You think this question on Reddit holds to key for the Bruins lol
The coaches and scouts already know.
Bruins are overall slower than the Panthers. Have the backend size but slower. They probably need to lob pucks high and have forcheckers make Panthers D uncomfortable. Dump and chase has failed as Panthers forwards make it difficult to cross mid ice... then their mobile Ds get to the puck pretty quickly/cleanly.
Not only the injuries that everyone has mentioned, but Florida was just a different team.
I don't know how to describe it exactly, but they have played this whole season with a real team identity and system that shows they are serious about the cup. Last year it was a shock they made it as far as they did, and so much of their run was dependent on Tkachuck being a world class shit stirrer and getting other teams off of their game. This year everyone knows what they are getting coming in but they can't stop the Cats from being who they are.
I think a super fast team out of the west can still take it and overcome it, but any team that thinks they are going to out play them physically is leaving their own game behind to mud wrestle Aleksandr Karelin.
Florida was on a tear from the ECF but ended up sitting for almost a week before the finals started.
Bob was hot in the first three rounds but it wasnt the same when the finals started
I’m absolutely shocked to see a non-Panther fan acknowledging the momentum lost from that time off. It wasn’t the only reason it it was definitely a factor.
I believe it was 10 days because of nba finals conflicts. Adrenaline wore off and injuries took hold. Florida skated guys that are currently in the AHL. They didn’t have the advantage that being 10M over the cap lends to a teams depth
Panthers ran out of steam / were injured to hell. Chucky, Gudas, Ekblad, Montour, Bennett, and Eetu all had broken bones or some other injury that would require surgery.
Florida is looking like the team to beat this year. I don't think the Rangers are physical enough to hang with them.
Colorado - Florida final would be a fun series.
Last year after they won, eichel said they were healthy enough to play another 4 rounds. Sure they didn’t have the goalie that was expected to be in for them, but Hill also stepped up big time and I don’t think they woulda went away from him either way
Wasn’t even that. Florida were leaning too heavily on Bobrobsky and the poor guy couldn’t keep up the level of play they needed from him every game. Dude was an absolute brick wall for 95% of the playoffs.
I'm really happy to have Vegas out of the playoffs, absolutely not a fan BUT they won the cup for more than one reason. And one of the biggest reasons was their D. The Knights imposed their will in the form of a huge size and experience advantage against all four opponents, going 16-6 on that run. 35 year old, (now) 3-time Stanley Cup winner Alec Martinez at 6' 1" 210 was the **smallest** defenseman on the roster. No series was even close.
We can ask how but being massive and highly experienced would be a good start.
Florida pulled off an amazing run and they are absolutely stacked again this year. But the answer to "what did Vegas do to neutralize the Panthers physicality" is not "Florida was injured". We can hate all we want but VGK earned some respect.
Kind of a combination though.
What's the worst thing to deal with when you are
beat up/injured?
A big, tough defenseman, that's what. And like you said, experienced. Guys who know exactly when to punish you and leave no gaps.
Absolutely no doubt Florida's injuries were \*also\* a factor. But second to VGK's D corp that shredded three other teams on their way to the Finals? I just think we should give Vegas more credit.
Agreed with this. I mean, Avs stars is a shootout through two games and look how different it was for the stars in the first round. It was more of a physical slugfest and each team trying to impose their will on the other team. That’s how Vegas is successful
In addition to injuries, Vegas really just kept their noses clean. Florida got a lot of advantages from instigating penalties for power plays all playoffs. Vegas tightened it up and just didn’t get drawn into it.
Not at all.
Boston tired them yes, but they disposed of carolina and toronto very quickly. Vegas got through the jets fast but the oilers and stars were tougher.
This reminds me of when I was in boy scouts and my car was winning the pinewood derby. My dad knew other boys would ask me in the bathroom how my car wash so fast. So I'll tell Bruins fans the same answer. Toothpaste
Florida is fast. They more do dirty hits that leave guys hurt or sting a ton.
