Panthers must protect home-ice advantage in Stanley Cup Final

The Coaches Room is a regular feature throughout the 2024-25 season by former NHL coaches and assistants who turn their critical gaze to the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher.

In this edition, Paul MacLean, former coach of the Ottawa Senators and assistant with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs, analyzes the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, and discusses what to expect as the tied best-of-7 series shifts to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, for Game 3 on Monday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

I think the Stanley Cup Final has been really exciting.

I think Edmonton winning the first game has Canada behind the Oilers now with the opportunity to maybe bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada.

Both teams are pretty even; they’re pretty evenly matched, they’re both playing hard, and they’re not leaving anything out there.

At some point, fatigue is going to become a factor in this and whoever can get to three wins first and a chance to win that fourth one is going to have a big advantage trying to finish this one off.

The first two games were really physical, and that’s the way Florida does it. If Edmonton doesn’t, it is certainly going to play the price. I think the Oilers certainly learned that last year and they have the quality of players who are healthy and can counter that and match that physicality.

If your opponent is going to play that way, you have to be able to respond to it and not be bullied by it. I think Edmonton has done a really good job of not being bullied and countering that physical play.

I think the Oilers’ passing really let them down in Game 2. There were way too many turnovers. They simply weren’t very good with the puck.

The second period is always a hard period because of the long change and if your passing is a little bit suspect in that period, you can really put some sustained pressure on the defending team and out-change them a couple of times and really have a decisive outcome in the game. I think it was a big factor in Game 2.

I think the goalies, Stuart Skinner and Sergei Bobrovsky, have both been very good and they’ve both done a good job of keeping the games close.

Among players who have stood out, defenseman Jake Walman has been impressive for me for Edmonton, not having seen him play a lot in the past. He’s really come in and I think he’s really been a good player for the Oilers.

I also tip my hat to forward Kasperi Kapanen. He’s had a rough go of it and had a reputation for not being this kind of a player, but he’s really come and played. I think he’s elevated his game a bit and he’s really been a factor.

For Florida, Brad Marchand, the pride of Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, is tearing the place apart. It’s great to see for Brad -- he’s a heck of a guy, he’s great in the community no matter where he is and to see him have that kind of success, it’s really good.

Marchand plays right into the Panthers’ strength of being a bully and chirping at people. Nobody is better than Matthew Tkachuk at it, and they have two of them now. So, there must be a steady conversation between the benches.

The TV commentator between the benches must be getting a few chuckles as the game goes on. I know I would be getting a few laughs if I was standing on the bench as a coach. Some of that stuff’s pretty good.

Of course, Corey Perry is doing the same thing for Edmonton filling in for Zach Hyman, and right now it looks like it’s all going really well.

Forward Anton Lundell has been very good for Florida, he was very good last year, too, and he’s a very consistent player who is hard to play against. I’ve been impressed by him.

Sam Bennett has grown as a player and has found a way to put the puck in the net when it counts. The Panthers forward doesn’t really score a lot of goals through the regular season it seems, but once the playoffs come around he looks like he’s a guy you can count on.

He’s been impressive, but I think the apologies for bumping into goalies might have to end at some point. He’s playing playoff hockey and that’s the game within the game and the Oilers need someone to match that and/or take care of it.

Going into Game 3, I think Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch has a big advantage because he’s got two superstars -- Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl -- who he can split up or play together, and that’s what he does. He does a combination of both, and I think he’ll continue doing that.

He’ll put them on separate lines depending on the situation and time on the clock, but they’re going to be on the ice a lot. There’s no way either plays fewer than 20 minutes.

That’s one thing Panthers coach Paul Maurice knows for sure -- those two guys are going to be on the ice no matter what he does. He’s not going to be able to keep them on the bench.

The biggest thing for Knoblauch is not to overplay them. You have to make sure you’re playing them in the right situations; that’s important, and getting off the ice at the right time is as important as getting on the ice.

For Maurice, the hardest part is that the next game is in your rink and you have to win, otherwise why did you bother winning Game 2 in Edmonton? The Panthers have to hold serve by gaining home-ice advantage.

At the same time, you don’t get to the Stanley Cup Final by not winning games on the road. Edmonton has showed it is every bit of a road-warrior type team as Florida. The Oilers will be ready to play Monday.

These have been great games and all of Canada is excited about it. Everyone has Oilers gear even here in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and we’re nowhere near Edmonton.

Everyone here is also excited about Brad Marchand. It’s been a great start, and it has the makings of a classic Stanley Cup Final.