After excelling on road all playoffs, it's time for Panthers to produce at home in Cup Final

Miami Herald

5 hours ago

The Florida Panthers have found a way to thrive on the road during this Stanley Cup playoffs run. It's a major reason why they're back in the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, why they're oh so close to repeating as champions.
But with their best-of-7 Cup Final series with the Oilers tied 1-1 after opening the series in Edmonton, Florida needs to take advantage of home ice while it has it with the series shifting back to Sunrise for the next two games. Game 3 is at Amerant Bank Arena, with puck drop at 8 p.m. Monday (TNT, truTV, Max). Game 4 is 8 p.m. Thursday.
By splitting the first two games in Edmonton — losing 4-3 in overtime in Game 1, winning 5-4 in double overtime in Game 2 — the Panthers can theoretically close out the Cup Final and secure their second consecutive championship by simply winning out on home ice. Florida would also host Game 6 should the series extends that far.
'Our fans buzz at home and we love that,' defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. 'It's really exciting to play in front of them.'
But the Panthers haven't done as well on home ice as they have on the road this postseason.
Granted, they haven't had as many opportunities to be on home ice either. After finishing third in the Atlantic Division in the regular season, Florida has started all four of its playoff series on the road.
The Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the opening round, going 3-0 on the road and 1-1 at home.
They beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the second round, going 2-2 on the road and 2-1 at home.
And they beat the Carolina Hurricanes in five games in the Eastern Conference final, going 3-0 on the road and 1-1 at home.
Add in the 1-1 start on the road in the Stanley Cup Final, and that's a 9-3 record in road games this postseason for the Panthers compared to a 4-3 mark at home.
'We have no choice,' star Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said of playing well on the road. 'We were going to be on the road for the whole [postseason]. I think every team we were going to play this year in playoffs, especially after the first round, we knew we were going to be on the road for the rest of it. We forced ourselves [into] it. We made our bed and had to sleep in it and now we've got to start on the road, take one game and get home ice back. It's that easy.'
The Panthers' simple, direct game — be physical, grind out the opponent, let defense drive the offense — plays regardless of the venue. Florida's depth allows it to overcome the matchup battle that can impact road teams with the home team getting the last change before faceoffs.
'We feel comfortable on the road,' Tkachuk said. 'It's a simple game. It's a hard game. It's an adversity type of game, an adversity type of atmosphere. We've said it a bunch. It's that us against the world mindset, but you really feel it especially being down in a series. Your back's not necessarily against the wall, but you treat it as a big-time must win in a hostile environment, and I feel like that's when we're at our best. So, hopefully we can use that to our advantage.'
Added Panthers coach Paul Maurice 'The [home-ice] advantage is marginal. It's fair. It's marginal. A lot of it happens probably just on running your bench in terms of minutes that you put on people when you're on the road and you get a D zone draw, especially when you have the players at the top end like Edmonton has. You run your top end of your bench harder than you will at home. So, you get a little bit of a reprieve there with understanding who's coming out first off whistles.'
That said, getting some time at home is definitely a luxury the Panthers aren't taking for granted.
'It's never bad being in your own bed, have a nice home cooked meal,' forward Sam Reinhart said. 'I mean, once the puck drops, you might use the crowd a little bit, you might have that little extra energy. But at this time, it's the two best teams that are left standing. Once that puck drops it's going to be a real battle regardless.'
And this series has definitely been a battle. Two overtime thrillers between two evenly matched teams have set the stage for an intriguing Stanley Cup Final so far.
And neither team is expecting any letup as the series continues.
'The games speak for themselves,' forward Brad Marchand said. 'It's been a battle. Very intense and a lot of fun to be a part of.'