Three takeaways: Jesper Boqvist fills in beautifully again, Panthers pull away after tight 2 periods

Yahoo

7 days ago

In case you haven't noticed, the Florida Panthers are quite good when it comes to playing in the conference final.
Florida skated to an impressive 6-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday, taking a three-games-to-none lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Panthers are now just one win away from reaching their third straight Stanley Cup Final.
Over the past three seasons, Florida now holds an impressive 11-2 record in the conference final.
Both Saturday's game and the series as a whole have been closer than the game scores would lead you to believe, but at the end of the day, the Panthers have won three straight over Carolina by a combined score of 16-4.
Let's get to the Game 3 takeaways:
BOQVIST BOOST
Panthers forward Sam Reinhart suffered a lower-body injury during Game 2 in Raleigh that kept him out of Saturday's win in Sunrise.
Filling in for Reinhart, who is considered day-to-day, was Jesper Boqvist, who slotted onto the top line with Sasha Barkov and Evan Rodrigues.
The last time Boqvist was slotted into the lineup after missing a few games was in Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He skated with Barkov that night and picked up a goal and an assist while helping Florida to a 6-1 win.
On Saturday, Boqvist one-upped himself, logging three points, including the goal at the start of the third period that seemingly opened the flood gates for Florida.
'When I say I'm impressed with his game, there's an expectation of what he can do,' said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. 'It's good that he's come in with Barkov, I think in both games, because it's a certain style that he excels at. But as good as that is for him, it's also good for all the other players that aren't in the lineup right now. They see how important you are, how critically important you are. So you say to all those guys, 'stay ready' and then we say, well, you've been ready. You did it all year. Just about all these guys played really important roles for us, but it's good for them, for the guys watching the game, to see how important it is that you stay right.'
TIGHT GAME THROUGH TWO
Don't be fooled by the final score, as Game 3 was extremely tight through the first 40 minutes.
It's been a similar story through the series, as some very close, competitive hockey has been blown up by a few big stretches and periods by the Panthers.
That's what will help keep the Panthers grounded as they now focus on winning a fourth game in the series.
'They're playing the game that we expected to play,' said Maurice. 'The emotions of playoffs are different. So when you have the first two (games) that we had, certainly the second the way it went, it's so much closer than you think. And if it wasn't (close) in one game, it doesn't matter, because when they come back and they play the first two periods the way those are played, that's a tight game, and that's what we would expect. So we're going out into the third, we're not thinking it's going to change anything, you're looking for a break. Then once you get to two (goals) and three, but once you get to 2-1, the game has to open up for them, and they're dangerous with that game. They're good at it. And at 3-1, then the game has to open up. So what happens from two to three and then on doesn't matter, because it's not the way this game starts the next game. It goes back to the first period here.'
ELIMINATION GAME MINDSET
As crazy as it might seem for you longtime Panthers fans, these situations are nothing new to the Cats.
Over the past three seasons under Maurice, the Panthers have gone 9-7 in games where they can eliminate their opponent. That includes a 1-3 mark from last year's Stanley Cup Final, which Florida also held a 3-0 series lead.
The Panthers have plenty of experience when dealing with the stress and emotion that comes with maneuvering through a playoff series, and that should come in handy as they look to knock out Carolina for the second time in three seasons.
'We're going to find out if we've learned (from our experience),' Maurice said. 'We got up 3-0 on Toronto two years ago and wanted it so bad that we tried to win the game on every play. I think we kind of learned from that. And then you saw last year (in the Stanley Cup Final) we got beat 8-1. It's the same idea. They have the desperation advantage, you have potentially the desire advantage, just the achievement idea that you get to move on, and both teams will fight that. That will be on display in the game. Can we control the desire emotion and play the game? Can they control the desperation emotion and play the game? So what the common denominator is, we're just going to play the game. It's just hockey. There's nothing else to this game but hockey, but neither team is going to feel that coming to the rink.'
LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA
Panthers push Hurricanes to brink with dominant 6-2 victory in Game 3
Important Panthers Forward Ejected From Game 3 For Boarding
Charles Barkley 'Hates' Seth Jones For This Hilarious Reason
3 Panthers Who Need Big Performances In Game 3 vs. Hurricanes
Sam Reinhart out for Game 3 of Eastern Conference Final
Photo caption: May 24, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; The Florida Panthers celebrate the win against the Carolina Hurricanes in game three of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)