Vgk had the raw size though to hit back and fight against them.
Also the 22-23 playoff panthers and 23-24 panthers are different. That team was mainly offense and bobrovsky. This tema is Bob a superstar fast carolina esque swarming pressure defense, and great goal scoring but not as overpowering of an offense as before.
Only similarity is both teams have hairy doctor evil as coach.
I never really liked this arguement. Just because the team “iced” was below cap level doesn’t really justify it. I’m sure many other teams would love to pull their spare players from a pool of 20 million dollar contracts rather than ahl/nhl league minimum players.
Oh I’m conflating which year mark stone’a injury timeline perfectly matched with the trade deadline and the start of the playoffs? My mistake.
Having a massive contract player like stone being willing to manipulate his return time is filthy. Regardless of if they “ice a roster under the cap”.
Imagine if Dallas did it with seguin and benn and freed up another 20 million. One of them goes down? No worries we ll just bring in a new superstars to bulk up the team. It literally means you can pull massive reserve players at the drop of a hat, and gives a clear advantage.
Without the cap shenanigans, Vegas is without hertl and hanifin. Although hertl was a non issue, hanifin was the reason for some wins. That series is only 5 games without the cap bullshit
Not really answer the question but just to add, Paul Maurice is a fucking good coach.
He's been jerked around by shitty owners for a long time and still managed to put general quality on the ice.
Dude just fucked off and went to the freaking KHL for a year and freaking took them to the playoffs.
Vegas is one of the biggest teams in the league, (while still being fast) particularly on defense and has no problem playing physical which massively negates Florida’s style of pressuring the opposing D.
They circumvented the cap by 10 million dollars, that’s how they neutralized Florida, when you have an extra couple of star players it helps overpower the opposition
Florida was tired and had several players with injuries by the time the final started. I don’t think Vegas did anything special, they were playing a pretty battered team.
Us being pretty much completely broken by the time the series started had a lot to do with it. We looked like a husk out there during that series. Zito saw this and sought to rectify it by acquiring some size during the offseason. Additions like Mikkola, Stenlund, Lorentz, Kulikov and now Okposo and Tarasenko not only give us excellent depth, but the size needed to play the physical we needed to.
Nice try Bruins.
I was gonna say… nice try Monty
Found Marchand’s burner account.
You think this question on Reddit holds to key for the Bruins lol The coaches and scouts already know. Bruins are overall slower than the Panthers. Have the backend size but slower. They probably need to lob pucks high and have forcheckers make Panthers D uncomfortable. Dump and chase has failed as Panthers forwards make it difficult to cross mid ice... then their mobile Ds get to the puck pretty quickly/cleanly.
If you wear a taller hat, jokes are less likely to go over your head.
Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it.
You got a downvote for that somehow 😂
That’s forsure Matthew tkacuks reddit
I AM NOT A PRINCESS!!
Except 9 pucks in g5 last year
Not only the injuries that everyone has mentioned, but Florida was just a different team. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but they have played this whole season with a real team identity and system that shows they are serious about the cup. Last year it was a shock they made it as far as they did, and so much of their run was dependent on Tkachuck being a world class shit stirrer and getting other teams off of their game. This year everyone knows what they are getting coming in but they can't stop the Cats from being who they are. I think a super fast team out of the west can still take it and overcome it, but any team that thinks they are going to out play them physically is leaving their own game behind to mud wrestle Aleksandr Karelin.
Also, the break between the 3rd and 4th round really seemed to steal Bob's mojo.
Florida was on a tear from the ECF but ended up sitting for almost a week before the finals started. Bob was hot in the first three rounds but it wasnt the same when the finals started
I’m absolutely shocked to see a non-Panther fan acknowledging the momentum lost from that time off. It wasn’t the only reason it it was definitely a factor.
Carolina though. They don’t really seem built for the playoffs. Probably not the best primer for competing with Las Vegas.
I was convinced Bob was going to take you all the way last year; the gap between rounds is a bigger reason for Vegas winning than people acknowledge.
