Panthers’ X-factor vs. Oilers, and it isn’t Matthew Tkachuk
Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Final. This time last year, they prepared to face the Vegas Golden Knights for the biggest prize in hockey. Unfortunately for them, their dream run did not get a happy ending as the Golden Knights won in five games. This year, Florida has to take on Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
The Panthers are not a Cinderella story or a team of destiny this year. Florida entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs as one of the favorites to win it all. So far, they have lived up to the hype. The Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in round one. In the next two rounds, they defeated the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
Florida hasn’t made many changes in the playoffs this season. But they have made necessary improvements that the team believe can pay off with a Stanley Cup championship. There is one more hurdle left to climb for Florida, though. Florida has an X-Factor up its sleeve that can help them win, and it goes beyond Matthew Tkachuk.
Panthers have superior scoring depth
The Panthers are leaning on Tkachuk a bit. He leads them with 19 points in 17 games this postseason. However, Florida does not completely rely on their star forward. Rather, they have multiple different players who could make an impact for them in this Stanley Cup Final.
The Panthers have seven players with 10 or more points in these playoffs. Furthermore, defenseman Brandon Montour and forward Evan Rodrigues close to the 10-point mark themselves. This would give them 10 players with 10 or more points this postseason.
The Oilers can boast a more impressive feat, at least on paper. Edmonton has a player over 30 points — Connor McDavid — and have three more players over 20 points. Furthermore, Zach Hyman has 14 goals and 18 points through the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, that’s about where Edmonton’s offense ends. Beyond Hyman, the next highest point scorer on the Oilers is Evander Kane with eight. Of the combined 176 points scored by their skaters, Edmonton’s top-five scorers account for a whopping 70% of those points. In contrast, Florida’s top-five scorers account for just 52% of their combined point total.
This shows that the Oilers are an extremely top-heavy offensive team. The Panthers can rely on the likes of Sam Reinhart and Gustav Forsling if Matthew Tkachuk isn’t on his game. However, there are very few options for Edmonton to rely on if one of their stars is off their game.
If Florida can maintain their spread-out offensive attack, they should be in good shape. Having multiple offensive threats makes it harder for the Oilers to figure out who to key in on. That certainly bodes well for their chances in this Stanley Cup Final.
Defensively, the Panthers need to take away one of those top Edmonton scorers. If they can keep Hyman or Bouchard at bay, it takes a lot of wind out of their sails. Florida may not be able to completely slow down McDavid or Draisaitl. However, they can take away their secondary scoring options.
The Panthers do not possess the high-end offensive talent that Edmonton does. Florida is simply a deeper team that can score the goals they need when they need them. But this can work in their favor against the Oilers. And it could even lead to a Panthers Stanley Cup victory in 2024.
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