Panthers Must Be More Aggressive for Stanley Cup Repeat

The Florida Panthers blew a 3-1 lead against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. This is not something the Panthers are accustomed to.

Florida had a 31-0 record in the postseason when they took the lead into the third period. That long streak came to an end with the loss on Wednesday.

In the final period and the overtime stanza the Panthers played too conservative with the puck. IT looked like they played not to lose, as opposed to their normal attacking style of offense which has propelled them thus far.

They are the defending Stanley Cup Champions and they looked timid and afraid.

When Florida accumulated its two-goal lead in the second period, they were dominating the ice with precision passing and set plays. From the third period through the overtime, the Panthers appeared to constantly get the puck in the neutral zone and just dump it down the ice.

Paul Maurice's team played very conservative and you cannot do that against an offensive juggernaut like the Oilers. Florida had many faceoffs in their own zone due to the amount of icing calls they sustained.

Giving the puck to Oilers top scorers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in their offensive zone is not a way to protect a lead. Eventually they are going to score and beat you. That is exactly what happened Wednesday night.

The Panthers played not to lose instead of playing to win. Sam Bennett agreed with this proposition.

"Just not let up. Don't sit back," said Bennett, who scored two goals in Game 1. "We've been really good all year at not sitting back with the lead, and for whatever reason we sat back tonight."

In his own way, Maurice said the Panthers played too conservative for his liking.

"I think we had some real good pressure. They get it back, and then there were some plays we didn't compete," Maurice said. "I thought we were a little safe with the puck."

Maurice still likes his chances on Friday night and in the series.

"It has the potential to be just a spectacular seven-gamer," Maurice said. "It was honest, it was hard, it was fast, and it was tight. It was an overtime game."