Panthers Team Better Now Than Last Year

The Florida Panthers have punched their ticket and are heading to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season. As back-to-back-to-back Eastern Conference champions, the group is showing no signs of fatigue, and this version of the Panthers might be better than the one that won the Cup just last year.

The Panthers needed just five games to knock the Carolina Hurricanes out of the Eastern Conference Final, and they looked dominant from start to finish. Outscoring the Hurricanes 21-10, the Panthers got production from all over the lineup as well as elite performances from their veteran star goalie.

Despite losing some huge pieces of their Stanley Cup roster, TSN’s Martin Biron believes the Panthers made the perfect additions to fill those holes.

“They lost Brendan Montour, and they lost some of their depth piece,” Biron said. “They go and acquire Brad Marchand. Marchand has had such an impact not just on the ice, but off the ice… Seth Jones, how about this acquisition… Seth Jones can play top minutes.”

Marchand has been a force all postseason for the Panthers, notching 14 points (4G-10A) in 17 games. Jones has stepped up in a huge way, not only taking on a ton of minutes, but producing nicely from the blue line as well. Jones has seven points (3G-4A) in 17 games played.

Biron, a former goalie himself, also looked at just how good Sergei Bobrovsky has performed this postseason, giving him extremely high praise.

“Bob is on the job,” Biron said. “He’s been fantastic. When you look at last year’s performance, he was great. I think this year he’s even better… he’s not just Vezina Bob, I feel like he could be Conn Smythe Bob, which would be unbelievable for the Florida Panthers.”

The Panthers have retooled their group and are getting steady performances from Bobrovsky, making them a tough team to bet against in the Final. Looking to repeat as champions, the Panthers might be better now than ever before.