Florida has yet to win a game at home in the best-of-7 series
The Florida Panthers hung on for dear life during Game 5 in Boston, surviving an onslaught by the Bruins in their home barn and extending the series at least one more game.
While yes, the Panthers did emerge victorious in an emotional, inspiring overtime battle with the league-best Bruins, the route they took to get there isn’t exactly a sustainable one.
From a metrics standpoint, Boston dominated the game, basically from start to finish.
Sure, the Panthers had some pockets of sustained pressure, but the examples are few and far between.
It was Florida’s previously stagnant power play coming alive and its veteran starting goaltender having his best game in months that rewarded the team’s inner conviction that they are capable of more than their eighth-seed placement would indicate.
“There's a big belief in this room, even before the playoffs started, and that hasn't wavered,” said Panthers winger Anthony Duclair.
So far in this playoff series there have been three games played in Boston.
Florida has won two of them.
During the 82-game regular season, no team won more than once in Boston other than the Bruins. The closest proximity of two Boston losses at TD Garden was six games.
It’s also notable that the Panthers were able to withstand the brunt of the Bruins' strength, in an extremely hostile environment, and still escape with a win.
Add that success against Boston to that the pressure of playing in an elimination game, knowing that any small mistake could cost your team the season, and it starts becoming clearer how Florida can be confident heading into Game 6 at FLA Live Arena.
“It was an important thing for that group, that room, to go through,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said of Game 5. “Overtime wins, especially in the playoffs, it's not like any other kind of win.”
LINEUP NOTES
Ryan Lomberg is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Maurice said Lomberg’s availability for Game 6 would be a game-time decision.
In net, it would be quite the surprise if Sergei Bobrovsky doesn’t get his third straight start for Florida.
Bobrvosky’s play during the Game 5 overtime win in Boston was nothing short of sensational.
LINEUP UPDATES:
Lomberg has been ruled out for the remainder of the series.
Maurice announced the news following Florida’s morning skate.
Every other Panthers player is available and seemingly healthy.
“Everybody’s good to go,” Maurice said.
Florida's morning skate was missing a few players, so line rushes won't be confirmed until pregame warmups.
It's likely they roll with the same groups from Game 5, at least to start, and see how things go from there.
That would mean Nick Cousins will once again skate on the second line with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk, and the top line would feature Sasha Barkov flanked by Carter Verhaeghe and Duclair.
Anton Lundell centered the third line with Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart while Zac Dalpe would once again draw into the lineup, skating with Eric Staal and Colin White.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Luostarinen on the series’ physical nature: “It’s the playoffs, a lot of hits and a lot of physicality. You just have to work hard and lay on those hits.”
Reinhart on staying the course: “We like where we're at, with our structure and our game plan. We’ve said it all series, we're trying to execute the same things out there. I think it's whoever sticks to that the longest that comes out with a win on any given night.”
Maurice on Barkov recovering from an illness: “The last two games for me are markedly different than the first three. He was sick. We're not announcing that before Game 1 because I don't want anybody knowing that, but he didn't get a shot attempt in that game. He looked completely different, then he gets seven (shots in Game 4), Duke scores a goal (in Game 5). The line has to be good. Sure, there’s pressure on him, and he's fine, but I'm comfortable with his last two games, he’s been strong for us.”