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SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Paul Maurice was in a significantly better temper Wednesday.
The Florida Panthers coach admitted the day before today that he was “grumpy” after Recreation 2 of the Stanley Cup Ultimate, regardless of a dominant victory over the Edmonton Oilers that gave his workforce a 2-0 collection lead.
That was largely due to the unknown standing of Aleksander Barkov, Florida’s captain who was knocked out of the game halfway by the third interval after Edmonton ahead Leon Draisaitl hit him within the head.
Barkov, who’s tied with Matthew Tkachuk with a team-leading 19 factors within the postseason, practiced with the workforce Wednesday morning forward of Florida’s journey to Edmonton for Recreation 3.
“It’s the drive of my temper, proper?” Maurice mentioned. “You undergo that worry. … No one needs to lose their captain. And also you don’t know when you have or not for a block of time, and then you definitely discover on the market’s likelihood you’re not going to (lose him), and also you’re in a significantly better temper.”
Maurice mentioned the workforce will make a closing determination about Barkov’s Recreation 3 standing earlier than Thursday night time’s recreation, however the star “felt higher.”
Barkov, who gained the Selke Trophy because the league’s high defensive ahead, is an enormous cause for Florida’s lockdown protection, profitable 57.3% of his faceoffs within the common season and 53.4% within the postseason.
“He is an enormous a part of our workforce and an enormous piece of our recreation,” mentioned veteran Kyle Okposo.
Barkov had a pair of assists within the closing opener however hasn’t scored a purpose but within the collection. Neither has Tkachuk, Florida’s top-scoring ahead who has 5 objectives and 14 assists within the playoffs.
Tkachuk being with no level hasn’t been an issue for the Panthers, whose depth has emerged as considered one of their largest belongings. Heart Evan Rodrigues leads the collection with three objectives; younger middle Anton Lundell is rising as a formidable two-way participant and Niko Mikkola had the tying purpose in Recreation 2 because the Panthers rallied.
“No one will get right here on their stars,” Maurice mentioned. “They drive the bus — we might all agree with that. They’re the important thing items. However I don’t assume any workforce will get up to now with out the 20 guys you’re dressing. Sooner or later, they should be the distinction.”
Mikkola, the 6-foot-5 defenseman who signed with the Panthers across the identical time Rodrigues did final July, scored his second profession playoff purpose when he blasted a drop move from Lundell previous goalie Stuart Skinner moments after he almost scored an personal purpose on the opposite finish.
The 30-year-old Rodrigues, who had performed in simply 16 postseason video games earlier than this season, scored twice in Florida’s comeback victory, together with the profitable purpose early within the third interval.
Rodrigues has 11 factors (six objectives, 5 assists) thus far within the playoffs. He is performed up and down the Panthers’ lineup all yr and moved as much as the highest line with Barkov and Sam Reinhart in Recreation 2, serving to spark a three-goal onslaught within the third.
He has extra factors than Edmonton’s Connor McDavid — the main scorer within the postseason with 32 factors — and the Oilers’ different two stars, Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, mixed.
“It’s good to contribute to a win,” Rodrigues mentioned, “and that’s what we’re right here to do. It may very well be any participant on any given day.”
Okposo mentioned he believes these contributions are a product of the best way the Panthers play with a stifling protection that units them up offensively.
“It doesn’t actually matter which line is getting these alternatives,” he mentioned. “It’s simply form of the character of our recreation and what we do. So whenever you see a man like Evan, scoring a pair objectives final recreation, it’s simply phenomenal for everyone. All people’s extraordinarily joyful for anyone else that scores. Clearly this time of yr, that’s the way it’s going to be.”
Maurice added that it has been wanted in a collection like this one, the place each groups’ high two traces are so good that they nearly “cancel one another out.”
“Over all of the minutes you play, your elite gamers should be nice on a regular basis,” he mentioned. “However there’s going to be a block of time for every participant in your roster, and he would be the distinction in that block of time for whether or not you win or lose. And in a pair video games in these playoffs, it has been Evan’s time, and he’s made essentially the most of it.”
The Oilers, who’ve only one purpose — a fluky one — by two video games, hope they’ll be capable of repair the ability play that has gone 0 for 7 and get issues going offensively.
“They’re doing an excellent job of constructing it powerful on us,” McDavid mentioned. “However with that being mentioned, the ability play has been collectively for a very long time and we’ve been nice at what we do. We often resolve penalty kills, and I might count on us to determine this one out, too.”
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AP Hockey Author Stephen Whyno in Edmonton, Alberta, contributed.
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