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PANTHERS/HURRICANES : Ek’s factors, Pick, Nature. BUZZCAST at 2pm |
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Buzzcast Live 2pm
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY>
u>Florida Panthers Eks Factors:
Pressure: 8 (lower more pressure)
Won cup last year
Momentum: 7
Health:: 8
Powerplay::5
14th in NHL
Goaltending/Defense::8
Bob is a playoff god.
Home Ice Advantage: 7
10th best NHL
Matchup: 7
Last 2 Seasons head to head: 3-3
This Season Head to Head: 2-1
Intangibles: 7
Playoff Bob
Been to two Finals in two years
Cup Champ
Ek Factor: 57
VERSUS
Carolina Hurricanes Eks Factors
Pressure: 5 (lower more pressure)
Momentum:9
Health::9
Powerplay::3
25th in NHL
Goaltending/Defense::6
Anderson 11th
Kochetkov 17th
Home Ice Advantage:9
3rd best
Matchup:6
Last 2 Seasons head to head: 3-3
This Season Head to Head: 1-2
Intangibles:8
A lot of momentum after knocking off capitals
Ek Factor: 55
Ek Factors
Florida :57
Carolina: 55
Who will win and why?
In the last two years, these teams to faced off six times, each team winning three three … Carolina has shut out Florida twice. However, it’s worth noting that since Bill Zito era began, these teams have played 18 times. Florida has won 8 and Carolina has won 8. That is the best record any team has had in the regular season against Florida in that period of time… Florida has a winning record against all the other teams in that period of time. Bill Zito has a winning percentage of 625%
The other two top teams are Boston 16-15 and Nashville 7-6-1
While watching Toronto/Florida, and Carolina/Washington, it was really apparent that both Florida and Toronto each appeared to be stronger than Carolina or Washington. There were several goals scored by the Hurricanes in the Capitals series which never go in on Bob.
The Canes will offer more speed than Toronto did, but not nearly the same kind of superstar talent. Of course, that brings to mind: Is it harder sometimes to stop a team that scores from all over the place versus the team that scores off their top players? The Panthers did seem to have more trouble with the third and fourth lines of Toronto than I would’ve expected.
Carolina is deeper than Toronto. But Florida is a way better team.
Carolina has an opportunity here, however, to take Game One and maybe even take Game Two , as Florida has to come in tonight exhausted after emptying the tank in Toronto 48 hours ago.
There’s also a huge history in the NHL of teams winning game sevens and coming back on short rest to game one and coming out very flat . It’s just human nature, especially for a team who has played in many highbred games and won Stanley Cup, to not be able to bring their A-game as the pressure decreases dramatically for a game one.
For Carolina to even have a chance to win the series, they have to win games 1 and 2. When the series goes back to Florida, the Panthers will be back in the saddle for sure. I would still pick the Panthers if Carolina won the first two games. That’s nothing against Carolina. That’s just how good the Panthers are right now. This Panthers team is the best one we’ve seen yet.
This Panthers team would beat last year’s Stanley Cup champion Panthers team. And it’s kind of rare that we can say that because teams usually suffer losses that hurt them and can’t replace players they lose after winning a cup… Bill Zito should be GM of the year. Adding Seth Jones and Brad Marchand? Just brilliant stuff.
I’m worried a bit about Carolina’s goaltending health. The Panthers will crash the net way more than the Capitals did. They will shoot from everywhere. There will be a ton of pressure on Anderssen.
If I saw any crack in the armor of the Panthers in round one, it would be in letting the third and fourth lines get more opportunities than they should have from Toronto. The Panthers were very good at shutting down the superstars, and that’s how you win a series…
However, Carolina is a different beast. The difference between the top two lines on the Canes and the bottom two lines on the Canes is far less than was the case in Toronto… the bottom six Carolina is really more like two 3rd lines. So Florida will have to try a little bit of a different tactic. I compare the bottom two lines of Carolina to the bottom two lines of Tampa…. Florida had no trouble shutting down Tampa.. but we’ll see
My pick: Florida in 6 if they lose game 1 and 2, Florida in 5 if they split the first two.
The ultimate battle of mother nature:
As you know, my kids and I have done this thing for years where we predict what team would win based on their team name alone. This method has proved horrifically inaccurate. But it’s a lot of fun to do with your kids. Feel free to take this idea.
So tonight we see the battle of the Florida Panthers versus the Hurricanes.
First off, there might not be a better battle in the NHL when it comes to a true hatred between two forces of nature. The natural enemy of Florida would have to be the hurricane.
Since Bill Zito took over in September 2020, there have been nine hurricanes that have impacted Florida. Bonus points in the comments if you can name them. These nine hurricanes have accounted for in excess of $200 billion worth of damage. That’s roughly $50 billion worth of damage per year over the last four years that has been caused by hurricanes in Florida.
But then again. This isn’t about the state of Florida versus hurricanes….
This is this Florida Panther versus Hurricanes. So for the third time in these playoffs, I called up my friends at Florida Wildlife and Conservation that I met through my son who does an incredible YouTube channel about animal conservation involving Muppets called “ The Land of Puppetaria.”
My son’s been through a lot healthwise through the years and is really doing well right now having broken three studying animal conservation. Those of you who have been around here for a while now know that he couldn’t walk for quite a while and I basically stayed home for the last 10 years to get them back to health and fight through his disease which he has actually done successfully at this point….
Sorry I’m a dad who couldn’t be prouder of his boy …and also the Florida Panther is his favorite animal in the world so I know a lot about it. How it should be classified as a subspecies and not lumped in with the northern mountain lions. The Florida panther is the most endangered big cat in the world right now with only 200 or so no one panthers in the wild. The number one cause of Panthers deaths are a result of being struck by a car. The Florida Panthers Hockey Team have done a great job at honoring this big cat and have donated tons of money in helping to make them safer. And also just raising awareness that their mascot is in trouble in the wild. It should be known that Zito’s wife considers this one of her bigger responsibilities when it comes to the team.
So the Florida Wildlife Foundation had previously told me that ZERO Panthers had ever proven to be killed by lightning. When I called back this time the answer was the same when it came to hurricanes. They monitor the population very closely and the Panthers seem to know what to do when a hurricane hits. They’ve obviously been dealing with us for a very long time. Long before settlers were in Florida, when there were many many Panthers . Like many animals, the Florida Panther can sense the storms arrival … They build safe dens and hide their cubs and wait out as have the Panthers in this region for millennia.
So the winner is: Florida Panthers
Let’s hear your thoughts on this series…
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