The one purpose Boqvist was within the lineup was as a result of Sam Reinhart, one in all Florida’s different prime stars, was not enjoying.
Most groups dropping a participant pretty much as good as Reinhart could be in bother for a convention last playoff recreation. It by no means even got here near mattering for the Panthers.
Carolina’s Japanese Convention Remaining nightmare continues
It is simply laborious to grasp how a single franchise can preserve getting this far within the playoffs, after which preserve falling flat on its face when it will get right here.
Saturday’s loss is the fifteenth consecutive Japanese Convention loss for the Carolina Hurricanes franchise going again to the 2009 playoffs.
Even worse, they haven’t even had a lead prior to now 5 Japanese Convention Remaining video games.
The shortage of goal-scoring towards elite groups stays an issue for them within the playoffs, however this collection has launched a brand new drawback — they merely can’t cease the Panthers.
Carolina was one of many NHL’s finest defensive groups through the common season, and the Panthers are simply going by means of them with little to no resistance.
Florida has scored not less than 5 targets in every of the primary three video games of the collection, together with 5 targets within the third interval of Saturday’s recreation alone.
The Hurricanes have one huge flaw (an absence of star energy) that just about definitely lowers their ceiling. However this collection would possibly merely be extra about Florida being an absolute pressure of a hockey staff.
Florida hockey is ruining the thought of parity within the NHL
If Florida can win simply one of many subsequent 4 video games, will probably be its third consecutive Stanley Cup Remaining look.
They may have an opportunity to win their second Stanley Cup in a row.
That is noteworthy as a result of the thought of a back-to-back champion within the NHL was virtually utterly remarkable for about 20 years within the NHL all through the late Nineteen Nineties and many of the 2000s and 2010s.
If Florida can pull this off, nevertheless, they would be the third staff prior to now decade to win two in a row — becoming a member of the 2016 and 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins and the 2020 and 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning — and the second staff to succeed in three consecutive finals (becoming a member of the Lightning in 2020, 2021 and 2022).
It will additionally imply that the previous six Japanese Convention representatives within the Stanley Cup Remaining could be both Florida or Tampa Bay.
The concept of parity is likely to be slipping away within the NHL, given all of that.
