Panthers cling to belief they can still win series
Things are bleak for the Florida Panthers.
Everyone knows it, there’s no use sugarcoating the truth.
The Panthers are down 2-0 in the best-of-seven second-round playoff series against Tampa Bay after Thursday’s disheartening 2-1 loss in Game 2 — during which the Lightning scored the game-winner with just 3.8 seconds left. On top of that, they’re going to Tampa Bay, home of the two-time defending champions, for back-to-back games Sunday and Monday. It’s a tough task.
But Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette has two reasons for believing his team can claw its way back into this series.
The first reason is they’re the “Comeback Cats,” the moniker earned by recording 29 comeback wins on their way to winning the President’s Trophy. Brunette is invoking his team’s never-say-die spirit.
“We’ve come back all kinds of different times this year,” he said during a conference call Friday. “We believe we can do it.”
The second reason for belief is Brunette said his team has been able to find its game at times in this series. He admitted it’s only been for about 100 minutes of the 120 minutes of game time. But the Panthers have been able to do their thing at times.
“The differences are the slim little margins,” Brunette said, “and they’re winning that margin battle. They’re a great team and they know how to close the door, they know what the big moments are, they know when the little things that need to be done are to be done. We’re still learning, we’re getting better.
“But I think the belief comes from the way we played for, like I said, about 100 minutes of 120 that we felt we got to our game.”
Clearly, a big reason for the Panthers’ problems is they have struggled to score, either in 5-on-5 or while on the power play. Flor
ida, which averaged 4.1 goals per game during the regular season, has scored only one goal in each of the first two games of this series.
Top-echelon players such as Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov have been unable to make an impact against the Lightning’s defense.
“I think the frustration level is maybe affecting them,” Brunette said.
Tampa Bay’s defense has been amazingly effective at blocking shots [24 in Game 2; 16 in Game 1], a trait that lends insight into its desire and championship pedigree.
“It’s something we’re referencing and showing [to our players],” Brunette said.
On top of that, Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has been a wall with 68 saves in the series.
“It’s hard to get shots through,” Brunette said, “and then you have to go through Vasilevskiy after that.”
And worst of all, the Panthers are 0-for-25 on the power play. Brunette said the frustration from the power play has probably leaked into their 5-on-5 game.
“Wanting it too badly leads to frustration,” he said.
Brunette, who said they’ll be without forward Mason Marchment [lower body injury] for Games 3 and 4, said he won’t make any radical changes to the power play. Despite all the troubles and frustrations of Games 1 and 2, Brunette believes in his guys to break through.
“We’re trusting our best players to make a play,” he said.
But the biggest thing the Panthers are trying to do is keep a stable mentality. In other words, don’t carry the losses in Games 1 and 2 into Game 3, and don’t try to even the series with a Game 3 victory because it can’t happen mathematically. Just focus on winning Game 3.
“That’s the mindset,” Brunette said. “You just win one, and that’s all you worry about — one game.”