‘Super disciplined’ Panthers no longer bad boys

SUNRISE, Fla. — Matthew Tkachuk believes the Florida Panthers‘ reputation as the NHL’s chief agitators no longer applies.

In last season’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Panthers earned a reputation as the NHL’s bad boys, goading opponents and frequently carrying over their physical play to after the whistle.

But Tkachuk said the Panthers are back in the Final, facing off against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 on Saturday night in Sunrise, because they — himself included — learned how to curb most of that extracurricular activity.

“I’d say that used to be a part of my game and that now it’s pretty nonexistent anymore,” Tkachuk said at Stanley Cup media day Friday. “I’ve kind of learned what works, and what works is playing as hard as I can for 30 to 45 seconds — well, sometimes I take the long shift, so 30 seconds to a minute — and just leave it all out there, come back to the bench and get rested for the next one. There’s no need to waste your time doing extra stuff.”

Coach Paul Maurice has praised his team’s maturity all season, as the Panthers came to training camp with a businesslike approach to winning the Stanley Cup that eluded them last season. He said avoiding incidents after play has stopped that could lead to penalties has been a function of that.

“I would like to think it’s maturity and that we’ve gotten better,” Maurice said. “There’s no value in it. We’ve been an exceptionally disciplined team since midway through the Tampa series [in the first round].”

For all that discipline, the Panthers still take their share of penalties. Florida’s 12:10 penalty minutes per game is the third most in the postseason for teams that advanced past the first round. Their penalties taken per 60 minutes (3.97) ranks fourth. With Edmonton’s power play clicking at a 37% conversion rate, the Panthers want to avoid giving the Oilers any extra chances to score.

Tkachuk said that means continuing to not cross the line.

“You guys have watched us the last couple series. There’s nothing after the whistle. There’s no nonsense or chirping or really anything that’s not just playing hard,” he said. “So that’s probably a big difference from last year. This year we’re super disciplined. That’s been our biggest achievement so far and probably our best asset.”

The Panthers are trying to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history and become the first team since the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins to win the Cup after losing in the Final the previous season.

“It’s kind of like a Christmas Eve feeling right now,” Tkachuk said. “It’s been a long week trying to keep your mind off it as much as possible, and just enjoy the warm weather outside as much as you can. But it’s hard not to think about Game 1, and now that it’s finally almost here, it’s more exciting now.”