Faced with a 0-2 series deficit in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final after two games against the Vegas Golden Knights, Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers remain very much hopeful that they can turn things around.
The Panthers have gotten this far in the Stanley Cup Playoffs because they don't have the word quit in their vocabulary. One mistake of the Golden Knights and Florida could turn things around, starting in Game 3 in Sunrise on Thursday.
“You know, they’re halfway there,’’ the Panthers forward said after a 7-2 loss on Monday in Las Vegas (h/t George Richards of Florida Hockey Now). “Hopefully they are thinking about that a little as they come to Florida and maybe that can work in our favor.”
The last thing the Golden Knights would want to do heading to Game 3 is to think that the Stanley Cup Final is virtually done and that they have the ultimate prize already in the bag. The Panthers know a thing or two about performing a miraculous come-from-behind series win in these playoffs. Back in the first round, Florida overcame a 1-3 series deficit against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, closing it all out with a massive win at TD Garden, no less.
Although they are losing the series to the Golden Knights, the Panthers are winning the possession battle. Florida has a 55.25 CF% through two games, though, the Panthers will have to find better ways to get off more high-danger shots. Perhaps playing in front of their home crowd in Game 3 will be the cure to the Panthers' malaise.
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