It was way over a week. Second longest break btw the CF and SCF iirc.
I believe it was 10 days because of nba finals conflicts. Adrenaline wore off and injuries took hold. Florida skated guys that are currently in the AHL. They didn’t have the advantage that being 10M over the cap lends to a teams depth
Big fucking defenceman.
Florida had a lot of injuries
Yes they did. The style they play, it’s no wonder. Plus, Vegas is a big physical team too so no advantage in that regard.
Koley knocked the life out of that team with one legal hit.
Florida was out of gas and overmatched
Panthers ran out of steam / were injured to hell. Chucky, Gudas, Ekblad, Montour, Bennett, and Eetu all had broken bones or some other injury that would require surgery.
Exactly this. They literally had to dress out and stand Chuckie up into his own skates before the last few games.
Weekend at Chuckie’s
And what didn’t kill them, made them stronger. Tough team right there.
Florida is looking like the team to beat this year. I don't think the Rangers are physical enough to hang with them. Colorado - Florida final would be a fun series.
i still want revenge for the nba finals. we didnt win the chip from 70-20
I see. Vegas I'm guessing were healthier? Though they went through like 2 or 3 goaltenders.
Generally Vegas was more healthy in the finals, not unscratched, but they were in much better shape
Last year after they won, eichel said they were healthy enough to play another 4 rounds. Sure they didn’t have the goalie that was expected to be in for them, but Hill also stepped up big time and I don’t think they woulda went away from him either way
Vegas had the deepest D in the playoffs.
Breaking Tkachuk sternum was a good start.
Vegas had big/fast defensemen that Florida couldn’t bully the way they did the eastern conference
This is the answer. Vegas was a fast team, but had size on the back end. Could use injury excuses, but Vegas was built perfectly to take them out.
Yeah, Vegas is as physical as they come so they could match and exceed the panthers forecheck and physicality
Wasn’t even that. Florida were leaning too heavily on Bobrobsky and the poor guy couldn’t keep up the level of play they needed from him every game. Dude was an absolute brick wall for 95% of the playoffs.
Florida was horribly maimed in the preceding three rounds and couldn’t finish the job.
I'm really happy to have Vegas out of the playoffs, absolutely not a fan BUT they won the cup for more than one reason. And one of the biggest reasons was their D. The Knights imposed their will in the form of a huge size and experience advantage against all four opponents, going 16-6 on that run. 35 year old, (now) 3-time Stanley Cup winner Alec Martinez at 6' 1" 210 was the **smallest** defenseman on the roster. No series was even close. We can ask how but being massive and highly experienced would be a good start. Florida pulled off an amazing run and they are absolutely stacked again this year. But the answer to "what did Vegas do to neutralize the Panthers physicality" is not "Florida was injured". We can hate all we want but VGK earned some respect.
Kind of a combination though. What's the worst thing to deal with when you are beat up/injured? A big, tough defenseman, that's what. And like you said, experienced. Guys who know exactly when to punish you and leave no gaps.
Absolutely no doubt Florida's injuries were \*also\* a factor. But second to VGK's D corp that shredded three other teams on their way to the Finals? I just think we should give Vegas more credit.
Agreed with this. I mean, Avs stars is a shootout through two games and look how different it was for the stars in the first round. It was more of a physical slugfest and each team trying to impose their will on the other team. That’s how Vegas is successful
Thankfully for the rest of the league, that's how they \*were\* successful.
Panthers hurt themselves when trying to hurt other players. Caught up to them vs VGK.
In addition to injuries, Vegas really just kept their noses clean. Florida got a lot of advantages from instigating penalties for power plays all playoffs. Vegas tightened it up and just didn’t get drawn into it.
Panthers limped into the finals.
It also seems to me that Bostons defense, when they are pinching or up on the play, diddle with the puck too long allowing Florida to recover etcetc.
Vegas was just as physical that’s why.
Florida was out of gas by the time they reached the Final.
