Panthers’ heavy blue line should be an advantage against the Rangers

The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers will faceoff Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

For the most part, it’s been a relatively easy path to the Conference Finals for both teams. The Rangers took care of the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes in four and six games, respectively, and the Panthers cruised past the Tampa Bay Lighting in round one, followed by a gritty six-game series with the Boston Bruins.

Both clubs won their respective divisions and were the top teams in the Eastern Conference. As we get deeper into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, defense matters most, and the size and physicality of Florida’s backend could be the difference in a seven-game series.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL defenseman Colby Cohen discuss the Panthers’ heavy blue line and if that coud be the difference in this third-round series.

Colby Cohen: One area for the Panthers that I think is an advantage is the size of their blue line. The way that group is built, you’ve got Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad, that’s a big, heavy pair. You’ve got Niko Mikkola and Brandon Montour, and they’re 6-foot-4 and 6-feet tall, respectively. Then you’ve got Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitry Kulikov, two more big guys.

I just think that this group can be so physical and so mobile, that even if the Rangers throw Matt Rempe in, I don’t think it affects this D-core. Florida’s physicality is something they can use to their advantage, and I worry about the Rangers’ blue line. I think Adam Fox is injured, and I worry about Erik Gustafsson on the third pair. I think the Panthers’ heavy forward group and their forecheck could be the difference in this series.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…