Luke Fox | Sportsnet NHL Writer

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Download Thumbtack and start a project today. Luke Fox, who is now joining us from New York City after covering game five and really covering the entire series, but game five at Madison Square Garden. It's been pretty tight all series long. Once again in this game five, Luke, it's very tight. What would you say is ultimately the difference in the Panthers winning this game?

Well I think it's their patience. You know, I think the Rangers actually had one of their better starts and looked up to the task. And I thought they were the lesser team in the two previous games down in Florida, even though they won one of them. But the Rangers came out strong. They had more zone time than they normally did. They weren't one and done.

They were cycling around. They were drawing some penalties. They looked like they were ready to go toe to toe with the Panthers. But the third period, that's when it all flipped.

And the third periods in general have really favored Florida. They've been really strong. And I wonder if some of that has to do with their conditioning. A lot of the players have talked about how hard training camp was and how training camp kind of prepared them for this moment. And then the other part of it, I think, is they know what the grind's like, having just been through it a year ago. Most of the core of this team went all the way to the cup final in 2023. And they weren't as healthy back then as they are now.

So I think it's a healthier group, a well-conditioned group, and a more experienced group. So they're comfortable in those tight games. And then they just took over control of the play five on five. They waited for a turnover. And the Lindell goal proved to be the difference. They needed the empty netter. But that was really the key turning point. About midway through that third period when they were able to break that tie. But you said you felt like the Rangers played better in this game five.

What did they do differently themselves? Well, for one, I think a lot of their big names had been really quiet through the first four games. Like Crider, no points.

The Vantage had no points. Panarin, no goals. Panarin didn't get on the score sheet, but he was buzzing.

He led all skaters with 11 shot attempts. He looked way more engaged and involved. He was a threat. Crider got his third short-handed goal of the postseason. He was great tonight. And then the Vantage had got two primary assists. He helped set up both goals. Yeah, they got two goals and two nice ones, but it's just not enough.

Shusurkin was up to the task again, too. So their penalty kill was good. Their goalie was good. Their stars showed up, and it still wasn't enough. And in saying all that, it makes you wonder, yeah, the Rangers won the president's trophy, but maybe they're running into a team that might just be better than them. Even though they're showing improvement, maybe Florida's just too good.

You have to wonder that at this point. Luke, why is it that teams have such a challenging time adjusting to what the Panthers do on the ice? I think it starts with their forecheck. They're incredibly fast, and they're incredibly fierce.

And it's rare that you have both of those in one hockey team. They're kind of tailor-made to succeed at this time of year. They just love to dump pucks in, and they're very structured. Paul Maurice has them all bought into a system, and they just attack. They make it really difficult for the opposing team's defense to break the puck out cleanly, because they're just on them. They swarm them. They wear them down.

And I think the longer a series goes on, the more of a toll that takes on them. And then when they're in their own zone, they don't panic. They stick to their structure, and they kind of wait for the Rangers to make a mistake. I think of the deciding goal in overtime in Game 4. Zibanejad tries to create something. He tries to force a puck east-west across the blue line, and then they just pick that up and counter-attack. The Lundell goal, the same thing, was a counter-attack goal.

The giveaways tonight were 12 for the Rangers, one for Florida. They're very organized and disciplined in their structure. So they wait for the other team to make a mistake, and they're fine waiting. And then when the other team does cough it up, they pounce. They have enough speed and skill to make you pay. Luke Fox is with us from New York City after Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

He covers the NHL for Sportsnet, and it's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Previous three games go into overtime, another one goal game in this one. So even as you're talking about the Panthers and their system and how they stick to their identity, which is really impressive, the Rangers have managed to keep it close. Looking ahead to a Game 6, if they don't take chances, how do they create a different type of pace and get the game on their own terms, so to speak?

Yeah, well it's going to be a challenge for sure. I mean, one thing is this Rangers group has been incredibly resilient, right? They found ways to win. They have more comeback victories than any team I believe in history, certainly more than any team this season.

So they are resilient, and I'll give them that. It'd be foolish to expect anything but another tight game. So every game has been a one goal game except for Game 1, and that was basically a one goal game because it was 3-1 with an empty netter and a flukey own goal. They're comfortable playing these tight games. I think they're just going to have to hope that, you know, Bobrovski is one save worse than Shasturkin.

I do think Shasturkin, even though the Rangers trail has been the better goalie in this series, and they just have to get more pucks to the net, sustain some ozone time. Maybe that means getting in on their forecheck. They like to create off the rush. And the other thing they need to do, which has been arguably their biggest failing, is they've only got one power play goal. Their power play is letting them down. And part of that is, hey, you got to tip the cap and say, Florida has a really good penalty kill.

They really swarmed. It's an aggressive penalty kill, and they've been successful so far. But the Rangers were one of the best power play teams in the whole league all season coming into the playoffs. They were the best power play team in the East.

That's part of their identity, and it hasn't shown up yet. I think about the third period. They get the power play. Florida didn't get a single power play in that third period. That was an opportunity for them to finally swing it their way, make it 2-1 for New York. But they haven't taken advantage enough on special teams, and that's kind of been their undoing. So hey, if they can wake that up, if they get a power play goal, if they get to Bobrovski, I'm not saying they're completely done, but it's a must win. And even if they win that one, the next one's a must win. So they're facing elimination for the first time all season. The pressure is solely on New York now. This is more of a quirky question because we hear it.

I'm not sure I believe it. The president's trophy curse, and the Rangers, of course, did have the best record in the regular season. Why is it so hard for the best team over the course of 82 games to then go on and win the Stanley Cup?

