Three takeaways: Line changes spark Panthers, physical game picks up
Panthers captain Sasha Barkov is on one hell of a heater this week
There was a lot for Florida Panthers fans to like at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday.
Florida may not have scored the first goal, but they scored a whole bunch after that, turning their best-of-7 with the Boston Bruins into a best-of-5 thanks to their 6-1 victory in Game 2.
It was the Cats’ first win over their rivals from Beantown since Game 7 of last year’s opening round series.
As the game progressed, Florida seemed to get more comfortable, playing a style that we’ve seen them succeed with for much of the season.
When the goals started coming for the Panthers, the frustration began to come out of the Bruins, which surely entertained all the fans in attendance.
Let’s get to the Game 2 takeaways:
LINE CHANGES
The Panthers didn’t even get thought the first period before Head Coach Paul Maurice moved three of the team’s four forward lines around.
When they were moved around in Game 5 of the Tampa series, it was in response to the Lightning putting Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos and Nikika Kucherov on the same line.
Florida ended up scoring six goals that game, so they were kept together for Game 1 against Boston, a game Florida was leading with eight minutes to go in the second period.
That was all explained by Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice when he was asked about why they were moved in the first place, and what took so long to put them back together.
Now the groups are back to how they looked during most of the Tampa series – after Sam Bennett was injured – and the team looked quite good as a result.
“We spent some time talking about our last game, that we didn't really like the way we looked,” Maurice said after Game 2. “In terms of style of play, I thought probably from the last seven minutes in the first period on, through the second period anyway, we just looked the way we're supposed to look. We got to a competitive enough level that we looked alright.”
BARKY’S BIG NIGHT
Sasha Barkov had a few quiet games, statistically, during the Tampa Bay series.
Even when he isn’t putting up numbers, Barkov consistently impacts the game in positive ways for the Panthers, but considering how much talent and skill this many possesses, he should be helping out in the scoring department, too.
During Florida’s seven playoff games, Barkov has racked up 10 points. That’s excellent.
Eight of those ten points have come during the Panthers past three games, including the first two three-point playoff outings AND the first two multi-goal outings of his postseason career.
To say Barkov is feeling it right now would be a gross understatement.
“I think in a very good way, he's the perfect man to be the captain of the Florida Panthers,” Maurice said. “The thing that I heard the most when I came here is you have no idea how good Barkov is. They were right, and he’s better this year than he's ever been. There's a bunch of pieces he’s added to his game. I think he had nine hits tonight. We’re not trying to turn him into a hitter, and we all understand that the hits are now skewed, I’m not saying they’re wrong, they're just different than they were four months ago. He’s just faster and stronger. He’s a really impressive guy.”
PHYSICALITY KICKED UP
Game 2 featured nine minor penalties, two fighting majors and 12 misconducts for a grand total of 148 penalty minutes.
The majority of all that happened within just 2:17 of game time during the third period, when Florida already had the victory well in grasp.
Between Brandon Montour trolling Brad Marchand behind the Panthers net and the big fight at center ice between superstars David Pastrnak and Matthew Tkachuk, the events on Wednesday night sure set up for what should be a great Game 3 on Friday night in Boston.
“It's just a game, and these guys play hard, and they care about their teammates,” Maurice said. “If you paid money to come to the rink tonight, you had a hell of a night.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl__XE7ZD0c[/embed]
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