The Florida Panthers are really being challenged by the Vegas Golden Knights

The Stanley Cup Finals are two games in. It does seem a bit one-sided, although through two periods, 2-2 in Game 1, Vegas opened up a third period can. That was that, and then whatever happened yesterday. Lindsey Brown, our Western Conference correspondent, at lindseybrown35 on Twitter.

All right, LB. I didn't think it was as one-sided through Game 1. Yesterday, it looked a little different to me.

What did you see? Yeah, yesterday was just an onslaught from the get-go, and it really starts with that Aiden Hill save early in the first period on a breakaway. And what Florida's MO is, is that they're going to go to the box. They're going to mix it up, and they're running into a team in Vegas that doesn't have the greatest of special teams, but can score on you from any point in their lineup. And now they're getting scoring from their defensemen, which they hadn't been getting all season long that's really, I think, what has led them to be so successful in this post season was the overall diversification of their offense, especially last year. So much of it ran throughout for stragel through the top of the offensive zone.

And now under Bruce Cassidy, a lot of that's low to high. Sometimes you get those rushes that they're so used to as a brand, but everything and everyone is involved. And so it, you almost have to play a brand that's adjacent here is if you're Florida going forward, because you have to find a way to keep Matthew to Chuck on the ice. We're like Matthew to Chuck has to find a way to keep himself on the ice because they just don't have the bodies to keep up with Vegas. And I know that there's probably some, some tough feelings had in your neck of the woods because to see a team so quickly dismantle yours and then start getting their butt kicked over here, you're like, well, what the heck happened?

What was going on? I I'm still surprised that your squad, that Carolina hurricanes were able to make it as deep as they did because so much of their scoring talent had gone out due to injury. And that's what Vegas has. Vegas has depth, Vegas has scoring and has all the momentum going into game three in Florida.

I mean, just to go back to the hurricane series with Florida, Lindsay Brown is joining us here, and then we'll, we'll try to add up all the misconduct that we saw last night. Carolina got so much of their offensive support from their blue line, but in general, those goals don't come, you know, below the hash marks between the circles. And that's really where Florida could have been exploited. Carolina was enabled to really make Florida's defense. And because that looks like it is a serious liability, it could make Florida's lack of defense matter, lack of defensive. I mean, I think Florida's forwards played very well defensively, but their defense men are not very good. And Carolina just couldn't make them pay for that. Yeah, no, that, that's some really good insight, Adam, because it, when you have the talent that you guys had go out where you have, um, spatch the cop out, patch your Eddie's out, then all of a sudden you're tasking guys like Aho to not just score, but do everything else.

We need you to create space for yourself, but also score when you get in that space. And there's only so much water in the well. And, and this is a long playoff season.

This is a war of attrition. That's why it's the hardest trophy to win in sports. And so Vegas has that ability to challenge, uh, the, the, the Florida Panthers that has just really been given like a go pass, go and collect $200 through every zone. I'm shocked about how easy it is for Vegas to move the puck up the ice. And maybe it's just a little bit too much too late in the season for Florida.

But as I said, they're not doing themselves any favors. Like they're not giving themselves a true chance to compete because they're so focused on after the whistles, like the amount of, of physical altercations between whoever's in front of the net and Aidan Hill is fascinating. Like as a goalie, as a former goalie, you never want to get too high or too low. And some guys can walk that line.

Like Jordan Binnington is somebody that constantly falls over that line, but Aidan Hill can mix it up in this series because when you look at what's going on, otherwise like that hit back mood has tried to lay on, uh, Ivan barbershop. Well, I said that reverse, you know, it was like, Holy crap, that is a collision who to sit return. It was the biggest collision I'd seen in a minute until the end of the second period, went to Chuck, tried to line up. I call like, you, you gotta be better in there and you can say, well, that hit didn't deserve a 10 minute miss. And I would agree with that.

But if you're running around with your head cut off and swinging all the time, you're gonna say, yup, you're a problem child into the corner, into the locker room you go. And that's where, that's where Florida has put themselves in a precarious position so far. And I think that's a very important point because to me, that was a reputation call.

That was a way, this is what Florida's doing. Uh, cause I thought I calls the, the Kachuk Eichel hit and Eichel said after the fact that, yeah, I got no problem with it. He first, he was already kind of stumbling, uh, down anyway and lowered himself. And I think if the more you look at it, the more you realize that Kachuk understood that he didn't want to injure Eichel because Kachuk went out of his way. It seemed to me to make it shoulder to shoulder, there was no head contact, right? I thought, I thought, but I thought Kachuk really not took pity on Eichel, but avoided, actively avoided it being much, he could have lit him up. Tom Wilson.

Oh yeah. We don't have Jack Eichel's no longer in this series. If that's, if that is a, or a Sam Bennett, who I think has no, no qualms at all about delivering that kind of hit.

No. And I think that speaks to Matthew's awareness because it was going to be a clean hit. And if Eichel had it stumbled, he might've been, you know, knocked into next Tuesday. We don't know that, but in terms of the way that to Chuck approach where he kept his shoulder low, he kept his elbow low. He didn't leave his feet.