Yeah, I don't know if it's a curse. I think it just speaks to the parity of the league. It's not as if the president's trophy team gets outclassed.

The Boston Bruins went out in the first round last year to these Florida Panthers, but they lost to the team that went all the way, and it took them seven games, and they came very close to winning that series. I think part of it is the parity of the league, the nature of the sport. I think there's a little bit more luck involved in hockey than in basketball, where after every possession, the other team automatically gets possession.

There's a little more of a randomness with frozen rubber on ice. Part of it's that, and I think the parity goes back to the NHL instituting a salary cap, so you can't really stack a team to a point and have them dominate. And hey, there's no shame. I don't think it's a curse if they lose to this Panthers team.

There's no shame in it. It's really one of the better Final Fours in recent memory. All four of these teams, none of them fluked their way into this. On the West, Dallas and Edmonton are serious teams that have been on long runs before and just haven't gotten it done.

So all these teams are legitimate. There's no shame if the Rangers eventually do fall because they're going up against one heck of an opponent. Luke Fox is with us talking Eastern Conference Finals and we're just one step away from the Stanley Cup Final.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. How much do the Panthers still talk about that loss to Vegas last year? You mentioned their health of course, but how much does it drive them? Oh for sure. You talk to any athlete that gets that close and it's kind of all they think about, right? Like once you've gotten that taste of going on such a long run, like the rung that you can almost grab, but you just can't.

It just remains out of reach. And I think that the expectations are different this time around. When you think back to last year, they were the eighth seed. They were the scrappy underdogs. Hey, we had to fight and scratch our and claw our way just to get into the playoffs. No one gave us a chance against Boston. No one gave us a chance against Toronto. They were the underdog the whole way. So they were kind of using that in their favor, but when you talk to them now, it's more like, okay, we arrived at training camp pretty much knowing we're going to be a playoff team and pretty much knowing that we're thinking Stanley Cup. We're not thinking we got to get to the playoffs.

The expectations have been raised. And one thing that's really working in their favor is the health is there. They were a really battered team by the time they got to Vegas. And it became pretty evident early on in that 23 cup final that they just didn't have it, that they were outmatched. They didn't have the depth or the health to compete with Vegas, which was a much healthier team. Who knows if they would have beaten them even if they were at full health, but they were hobbling. A couple of guys went for surgery right after that series. But it sounds like this group is healthy, you know, um, you know, according to the coach and no core member looks significantly injured and they've been able to even bring in fresh legs on the fourth line just because, hey, we want to inject some guys that have been sitting for a while.

So to be as healthy as they are at this late of stage is really remarkable. Luke, what have you heard about the ice from the players at MSG? Yeah, not as good as in Florida, which is kind of ironic, right? You think, uh, that Panthers arena, Emory bank arena is right next to a swamp. Like you, you, you would think it would be harder to keep, to keep that ice cold. It was like a hundred degrees down there. Not that it's not muggy in New York city, but, um, yeah, the players, uh, definitely say that, that the ice is, is better in Florida.

I think maybe because it's the newer building, I don't know, but yeah, it gets a little bit choppy at MSG, but Hey, that's to be expected. You're playing a winter sport in late May. Now it's the same for both teams, right? So I always kind of hate that excuse because both teams are playing on the same ice, but maybe you have to adjust a little bit, maybe make the safer play. I think it was even evident just watching the game play. Some of the passes weren't as crisp.

The speed wasn't quite there. I mean, the colder the ice, the faster the play, the smoother the play, less chance of the puck bobbling. And, um, I think you could just see that watching the games. I'd love to ask your reaction to what we've seen so far in the West, where we've got a two all tie between Edmonton and Dallas.

Yeah, it's a doozy. It feels even more difficult to predict as tight as the East has been. And that's because it seems like no lead is safe and the momentum swings, the momentum swings have been insane. Like one team will get up to nothing in the first period and then they'll lose five, two.

Uh, and you'll think that one team has the game in total control and then a switch will get flipped and it starts going the other way. Um, really fascinating series because I feel like it's two teams built almost polar opposite. Edmonton has the high, high, high end skill in terms of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Uh, you can debate where they rank in the top five players that play the sport right now, but, uh, both of them are in that category. And then Dallas has, for my money, the best depth of any team in the NHL, um, you know, able to roll four lines. I think Dallas has the superior goal tending because Skinner for the Oilers has kind of been up and down.

So I'd like to give them the edge there. It's kind of all over the map. It's going to be a great two to three more games in the West as well. Where does Lord Stanley's cup reside until we get to the next round? It's still at the hall of fame in Toronto. It doesn't enter, it doesn't enter the building until, uh, until an elimination game, until it can actually be one that the superstition is that it can't be in the building. So, uh, not, not until a clinching game will, will it make an appearance. But, but funny story, they used to not even bring it until like late in the third period. Cause, cause of some silly old hockey superstition, but then it got caught in traffic and it showed up late one year.

I forget what year it was, but it showed up late. So then they're like, okay, let's get it in the building. Yeah. There is no better entrance for a trophy than for Lord Stanley's cup. It's iconic alone, just the hardware. Forget actually winning it.

You need white gloves to handle it. Yes, absolutely. All right. Good stuff.

We're getting closer to the end of these final four series. So you can find Luke on Twitter at Luke Fox jukebox also covers music and does some freelance writing there, but mostly NHL for sports nets. It's great to catch up with you. Thank you so much for a couple of minutes. All right. Thanks Amy.

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