Panthers put emphasis on special teams work ahead of Eastern Conference Finals matchup with Rangers
The Florida Panthers got back to work on Monday morning at their brand new practice facility in Fort Lauderdale.
Florida is preparing for their second straight trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they’ll face the Metropolitan Division Champion New York Rangers.
Monday's workout was the first formal practice the Panthers have held since they knocked out the Boston Bruins in six games, a series that concluded Friday night at TD Garden.
The Panthers hit the ice with all players present and accounted for, indicating the Cats are fully healthy entering the NHL's Final Four.
There were no formal line rushes on Monday, as the practice consisted mostly of full ice drills and special teams work.
In terms of the forward line makeup, there were some indications as to how they would've looked.
First off, there were only three forwards wearing light blue jerseys, and they were the group that finished Game 6 in Boston skating together: Sam Bennet, Eetu Luostarinen and Evan Rodrigues.
That would indicate that the top six will also remain intact, leaving Anton Lundell on the second line between Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk and the top line of Vladimir Tarasenko and Sam Reinhart flanking Sasha Barkov.
Bennett, who has continued playing the center position despite not taking faceoffs since returning from a hand injury, was seen practicing draws toward the end of Monday's practice.
The biggest potential mystery would be how the fourth line will look.
Will Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice roll with the group that helped win Game 6 in Boston, which was Kevin Stenlund centering Ryan Lomberg and Nick Cousins?
Steven Lorentz and Kyle Okposo both proved more than capable of carrying their own weight when called upon, as we saw during both the Tampa Bay and Boston series, and Jonah Gadjovich is also a viable option.
Perhaps Maurice's choice of practice drills when the team hits the ice on Tuesday will give more of an indication of how the Cats will look when Game 1 arrives.
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One thing we did see a good amount of on Monday was the aforementioned special teams work.
Florida’s top power play unit consisted of Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour.
The second unit featured Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell, Vladimir Tarasenko, Eetu Luostarinen and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
So far during the playoffs, Florida's power play has gone 9-for-41, good for a 22.0% success rate.
Only Vancouver (15.2%) has a lower number among the five teams still alive in the playoffs. Dallas is operating at a 29.0% success rate while the Rangers are at 31.4% and the Oilers are on another planet at 36.8%.
The Panthers will enter the conference finals having failed to score on their past 10 man advantages, dating back to Game 4 against Boston.
We'll see if they can improve on that when they face the Rangers. It would certainly go a long way toward securing Florida's second straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
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