Congratulations to the Florida Panthers on winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Last season's opponents for the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, on Monday to clinch the Stanley Cup Final. Although Connor McDavid won the Conn Smythe trophy (as expected), Florida finished the job and kept the most lucrative prize in sports in the United States.
As for the Edmonton Oilers, they made the Stanley Cup playoffs interesting until the last minute. Coming back from a 3-0 deficit isn't easy, especially in the championship round. However, McDavid and company roared back in the series before their superstar went cold in the last two games. Kudos to Edmonton for making it close near the end.
As for Panthers fans, they were losing their minds at the thought of blowing such a lead. With Sergei Bobrovsky falling out of the Conn Smythe race and off a cliff, how could the team respond? Add in a dysfunctional power play and fans had a reason to panic.
But enough about this season since it's officially over. The Florida Panthers will receive the Stanley Cup from the Vegas Golden Knights as the new champions. The Stanley Cup Final is now in the rearview mirror and the NHL Draft is on deck. Get ready for a wave of mock drafts and speculation. Next season is just around the corner.
However, there are some lessons to be learned by Vegas. The new champions provided a blueprint for last season's champions on how to win back Lord Stanley. Here are some key points for the Golden Knights to learn to get another title.
Continuing to put pressure on the opponent
One issue the Vegas Golden Knights in their series against the Dallas Stars was offensive pressure. Often, they couldn't push the puck past the neutral zone, leaving Dallas to overwhelm them with scoring opportunities. Eventually, it cracked the Golden Knights and left them without any offense.
In that series, the Stars were expected to score more goals than intended, with 17.73 expected goals and an expected goals percentage of 58.56% throughout the series. Compare that to Vegas, who had 12.55 expected goals. Pete DeBoer prides himself on putting pressure on his opponents offensively, which he did well against Vegas. The series was much more lopsided than what the score sheet says, with Dallas imposing their will early and often.
That's exactly what the Florida Panthers did in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final, controlling the pace of play. They took McDavid out of the equation and pressured Edmonton constantly. The Golden Knights must return to imposing their style on their opponents, controlling the neutral zone and pressuring opponents on the forecheck.