Post-Game Talk: Home ice: secured Vasy: shaky Pat Maroon: still fat- Panthers take home ice with a dominant 4-0 win

[drktmplr12]

oh my god i need a smoke after that

 

[Gentle Man]

Q said huberdeau was feeling not too hot.

So probably sick..Hopefully not covid

 

[Cricket Green]

Best ever regular season Panthers team.

Best Panthers roster ever.

Panthers team I am most proud of.

Will they win the Stanley Cup? I believe they can.

No longer embarassed to be a Panthers fan.

Thank you, Bill Zito.

 

[Chessarmy]

Watched the game on delay. Pure domination by our guys with the obvious caveat that their big guns were out. However, I think these last two (and the six game win streak overall) give us a ton of momentum heading into the playoffs. This is exactly how you would want to end the season.

Driedger made a VERY strong case to start game one. His stats this year are elite. 3 shutouts. A near .930 save percentage. GAA hovering around 2.00. We are going to miss him dearly when he leaves in free agency.

Despite how impressive the team has been to close out the season, playoffs are a different beast. I think Q will be hammering that in his messaging prior to the series.

I have to say - as a fan who almost jumped overboard after watching years and years of mediocrity/failure, I almost got a little emotional when the final buzzer sounded tonight. We're finally seeing this franchise turn the corner. And I have to say - you guys who've stuck with this organization for decades deserve a TON of credit for continuing to watch the game and not give up. This fanbase has been through a lot of BS over the years, and I think it's a fanbase that deserves to see some success. I'm happy that it's FINALLY happening and we get to enjoy a winning product.

I love the Florida Panthers and I love the fans of this team.

 

[Cricket Green]

And the numbah one fraud of all time in the NHL. Sooonk!

Let's observe a moratorium on Yandle criticism until his next clear-cut f*** up.

Fair?

 

[KW]

Let's observe a moratorium on Yandle criticism until his next clear-cut f*** up.

Fair?

That’s fine, it’ll be about the 15-second mark of game 1.

 

[Cricket Green]

I hate to be that guy but that game vs Nashville early in the season we were winning 4-2 with like 5 minutes left and then Q challenged it and we lost in OT?

That 1 point is the difference between Tampa and Nashville in the playoffs.

Always be careful what you wish for. Preds finished 16 points behind Carolina. Were left for dead. They're playing with house money. They aint got shit to lose. Hurricanes fans best proceed with caution.

Panthers are in the opposite position. Havent won a series in almost 25 years. Facing the defending champs. Tampa does not want to be the franchise that Florida snaps their dubious streak against.

 

[Cricket Green]

That’s fine, it’ll be about the 15-second mark of game 1.

Dude still wears a Panthers sweater. He's that family member we don't think the highest of, but he's still family. For now.

 

[Cricket Green]

It is going to suck not having Driedger after this season. Wish we could find a way to keep him in the lineup

Zito is a wizard. Let the postseason play out. When the dust settles, Zito's sorcery will commence.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Look what came today

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

And Yandle's iron man streak doesn't count in the playoffs...

Yandle's going to continue to play, I'm sure. At this point, I don't even care. Don't rock the boat, keep the locker room intact, and find a way to move him in the off-season even if you have to buy him out.

 

[zeroG]

well, a teeny HOLY f***! is in order tonight. didn't feel that great about saturday but this was pretty emphatic.

lineup situations notwithstanding, there haven't been many double exclamation marks like that in this team's history.

the lighting will be better next week, but i think we could be too.

 

[Gentle Man]

Look what came today

Fat pat wouldn't fit in that

 

[pb1300]

 

[letsgrowcactus]

What a season. Love love love this team. So f-ing proud of them.

Sooo.... FLA beat Tampa in the last two games pre-playoffs including a 4-0 win today. Nashville beat Carolina in the last two games pre-playoffs including a 5-0 win today. Playoffs should be fun

 

[FrolikFan67]

I know all of their big guns were out in both games, but you still have to go out and win, still have to compete. What was most promising is, now that they knew they were playing tampa, since Saturday they have been completely dialed in and cranked it to 11. They’re out for blood and they’re willing to scratch and claw every game (literally), I don’t think they’re intimidated by tampa even when their guys return

also, Q’s insane percentage of getting his teams to the playoffs continues. Last season technically counted and obviously now this season.

 

[hagg18]

Haven’t watched the game yet, so I don’t know how dominant the Panthers were and if Q just rested some players. But I was surprised to see Strals icetime. There’s something to be said about haven’t a player that have been out of the lineup for quite some time, come in and play most of all players, 2nd most of all d on pp, 3 most on pk and 2 most 5-vs-5.

