The Panthers are 0-for-12 while up a man against Vegas during the Final
The Florida Panthers are struggling on the power play during the Stanley Cup Final.
Through three games against the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida has a big old goose egg on the board.
The Cats are 0-for-12 with the man advantage.
But why are they suddenly struggling so much in an area that teams generally find some level of success?
“The power play has taken two or three games to make the adjustments we need to make because we're seeing such extreme differences in styles from Carolina to Vegas,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “They are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of pressure and an opportunity.”
Vegas has been at their best when defending the middle of the defensive zone. It’s no secret that the Golden Knights may have the biggest back line in the league and their using that size to keep Florida from generating much of anything between the circles or in front of the net.
The same is true for Vegas when they’re down a man.
They keep a tight box between the circles and allow the puck to move around the outside of the zone. Does that lead to a lot of zone time for the opposition? Sure.
But for a team like the Panthers, it’s been demoralizing to their power play.
So much of Florida’s success while up a man is generated though the middle.
Whether it’s the bumper between the circles, a part generally played by Sam Reinhart, or whoever is playing net front, an area normally occupied by Matthew Tkachuk, those two positions are the key to the Panthers power play success.
During the regular season, Reinhart and Tkachuk accounted for 30 of Florida’s 63 power play goals.
Reinhart actually led the team with 16, more than half of his 31 tallies.
It’s been a similar story during the playoffs.
Florida has scored 12 times while up a man. Tkachuk has four and Reinhart has three.
Going through the middle of the ice doesn’t seem to be a feasible strategy anymore.
Either the Panthers need to make some changes while up a man or figure out how to make it work while doing what they’ve done most of the season.
It sounds like Maurice will go with option B, at least for now.
“It'll be something that we…I don't want to use the word address, like it's all messed up and we’ve got to fix this problem. It's an area of growth for us,” he said. “That's the way we've looked at all the things that we need to get better at.”
Maurice did point out that Florida scored a 6-on-5 goal during Game 3 that he said he’ll count as a power play goal.
It was scored by Tkachuk, on the doorstep.