海角社区官网

Florida-海角社区官网is a long way from the Cup final, but there鈥檚 a case to be made the Panthers are the best team the Leafs will see in these playoffs, no matter how far they go.

The Panthers are the defending champions and the betting favourites to repeat. And maybe it says something that even their bitter state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, spent this week paying homage to Florida鈥檚 excellence in the wake of a five-game loss to the Panthers. That鈥檚 two years straight with a Florida-Tampa playoff series. Florida has won eight of 10 games.

鈥淧robably the most consistent team in the league by a mile鈥� is how Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Lightning goaltender, described the Panthers. 鈥淎nd when you鈥檙e that consistent through the full series, you get all the lucky bounces.鈥�

Said Jon Cooper, the Lightning coach: 鈥淭hey have an exceptional team. Like, not just an average team, but an exceptional team.鈥�

The Panthers suffocate with structure and forecheck with ferocity, leading the NHL in hits this season. And when they鈥檙e not hitting, they鈥檙e pressuring as relentlessly as any team in the league. On Friday, they saw captain Aleksander Barkov and winger Sam Reinhart both named as finalists for the Selke Trophy as the league鈥檚 top defensive forward, an award Barkov has already won twice. Add Florida鈥檚 aggressive defensive approach to a goaltender named Sergei Bobrovsky, he of the two Vezina trophies, and the task becomes daunting.

Oh, and then there鈥檚 Brad Marchand. Acquired at the trade deadline, the 36-year-old Team Canada agitator who long haunted the Leafs as Bruins captain has fit in seamlessly as another Florida-based nuisance requiring opponents to keep their head on a swivel. As if the threat of Tkachuk and Sam Bennett wasn鈥檛 enough.

鈥淭hey pressure hard and they鈥檙e a hard-working team. They do not give you a lot of time and space,鈥� Tampa’s Brayden Point said. 鈥淚t is tough sometimes to make the correct play. They won for a reason.鈥�

For all that, the Leafs had the better regular season than the Panthers, which is why the second round will begin in Toronto. And Florida has its vulnerabilities. They led the league in penalties (although their uber-aggressive penalty kill limited Tampa鈥檚 power play to 2-for-18 work in the first round). And they鈥檙e not afraid to push the limits of what鈥檚 suspendible. Aaron Ekblad, Florida鈥檚 top-pair defenceman, will miss Game 1 against 海角社区官网as he completes a two-game suspension for an elbow to the head of Brandon Hagel. Said Hagel on Friday: 鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to go for someone鈥檚 head, something鈥檚 coming for you.鈥�

Presuming whatever voodoo Hagel plans to unleash doesn鈥檛 doom the Panthers, there鈥檚 also the inherent toll of attempting to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Since the Panthers acquired Tkachuk in a franchise-changing trade in the summer of 2022, the Panthers have been to two Cup finals and played in 50 playoff games. That鈥檚 the most in the NHL by far; 海角社区官网has played in 24.

It’s worth remembering that when the Leafs got over the hump against the Lightning in 2023, they were coming off a third straight trip to the Cup final after wins in 2020 and 2021. The cumulative effect of all that high-intensity hockey clearly worked in Toronto鈥檚 favour.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice has pooh-poohed fatigue-related concerns. And if Florida can find the stamina, it鈥檒l be hard to top their know-how.

As Cooper was saying this week, figuring out how to win in the Stanley Cup playoffs 鈥渋s something that鈥檚 learned, and it鈥檚 an art.鈥�

If the Lightning were masters of the art for a decade and more, the Panthers have now moved into that pantheon.

鈥淭here鈥檚 only a few teams in the last little while that really know how to do it,鈥� Cooper said, speaking of winning it all. 鈥淲e were one of 鈥榚m, and now they鈥檙e one of 鈥榚m. And it鈥檚 unfortunate we鈥檝e had to run into 鈥榚m.鈥�

The Leafs might be saying the same thing in the days to come. Then again, if you want to be the best, you鈥檝e got to beat the best. And here鈥檚 a chance.