With the Stanley Cup Final set to start Saturday, Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna take a look at which stars will have the biggest impact in this series between the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Florida Panthers.
Frank Seravalli: There are so many storylines to get into, but on paper, who do you give the edge to? The stars of this series, the goaltenders, size it all up for us.
Mike McKenna: Well, you start with Florida, and you’re looking right at Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk and how they match up against Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, but there is more to it than that. Stone and Eichel have been good throughout the playoffs, Eichel is probably the favorite for the Conn Smythe, but he only had four assists last series against Dallas; he didn’t score once. So, if that keeps up, and Stone only has three points in this series against the Panthers while Tkachuk and Barkov keep crushing, I think it’s an advantage to Florida.
But the key factor here for Vegas is they have someone like William Karlsson, who is a third-line center and is one of the best shutdown players in the playoffs. So, how do Barkov and Karlsson match up? Barkov has been a 5v5 monster, four out of his last five points at 5v5. Whereas Tkachuk has been "Mr. Clutch," power-play, game-winning goal, and overtime. But, if you look at Vegas as a whole, they are deeper. But, the star power of Florida is where it might carry them.
Frank Seravalli: The Panthers stars have been good, but we have really lost sight of a guy like Brandon Montour. A guy who started the playoffs on an absolute tear, scoring six goals in the first eight games of the postseason, has gone the last eight games without a point. When push comes to shove, and the Golden Knights do a good job, and Karlsson can shut them down, as you said, how will they get goals? Will someone like Montour be able to chip in again?
Mike McKenna: It’s a great question. Will the rest of that defense core be able to keep up? I know the Carolina Hurricanes were looking at Radko Gudas and Josh Mahura on the ice and licking their chops; that’s where the turnovers happened and where the Canes were able to get their odd-man rushes. Vegas is still a rush team at 5-on-5. That is Vegas’ bread and butter, and the Panthers have relied more on special teams. If this turns out to be a more low-event style of hockey, it goes to Vegas in my books.
Frank Seravalli: You mentioned Karlsson. my guy to keep an eye on is Reilly Smith. He just has two goals in this postseason. He’s been feeding Karlsson for his goals, nine assists. But think back to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. He’s one of the original golden misfits still there, and he scored three goals in five Stanley Cup Final games.
You can watch the full episode here…
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