Seth Jones Proving Invaluable to Panthers

Five days before Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito traded for Brad Marchand at this year's Trade Deadline, he acquired a distressed Seth Jones from Chicago, and although Zito gave up significant parts of Florida's future in the trade, you can bet the return has paid off. 

According to NHL.com, no player has averaged more minutes through Florida's 18 playoff games than Jones, who has given the Panthers' back end a reliable defensive presence. 

His 1.98 on-ice expected goals against per 60 minutes mark at 5-on-5 is third best among all Panthers defensemen these playoffs, according to Moneypuck.com, and although Jones' 2.38 on-ice expected goals for per 60 minutes tally at 5-on-5 could be better, he's still clearly been one of Panthers head coach Paul Maurice's favorite defenseman these playoffs, and that's been shown through more than just his average ice time.

 Maurice's trust in Jones stems from the fact that the all-star defenseman has logged the second most minutes of any player on Florida's power play and penalty kill, per NaturalStatTrick.com. 

Jones' effectiveness on both units has been impressive, but more so on a Florida penalty kill that exhibits their forwards applying lots of pressure high in their defensive zone, which in turn requires their defenseman to make up for lost space. 

Jones's versatility has been put to good use these playoffs, as he's played alongside many different Florida defensemen, where his defensive impact has shown. Jones has played on three of Florida's top five pairings in the expected goals-against per 60-minute department. 

None more dominant than when Jones plays alongside Finnish giant Niko Mikkola, a pairing that has the playoffs second-best expected goals against per 60 mark (1.62), and a pairing that the Florida coaching staff trusted in the late stages of Game 1 before they surrendered an overtime winner by Leon Draisaitl, a play that caught Jones out of position.

 The success of the Jones-Mikkola tandem has to be attributed to their length, which makes it difficult for opposing players to break into their zone, an attribute that has to play into why they are both above league average with time spent in their own zone, according to NHLEdge.com. 

The Panthers will want to rebound in Game 2, and in order to do that, they'll need their best defense pairing to show up and limit Edmonton's star power, something Maurice will definitely test them with.