Tampa Bay can do exactly what Washington did, but better. The Caps provided the blueprint of how to slow down Florida. Still, the Capitals basically broke even in terms of 5-on-5 expected goals and high-danger scoring chances against Florida. The Washington Capitals had plenty of chances to upset the Cats in Round 1 but were let down by inconsistent goaltending and some lapses in big moments. The problem is that we saw what can happen when a team commits to gumming up the neutral zone against the Panthers. Check out the best sports betting sites.There was a trade-off to Florida’s high-tempo offense - the Panthers gave up plenty of scoring chances going the other way - but the Cats just aren’t going to try and grind out a series against the Lightning, who are experts at doing that at this point.Ĭheck out the best sports betting sites and apps No team in the NHL scored more goals, created more expected goals, or generated more high-danger scoring chances than the Panthers did in the regular season.

The Bolts are incredibly talented and it would be a bad idea for most teams to trade chances with the Lightning, but that’s not the case when it comes to Florida. There are no secrets to how the Panthers will want to play this series. There’s no reason to doubt that the Lightning won’t be able to figure it out - they always do - but it does give Florida an advantage in Game 1. No matter how Cooper - who is always open to dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen - constructs his lineup, it will likely take some time for Tampa Bay to make the right adjustments in this series. Long story short, losing Point isn’t just about losing a great player, it’s also about the downstream impact it will have on a lineup that looked very settled as we got to the business end of Round 1. Nick Paul, the hero of Game 7, will probably assume Cirelli’s duties as the shutdown center between Ondrej Palat and Killorn, which in turn means that Tampa Bay’s effective third line will need to be re-created with Paul moving up. Without Point, Cooper will likely bump Cirelli up to play in between Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, which could help that duo get going by offering help defensively, but it also means that the Bolts will need to re-jig their middle-six, which is effectively where they won against the Maple Leafs. Matthews and Marner did have strong games in Round 1, but there were a couple of contests where the Point-Cirelli-Killorn unit ate them up. Point, Anthony Cirelli, and Alex Killorn was Tampa’s best forward unit against the Maple Leafs and drew the assignment of attempting to shut down Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner throughout their seven-game series. Not only is he an incredibly effective player in a number of different areas of the game, but it would also mean that John Cooper would be forced to re-calibrate his lines. Point’s absence, for however long he’s out, will be vital.

Panthers vs lightning score