Panthers better prepared to hoist Cup after rout
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers squandered a chance to win the Stanley Cup in Game 4 against the Edmonton Oilers. That experience might be what was needed to eventually win it.
“I think you learn from it. I think the nerves are a little bit less now,” winger Carter Verhaeghe said ahead of Tuesday’s Stanley Cup Final Game 5 against the Oilers in Sunrise. “It’s a little different with the Cup in the building, but we’re not really focused on that. We’re just trying to focus on playing as well as we can.”
Edmonton forced Game 5 with an 8-1 win Saturday night.
Florida has closed out six playoff series in the past two postseasons under coach Paul Maurice. But he said it is a different mental challenge when the players know that the Cup has been wheeled into the building.
“It is different. What’s foremost in your head coming to the rink? That it’s there, right?” Maurice said. “So we went through it, and it’s not something you can truly appreciate until you go through it.”
Forward Evan Rodrigues said the Oilers played “desperate” hockey and the Panthers weren’t ready to match it. “I think there was a lot of energy going into that game. I think we’ll be better prepared for Game 5 than we were for Game 4,” he said.
The Oilers come into Game 5 with their backs still firmly planted against the wall, but with more than a little confidence. They felt they had outplayed Florida for the balance of the series, but that goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had kept every mistake out of the Panthers’ net.
Now, they’ve scored seven goals against him in the past three periods, chasing Bobrovsky to the bench in the second period of Game 4.
“I think we just finally unlocked being able to get past this guy. He’s been playing so well,” said forward Dylan Holloway. “We knew at some point we were going to break through. We’ve got so much skill that I think we were due. But at the same time, he’s such a good goalie that you never know. I mean, he can steal games.”
The Panthers were not concerned about the Oilers breaking through against Bobrovsky.
“Because he’s Bob,” Dmitry Kulikov said. “He’s just great. He’s our MVP right now.”
The Oilers are the ninth team in NHL history to extend a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final after falling behind 3-0. Five of those teams would lose in Game 5. The 2012 New Jersey Devils lost in six and the 1945 Detroit Red Wings lost in seven. One team, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, rallied to win the Cup.
The odds remain in the Panthers’ favor, but they’re not taking solace in that.
“Oh, there’s no comfort in the playoffs, man. You’re never in a comfortable position in the playoffs. You’ve earned your wins, you’ve earned your losses. It’s the same feeling,” Maurice said.
New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton will miss the remainder of the regular season and “possibly” the playoffs due to a lower-body injury, general manager Tom Fitzgerald said.
When pressed if Hamilton could return if the Devils reach the second round of the postseason, Fitzgerald wasn’t too optimistic on Wednesday.
“We’re not planning on it, how’s that?” Fitzgerald said during an appearance on the “Krackin’ Canuckleheads” podcast.
Hamilton has been sidelined since he was tangled up with Stars forward Mason Marchment in the first period of a 4-3 loss to Dallas on March 4.
Hamilton, 31, has 40 points (nine goals, 31 assists) in 63 games this season. He is competing in the fourth campaign of his seven-year, $63 million contract.
Hamilton has totaled 501 points (151 goals, 350 assists) in 834 career games with the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and Devils.
Hamilton was selected by the Bruins with the ninth overall pick of the 2011 NHL draft.
Rafael Devers told reporters Thursday that he’s “good to do whatever” the Boston Red Sox want him to do, an indication that he’s willing to move away from third base and serve as the team’s designated hitter this season.
A switch of roles didn’t seem likely last month, when Devers balked at the idea at moving to DH in the wake of Boston signing Alex Bregman.
“Third base is my position,” Devers said then.
But the three-time All-Star said Thursday that he spoke with manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow a few weeks ago and told them “I’m good to do whatever they want me to do.
“I’m here to help,” he said through his interpreter, according to The Athletic. “I’ve already spoken with them about that and they know where I stand, but I’m just ready to play.
“I’m not going to share what we talked about here just because it would make me come off … those are private conversations. So I told them everything of my point of view, how I see things, and they know that.”
Devers has yet to appear in an official spring training game for Boston. It was supposed to happen Tuesday but got pushed back to this weekend. He battled soreness in both of his shoulders last season and spent the first couple of weeks of spring training trying to strengthen them ahead of the regular season.
He did play in an intrasquad game Thursday in Fort Myers, Florida, before he spoke with the media, and had a home run off new Red Sox starter Walker Buehler.
Asked if he expects to be ready for Opening Day against the Rangers on March 27 in Texas, Devers said: “I expect to be there.”
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