Here are 3 keys for Game 1:
1. Containing McDavid, Draisaitl
No surprise that this is crucial for Florida. The Panthers have been outstanding defensively throughout the postseason, holding opponents to 2.29 goals per game. They’ll face their toughest test, however, in Edmonton centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who lead NHL playoff scorers with 31 points (five goals, 26 assists) and 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists), respectively.
“I think it’s going to be a team effort, not just for our defense but for our forwards to just get a bump on them early on,” Florida defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “Just try to play the game we play, the tight gap we have we’ve been playing all season long. We want to keep doing that.”
2. Ready to get physical
The Oilers will likely get a more bruising series from the Panthers than they did from the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. But they’re confident they can play whatever style comes their way.
“If you look at the Vancouver (Canucks) series (in the second round), I don't know if you're going to get any more physical than that," Edmonton forward Evander Kane said. "Their defensemen, that's got to be the biggest, strongest, toughest defensive group I've ever played against in my career, and they took us seven games and we were able to get the job done.
“We've had tough series, physical series -- L.A. (a five-game win against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round) as well. We're used to playing different styles of teams, but at the same time, that's not going to deter us from playing our game.”
3. Staying smart
We’re talking about Florida avoiding what forward Matthew Tkachuk called “nonsense:” losing their cool, talking a bit too much, and so on. Tkachuk said the Panthers have gotten better at maintaining their discipline and it has been a boon this postseason.
“You guys, I’m sure have watched us the last couple of series," he said. "There’s really nothing going on all year, really nothing after the whistle. There’s no nonsense or really chirping or anything that’s not just playing hard, whistle to whistle. That’s probably a big difference from last year. We were more physical in that sense.
“This year, we’re super disciplined. I’m not just talking about not taking penalties, but disciplined in your routes, in your shift length and setting up the next guy. I’d say our team discipline as a whole has been our biggest achievement so far and probably our best asset.”
