In the wake of the Panthers’ rousing 2-1 Game 7 triumph over the Oilers, I thought I’d share a few rambling thoughts.
First, a tale of the two Sunshine State Cup champions. In 2018-19, the Lightning ripped through the regular season and captured the Presidents’ Trophy by playing a wide-open style…and were promptly swept by the CBJ in the First Round of the playoffs.
Following the stunning upset, Bolts coach Jon Cooper told his core players, “We played the game your way. Now we’re going to play it my way.”
His way was a heavier, tighter-checking style.
The result? Back-to-back Cups and three trips to the Final.
In ’21-22 the Panthers likewise won the Presidents’ Trophy employing a wide-open style. They were swept in the second round by the Lightning.
They, too, came to the conclusion they couldn’t win a Cup playing track-meet hockey.
“They’re Stanley Cup champions for a reason,” said then-Panthers coach Andrew Brunette. “The evolution of how they were a high-flying kind of offensive team and they found a recipe of how to win and they stuck with it.”
Accordingly, Panthers GM Bill Zito went to work.