How did he perform?

 

[pb1300]

If Zito can rid us of Yandle, and we come out of this expansion draft unscathed, we have a good chance of being a good team for a long time. This is very similar to when Tallon was let go by the Hawks. I’d like to see Huby re-signed, and build around the game plan as is, with Barky on the 1st, and Huby in the 2nd.

 

[austropanther]

Performance was far from perfect, first two periods were good but we let up a lot in the third - which is kind of understandable at this point. Main point is we still won and kept up with their tough play

So great to see guys like Strals, Connauton, Lammer, Hepo, Deni get sent in to help win us this game while playing so few minutes.
We will have fun with Hepo and Deni. They look so good when carrying and passing the puck in the OZ and working the boards - although they need some refining in the DZ

How lucky was Walcott that Connauton is gentleman? He could have ripped his head off with ease.

OT looked a bit lost out there without Benn and Huby. He will be fine when they are back, good thing they could get some rest. Liked his physicality though, and March especially!

So interesting that we have the worst number 1 goalie in the league and the best backup. Really big for us that they are both getting hot when it matters most.

 

[austropanther]

Additionally, Yandle was decent tonight.

Yet it is still a joke that we are the only team in this league that carries 7 Dmen on a constant basis because of him.

 

[Mogo]

These f***ers are visibly trying to take Barkov down every shift

We'll welcome Stamkos & Kucherov back with the same shit

 

[PSLguy]

I'm a little sick and tired of almost EVERYONE making an excuse for Tampa losing to the Panthers these last two games.

Whether it's Tampa fans saying we played the Syracuse Crunch or Panthers fans saying the Bolts big guns were out.

Well, we were missing Huberdeau, Bennett, and Hornqvist. Not to leave out Ekblad. Kinda some big guns for us too. Plus they had Vasilevskiy in net.

So, let's stop listening to all the excuses why we won and understand that Tampa had some good players out and so did Florida.

We went 5-2-1 against them this season. That's pretty damn good and we should be proud of that! Granted it's step one and now we need to prepare for the next step but the boys should be brimming with confidence.

Game 1 will set the tone for the series. IMO, Tampa cannot keep up with the speed of the Panthers. They may have a few fast skaters but we have better lines with fast skaters. Add to that our grit which was showcased in these last games.

Gonna be fun to watch the playoffs this year!

 

[GrumpyKelly]

I'm a little sick and tired of almost EVERYONE making an excuse for Tampa losing to the Panthers these last two games.

Whether it's Tampa fans saying we played the Syracuse Crunch or Panthers fans saying the Bolts big guns were out.

Well, we were missing Huberdeau, Bennett, and Hornqvist. Not to leave out Ekblad. Kinda some big guns for us too. Plus they had Vasilevskiy in net.

So, let's stop listening to all the excuses why we won and understand that Tampa had some good players out and so did Florida.

We went 5-2-1 against them this season. That's pretty damn good and we should be proud of that! Granted it's step one and now we need to prepare for the next step but the boys should be brimming with confidence.

Game 1 will set the tone for the series. IMO, Tampa cannot keep up with the speed of the Panthers. They may have a few fast skaters but we have better lines with fast skaters. Add to that our grit which was showcased in these last games.

Gonna be fun to watch the playoffs this year!

They've played really well against Tampa this year, no doubt. But it's a different game in the playoffs and although the Panthers seem to be build for them Tampa has all the experience in the world and those guys know what it takes. I mean, they are the reigning champions while we are trying to win the first playoff series in 25 years. The Panthers have a monumental task infront of them.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Haven’t watched the game yet, so I don’t know how dominant the Panthers were and if Q just rested some players. But I was surprised to see Strals icetime. There’s something to be said about haven’t a player that have been out of the lineup for quite some time, come in and play most of all players, 2nd most of all d on pp, 3 most on pk and 2 most 5-vs-5.

How did he perform?

Very solid performance even if he didn't get on the score sheet. Skating was smooth. He was winning board battles and actually kept up with some of the Bolts' speedy younglings, pushing them to the outside. Even made a decent rush through Bolt defenders. Looked like he really wants to play in the playoffs.

It was also nice to see Q give Stråls the A for the night since Huby was out. He wore the A for the Bolts for a couple of seasons.

 

[CatscratchFever]

Ok. First goal complete. Now, it's for keeps. Cats, don't shit the bed here.