I still haven’t come down from this moment…
As the Panthers gear up for the second Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history — the first happening way back in 1996 — the league has announced the dates that the big dance begins.
With the Game 1 date drawing closer, I find my nerves building up more and more. I’m nervous for the obvious reason of them being in the Stanley Cup Final and wanting them to win so bad. That’s a given. However, the extra layer of “fear” is due to the fact that they haven’t seen game action since May 24th when they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes to become the Eastern Conference champs.
Nine days off isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It will allow guys to heal up and get some much needed rest. But I feel one of Florida’s strengths so far has been playing with a certain sense of desperation: ramping things up at the end of the regular season and carrying that over to the postseason with little to no rest. They have been dialed in for weeks now, as if on autopilot.
Some of my angst is if Dallas continues to extend their series with Vegas, the winner will roll right into the SCF ready to go. They will still be up to game speed/pace. Sometimes having no time off works better mentally/physically. You just roll into the next series ready to go (like what I was saying above about the Cats).
The longer you have off, the higher the probability your senses tend to dull. And if there’s one guy whose needs to stay sharp, it’s Bob. Hopefully this down time doesn’t take him off his game!
How are you guys feeling about everything?
The Group
Jameson Olive has been re-posting Tweets from when the Panthers made trades/signings that put this roster together. It’s fun to look back at them and re-live the moments you saw the news break and how you felt about it - especially the ones where Zito was up against the cap wall.
It’s funny looking at some of these because I can remember thinking, “Ahh, okay…makes them a little better, I guess.” But never did I think they would be in the position they’re currently in. I thought this could (maybe) happen after this off-season when cap cleared up.
Though we were critical of Zito and Maurice throughout this season, a lot of credit is due to these two guys for Cats getting to the Cup. They either had a plan that took time to come together, got lucky, or a little bit of both…however it worked out, I’m just glad it all came together!
The two most important pieces right now: Tkachuk and Bob. Not only are they clutch, they have elevated everyone around them.
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Saturday can’t come fast enough…GO PANTHERS!
Happy Memorial Day and a big thank you to those who served.
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
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