in NHL history is still present and tap into it more than ever.
Ask the Panthers themselves, and they'll tell you that dog – or cat, I guess – is indeed in them. The magic is still there.
"I mean, it has to be," explained Panthers forward Eric Staal.
"We've shown that in the past, so there's no reason to doubt that in this group and the guys that we have. Tomorrow's a big chance for us to get going and play the game we know we can."
That sentiment seems to be echoed around the room, too.
"We never lose doubt," added Lomberg, cracking a grin.
"Obviously, they're a good team, they've got here for a reason. So, we knew it wasn't going to be easy. But, you know, the theme of our whole year has kind of been that we make it tough. So, whether we want it this way or not, we got it this way. And we need to play the hand we're dealt."
The Panthers are betting on themselves for Game 3, or, at least, on the notion that Games 1 and 2 were merely an aberration. The lineup will be the same as Monday's. Bobrovsky will be in net; Paul Maurice went as far as telling reporters they have too much time on their hands when his goalie's status was questioned. The forward group and defense pairings will remain intact. It's business as usual.
All of this projects the image of a team that believes its magic has not run out. Whether that belief will be rewarded remains to be seen.