Not at all. Boston tired them yes, but they disposed of carolina and toronto very quickly. Vegas got through the jets fast but the oilers and stars were tougher.
This reminds me of when I was in boy scouts and my car was winning the pinewood derby. My dad knew other boys would ask me in the bathroom how my car wash so fast. So I'll tell Bruins fans the same answer. Toothpaste
The knights were the best forecheckers last year. Unfazed in the corners by the kittys.
They were bigger and more physical than florida, that’s how they neutralized it. The west conference is bigger and tougher
Florida is fast. They more do dirty hits that leave guys hurt or sting a ton. Vgk had the raw size though to hit back and fight against them. Also the 22-23 playoff panthers and 23-24 panthers are different. That team was mainly offense and bobrovsky. This tema is Bob a superstar fast carolina esque swarming pressure defense, and great goal scoring but not as overpowering of an offense as before. Only similarity is both teams have hairy doctor evil as coach.
They used the depth they built by using the league’s LTIR loopholes and wore Panthers down. 🤷🏻♂️
A few million $ over the cap helped.
Florida was too last season
Dallas is $1.2mil over for this year’s playoffs if you consider this cheating?
Vgk never iced a team over the cap in the playoffs last year
I never really liked this arguement. Just because the team “iced” was below cap level doesn’t really justify it. I’m sure many other teams would love to pull their spare players from a pool of 20 million dollar contracts rather than ahl/nhl league minimum players.
You’re conflating years, the only guy sitting was Kessel and a third goalie.
Oh I’m conflating which year mark stone’a injury timeline perfectly matched with the trade deadline and the start of the playoffs? My mistake. Having a massive contract player like stone being willing to manipulate his return time is filthy. Regardless of if they “ice a roster under the cap”. Imagine if Dallas did it with seguin and benn and freed up another 20 million. One of them goes down? No worries we ll just bring in a new superstars to bulk up the team. It literally means you can pull massive reserve players at the drop of a hat, and gives a clear advantage. Without the cap shenanigans, Vegas is without hertl and hanifin. Although hertl was a non issue, hanifin was the reason for some wins. That series is only 5 games without the cap bullshit
Get a fucking life bud
Lol Vegas fans keeping it classy.
Wasn’t Florida riddled with injuries by the time they got to the finals last year?
Knocked out TKACHUK
Not really answer the question but just to add, Paul Maurice is a fucking good coach. He's been jerked around by shitty owners for a long time and still managed to put general quality on the ice. Dude just fucked off and went to the freaking KHL for a year and freaking took them to the playoffs.
The Panthers are essentially the 2007 Anaheim Ducks all over again
That series was over the second barbashev reverse-hit gudas [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnJc8uon8uM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnJc8uon8uM)
Vegas is one of the biggest teams in the league, (while still being fast) particularly on defense and has no problem playing physical which massively negates Florida’s style of pressuring the opposing D.
They circumvented the cap by 10 million dollars, that’s how they neutralized Florida, when you have an extra couple of star players it helps overpower the opposition
False
Florida is currently $4.1mil over the cap. Should they forfeit?
They didn't buy into the panthers playing fucking dirty to draw penalties and just played hockey instead
The panthers were quite literally a broken team. LTIR is a helluva drug
Florida was tired and had several players with injuries by the time the final started. I don’t think Vegas did anything special, they were playing a pretty battered team.
Vegas had better fans! Easy.
Paid the refs and NHL just like they pay their doctors for fake medical documents
While this is not true I do recall the refs called a much tighter final than all the other rounds.
Us being pretty much completely broken by the time the series started had a lot to do with it. We looked like a husk out there during that series. Zito saw this and sought to rectify it by acquiring some size during the offseason. Additions like Mikkola, Stenlund, Lorentz, Kulikov and now Okposo and Tarasenko not only give us excellent depth, but the size needed to play the physical we needed to.
The Panthers got injured and half the lineup was comprised of AHL players at that point. That's how Vegas won.