Road warrior Panthers are comfortable starting the Stanley Cup Final away from home
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The plaque of game pucks marking the Florida Panthers' first 12 wins this playoff run to the Stanley Cup Final is full of a wide array of colors.
There are three bearing the logo of the Tampa Bay Lightning from the first round, two of the Toronto Maple Leafs from the second and three more of the Carolina Hurricanes from the Eastern Conference final.
It's visual evidence just how good they have been on the road, going 8-2 into just the second final in NHL history featuring teams that started all three series on the way there away from home. The Panthers again open on the road when they play at the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 on Wednesday night, looking to keep their good vibes going far from South Florida.
'We've been having some good starts on the road, and we want to bring that for sure this series,' top defenseman Gustav Forsling said Tuesday. 'We like being on the road with each other.'
Players brushed off the home/road splits — 'That's just the stats,' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said — but there may be something much deeper to it. The Panthers travel differently than most teams in the league, often staying overnight during the regular season and choosing to value extra time at home in the playoffs before flying.
'We have a lot of good people in our organization who are working on that stuff and doing the research (on) what is the best for the recovery and all that stuff,' defenseman Nikko Mikkola said. 'As a player, you don't have to think too much. You just do what they tell you and just go with that.'
The Panthers opted to practice at home Monday, then travel the 2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers) to Edmonton on Tuesday. They followed a similar routine last year, when they beat the Oilers in the final.
'We just got off the plane, went to the gym, did a little activation stuff and feeling really good right now and I'm sure we will feel good tomorrow morning, too,' forward Jesper Boqvist said, adding he's not sure why Florida is so good in unfriendly confines.
'I don't have a secret answer to that, but I think we are comfortable either way.'
So are the Oilers, who are 6-3 away from home. Veteran forward Adam Henrique, who in 2012 played for New Jersey against Los Angeles in the only other final with teams that started the first three rounds on the road, considers it a project of collective maturity.
'Good teams, you just find a way,' Henrique said. 'It's a business trip. You go and have got to do your job, go take care of business and put yourself in a good spot to come home.'
Brown a question
Edmonton won't have winger Zach Hyman the rest of the way after he was injured late in the West final against Dallas. There's a little bit of lineup intrigue elsewhere, too.
Coach Kris Knoblauch said Monday he expected Connor Brown, who missed the clincher last round, to play in Game 1. Brown missed practice Tuesday with an illness, and Knoblauch said the 31-year-old would be a game-time decision.
If Brown is able to play, it looks like Jeff Skinner would remain in, with Viktor Arvidsson potentially coming out. Skinner was a healthy scratch from Game 1 of the first round until replacing Hyman in Game 5 against the Stars and scoring in that win.
Skinner, who played over 1,000 regular-season games before finally making his playoff debut, has tried his best to stay ready for his opportunity.
'When you get this far, there's a lot at stake and a lot more emotion and excitement involved in everything,' Skinner said. 'You get this close, you want to put your best foot forward and that will be exciting.'
Corey Perry is about to play in the final for a fifth time in six years and the sixth time in his career, he just turned 40 and he does not have a contract beyond this season.
Does that mean he's considering retirement? Nope.
'That's the plan is to be back next year,' Perry said. "It's just not in me to think about it. There's a lot of things that I love doing. I love playing. I like being around the room. I don't think that's going to be coming into my head any time soon, either, and it's just who I am.'
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