Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe speaks after Florida's 2-1 loss to New York on May 24. As the Florida Panthers head deeper into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there is one element of the team’s game that has been a key factor in their success. Going all the way to last summer, there was an area of Florida’s play that General Manager Bill Zito and Head Coach Paul Maurice knew that needed to address if the Panthers were going to improve their chances at winning a Stanley Cup. They needed to get better on the penalty kill. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Zito and his staff brought in a few key pieces, such as Kevin Stenlund, Niko Mikkola and Dmitry Kulikov, to fortify the unit that was led by Sasha Barkov, Gus Forsling, Eetu Luostarinen, Aaron Ekblad and Sam Reinhart. Now the Panthers had two equally strong, formidable penalty killing units to deploy, and the results spoke for themselves. “It’s been really good,” said Panthers forward Kevin Stenlund. “It helps that we’ve been really steady, staying in lanes, helping each other out.” Florida finished the regular season with the league’s sixth-best penalty kill, operating at an 82.5% success rate. Now, as the games get bigger and more crucial, Florida’s penalty kill is appearing to be at its best. Going back to Game 5 against Tampa Bay in the opening round of the playoffs, Florida has now successfully killed off 24 of their opponents past 25 power plays. That includes all six of the New York Rangers’ power plays during the conference final, which is particularly notable considering they entered the series scoring at a 31.4% clip while on the man advantage. Through 13 postseason games, Florida has killed 88.1% of the power plays they've had to defend. Only Edmonton (92.5%) and the Rangers (88.4%) have done better. “It's predicated on pressure,” said Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. “At the end of the day, that's one of the top power plays in the league and we're just trying to find a way to limit their chances. Bob (Sergei Bobrovsky) is making some huge saves, so that's kind of the key.” The defense in front of Bobrovsky has also done an excellent job of clearing away any rebound opportunities left behind by some of Bob’s high-end saves. Overall, we’ve seen two tightly defended, low scoring, vintage playoff hockey games. If the power plays are neutralized, it could make for a gritty, grimy series in which its difficult for the skill players to find space and time to do their thing. “I think maybe right now, in the first two games, the strength of both teams has been their penalty kill,” said Maurice. “That’s the one piece. We scored last night on our power play, but it’s the one piece that’s been strong. There haven’t been long power play flurries where you’re under siege.” Florida went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill in Game 2 against the Rangers. They’ll want to avoid giving New York that many opportunities when the series shifts to Sunrise. Game 3 from Amerant Bank Arena is Sunday at 3 p.m. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Three takeaways: Panthers withstood Rangers' push, take split back to Sunrise [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-withstood-rangers-push-take-split-back-to-sunrise] Rangers square series with 2-1 overtime win over Panthers in Game 2 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/rangers-square-series-with-2-1-overtime-win-over-panthers-in-game-2] The Hockey Show: Talking conference finals, hockey history with Stan Fischler [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/the-hockey-show-talking-conference-finals-hockey-history-with-stan-fischler] Happy Anniversary to Matthew Tkachuk sending Florida to the Stanley Cup Final [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/happy-anniversary-to-matthew-tkachuk-sending-florida-to-the-stanley-cup-final] Ryan Lomberg received a big compliment from Paul Maurice after Game 1 against New York [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/ryan-lomberg-received-a-big-compliment-from-paul-maurice-after-game-1-against-new-york] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