Like those are all those things that you look. And then obviously direct head contact that you look for when you see big time collisions like that. And that's why that's a clean hit, even if Eichel does stand up and sometimes those clean hits end up being ones that can cost you. And so I was a little shocked to see Eichel come back, but because I'm just, I'm sensitive to concussions and I'm sure he's fine. And he was able to play, but sometimes those things can kind of onset later on, but you know, that's the great thing about Matthew to Chuck and why he's such a unique superstar in this league is that he understands the harder parts of his game. Like his dad, Todd, he trained all his life with his brother Brady, who's the captain of the Ottawa senators. And a lot of that great talent that kind of bubbled up for St. Louis.

And it's a really good use hockey program, but everybody has that maturation process and it's different things to different guys. Like what Matthew to Chuck is going through right now is what I like it to what Brad Marsha and went through about five or six years going to Bruce Kathy, where he's like licking Ryan Cal hands. No, what are you doing? Like what are like, honestly, what are you doing, Brad? What are you doing?

Matthew? You're such a good player. You're so talented. You're so effective. And you're out here trying to settle scores.

Like there's a fine line between the two. And I know that he's a net front presence and he likes to establish that, but you got to, you got to taper it back a little bit. And this is his first time in the final.

Everybody has their learning experiences. I mean, there's so much cup experience in the, in the golden Knights locker and those have lost it. Those that have wanted everybody kind of understands what needs to be done and when to take a beat and not look to like punch somebody out like Nick Hage getting sucker punched in a headlock. And he's just smiling because he knows that at the end of the day, you're going to, we're going to have one more person on the ice than you are. Cause you've made one more extra move in the aggression category.

All right. Two, two quick things before we have to say goodbye to Lindsey Brown at Lindsey Brown, 35 on Twitter, you said you were a former goalie. You're I think goalies are always goalies. But let, let me just, is this, was this a record for 10 minute misconducts? Wayne Gretzky said that the last time he had seen that many tens was during the 1976 Olympics with Nadia Comaneci. I mean, it was, is that a record? And by the way, what was Eric Stalls abuse of officials?

Those are two questions that I don't have full clarification on. I'm guessing. And every time you have abusive officials, you're, you're running your mouth, like you're running your mouth.

You're saying something when the conversation was supposed to be done and you won't shut up. So it's just some other misconduct, but in terms of like the record, I mean, it's certainly up there. I think it's at the top three or four penalty minutes for one game was like over a hundred something, but I'd say that's Florida's best game right now. And, and, and if that's what their best game is, they have no chance. They have no chance because it's just Vegas been able to even turn on their power play to be a little bit more.

It's picking a great time to start clicking. And so it's, Florida's got to figure something out. Florida's got to be able to play better in front of their own goals.

And there's a lot of people that say like a bra, he sucks. Like he's like, it's not his fault. Nobody was playing defense. How do you have Jonathan Marsha so wide open, crashing into slot in that period?

And I will hit them with that Pat. I'm like, yeah, it's definitely the goalies fault there. They were just running around. They don't know what they're doing and they need to focus up. I was kind of shocked with how lack Paul Maurice wasn't his post-game comments and game one, just everybody remained calm, right? Game two. He didn't sit down.

He stood the whole time. So there's a shift coming. Yes, there is. And with an extra day between games, I mean, I personally believe we're in here for a long series, but Vegas has game travels. They have not had much trouble winning on the road in the series. How do you see this going forwards, resuming Thursday night?

Well, originally before the series started, I said nights and six, and you're right about their road for me, for made-ability. That's been true in the post-season. It was true during the regular season. They had actually a much better road record than their home record. And so last two series, they've also clinched on the road as well. And so I expect for it to take at least one of the games. I mean, I would love a seven game series just for all of us. Cause you know, once the, once the series is done, he's gone for a little while and I can get out of the press box snacks, but I think they'd get it done in the road, but it'd be really nice for them to get it done to get it done at home in front of the fans that have obviously become one of the most vibrant fan bases in the entire league. And selfishly, I want to get on the ice when the cops being passed around.

So that would be fantastic for me and the brand. What is, what is the top snack at T-Mobile arena in the press box? Oh, I'm just hand over fisting popcorn and M and M's. And then I got to go get a Shake Shack hot dog. And then I got home and eight pizza. Like this is an absolute disaster plan.

I wouldn't have to spend twice as much time on the bike today on that stationary bike. As your promo was saying, they're not so fun. Are they?

No, they're not Lindsay. I appreciate it. I'll talk to you very soon. Thank you. Absolutely. Thanks Adam.

You got it at Lindsay Brown 35 on Twitter. I love when our promos are actually relevant. That's fantastic. Um, popcorn, M and M's in the popcorn. I get it. I didn't Shake Shack hot dogs.

I know. Now I want all the, all of the above. We get popcorn. We get gummy bears. What are the, uh, uh, the other, the sour gummy, what are those? Oh man, sour gummy worms.

We got, yeah. Those are delicious. We have sour gummy worms as well. Those are dangerous. We've got to stay away from those. Uh.