Paul Maurice expects Panthers to improve on special teams as Stanley Cup Final progresses

Florida gave up two power play goals during Game 1 and were 0-for-3 while up a man

Special teams have been a challenge at times for the Florida Panthers during the playoffs.

That’s not terribly surprising considering what they’ve faced thus far.

Boston’s power play was on fire during the first round and Toronto’s was as scary as any in round two. Then in the conference final, Florida faced Carolina and their elite penalty kill.

That’s quite the gauntlet to navigate.

Entering the postseason, Florida’s special teams were nothing to write home about.

The Panthers power play was tenth in the league, operating at a 22.8% success rate, while their PK was closer to the bottom at 23rd best, with Florida killing off 76.0% of their penalties. 

Vegas wasn’t much better during the season, with the 19th ranked penalty kill (77.4%) and 18th best power play (20.3%).

The postseason hasn’t been much different for the Golden Knights, sitting in the middle of the playoff pack with the ninth best power play (19.7%), but much lower on the PK (65.3%), ranked just 14th out of 16 teams.

Florida, not so dissimilarly, has the sixth ranked playoff power play (26.1%) and 13th penalty kill (71.2%). 

The point is, unlike the Panthers’ first three postseason opponents, Vegas isn’t a team that should be feared on special teams.

As the series goes by, Florida will want to lean into a potential special teams advantage if they’re going to come out on top.

“I felt we were a little slow early on,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said of the team’s Game 1 power play. “We cracked the bar, had another good chance.”

Going back a series, Florida’s first few power plays against Carolina were not very pretty. 

But gradually, they got better.

So much better that the Panthers’ game-winning goals in each of Games 2, 3 and 4 all came while Florida was on the man advantage.

Maurice expects a similar upward trend during the Final.

“Both teams will probably speed up on their power play once they get a feel of the kill,” Maurice said.

While Florida did allow a couple power play goals during Game 1 against Vegas, one of them was an empty-net goal late in the game.

Overall, Maurice seemed pleased with the Panthers efforts on the penalty kill, though picking and choosing when to attack the puck is something that can be improved upon.

“We gave up the goal, and we gave up another eight (high-danger) chances actually being too aggressive at times, but we don't want to completely pull that off either,” Maurice said.

The Golden Knights finished 2-for-7 on the power play on Saturday against Florida.

No matter how good your penalty kill may be, going down a man seven times in a game is never a recipe for success.

If Florida can stay out of the penalty box, something they have struggled with all season long, and their special teams trend the way Maurice believes they will, it will go a long way toward the Panthers achieving their championship goals.