Endurance

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals lasted an amazing 112 minutes, fifth longest in Stanley Cup Finals history. Both teams were pushed to their breaking points. It was no longer a game of skill, but of mental toughness and endurance. After a two day break the Blackhawks and Bruins were at it again. Game 2 nowhere near as long as Game 1 still went into overtime. Through two games the teams had played almost 190 minutes. An 82 game schedule is rigorous and 16 wins in the playoffs is even harder, but if a team wants Lord Stanley’s Cup endurance is key. If the Panthers want to return to the playoffs and eventually compete for the Cup then they need to master their endurance and mental toughness.

Too many times this past shortened season Panther fans endured squandered leads. Endurance, mental toughness, and just confidence were something the Panthers were missing. The Cats need to learn from the Blackhawks and Bruins that endurance is a key to winning the Cup.

Jun 15, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Daniel Paille (20) celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the overtime period in game two of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final at the United Center. The Bruins won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Health

A problem the Panthers are all too familiar with is staying healthy. This season the Panthers lost a baffling 278 man games to injuries. Although injuries in the shortened season led to experience for prospects and the second overall pick in the draft, if the Panthers want to compete for the Cup they will need to stay healthy.

In Game 1 Bruins winger Nathan Horton went down in overtime with an injury. Although that injury alone isn’t what caused the Bruins to lose it sure didn’t help them. Lines were forced to be shuffled and the bench was short. A short bench is not something a team needs in a triple overtime game.

In Game 3 Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa went down before the game with an undisclosed injury. His replacement, Ben Smith, was a -1. That goal came in overtime. Not to say that goal was Smith’s fault, but having Hossa in the lineup over Smith would not have hurt.

Staying healthy in the NHL is hard, but it’s pivotal. And most of the time it dictates the winning team and the losing team.

Special Teams

The Chicago Blackhawks, for as talented as they are, cannot seem to convert on the power play lately. They are 0 for their last 19 opportunities. This is the Stanley Cup Finals and whenever a team has an advantage over the other it needs to be capitalized on.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the Boston Bruins and their penalty killing. The Bruins have killed off 89% of their opponents power plays throughout the playoffs.

The Panthers this season were sixth in the league on the power play. A stat that needs to continue on into next season. They were dead last in the league on the penalty kill however. A stat that has to change going into next season. Special teams wins games. Simple as that.

Florida Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon is doing everything in his power to turn his team into champion. A champion molded after his former team the Chicago Blackhawks. It could not hurt, however, to take a few lesson’s from the Bruins playbook as well.

A multitude of other things need to go right for the Panthers next year if they want to make the playoffs again, but they can start by examining two champions in the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins.

Jun 17, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Jaromir Jagr (68) skates with the puck against Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2) during the third period in game three of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

The Morning After:

• Last night, the Boston Bruins put the clamp down on the Chicago Blackhawks’ offense to the tune of a 2-0 shutout to take a 2-1 series lead. Tuukka Rask made 28 saves in the shutout and Boston continued to play the excellent team defense we have seen from them throughout the playoffs. The shutout was Rask’s third of the playoffs and he now sports a ridiculous .946 Sv% and a 1.64 GAA.
• Daniel Paille followed up his overtime dramatics from game two by scoring the first goal in game three. He now has four playoff goals, four assists and three points in his last two games (two goals, one assist).
• Patrice Bergeron scored the second goal for the Bruins finishing off a beautiful feed from Jaromir Jagr on the power play. With such a tiny margin between these two teams, special teams could end up being the difference in the series. The Blackhawks have been abysmal on the man advantage all playoffs converting on just 7 out of 60 opportunities (11.6%) while going 0 for 9 in the first three games of the Finals.
• Marian Hossa was a last minute scratch for the Blackhawks. Their scorer was replaced with 24 year old Ben Smith who played in only one game for the Blackhawks this year, their season finale (a game in which he scored a goal). For all you Dale Tallon Heads out there, Smith was drafted in the 6th round of the 2008 draft with a pick that Tallon and the Hawks acquired from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Martin Lapointe.
• Another Ben Smith fun fact: a quick survey of his wikipedia page reveals that he is the second cousin of Monty Python member Eric Idle.

On A Side Note:

• No matter who wins these Finals, Rene Rancourtwins. Period.
  

  Jun 17, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Michael Frolik (67) chases the puck between Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference (21) and right wing Nathan Horton (18) during the second period in game three of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

• Both Nathan Horton for the Bruins and Michael Frolik for the Blackhawks got the start last night…and Panthers’ fans shed a collective tear.
• They played Flagpole Sitta at the Garden last night. That doesn’t mean anything…but it happened.
• There was no big Jay-Z album reveal like there was in game five of the NBA Finals. There was however a commercial for McDonalds’ new line of quarter pounders which is similarly life altering, the only difference is Rick Rubin was not featured in the Quarter Pounder Reveal (QPR for short) although I am sure he was involved in the process in some capacity.
• On a related note, here is what was trending on twitter in the US following period one last night: Voicefinal3, Team DB, 3words, Love and Hip Hop, MITB, Karlie Redd, K. Michelle, Rasheeda, and Stevie J. Take it away Allen:

America this is quite serious.
America this is the impression I get from looking in the television set.
America is this correct?

Around the League:

• There has been a lot of chatter about Stephen Weiss recently. Yesterday I summarized his UFA situation and gave my thoughts about his future with the Florida Panthers.
• In case you missed it, the Panthers traded defenseman T.J. Brennan to the Predators for forward Bobby Butler.
• For the best Bruins and Blackhawks coverage checkout The Rat Trick’s sister sites Blackhawk Up and Causeway Crowd.
• According to the Sun-Sentinel, Jonathan Huberdeau plans to resume skating in August following his off-season hip surgery.

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

When Florida Panthers forward Stephen Weiss went down with a season ending wrist injury in early March, many questions arose over whether or not he would re-sign with the Panthers. Well, the Panthers’ season came and went and as we approach the July 5th start of free agency, those questions regarding Stephen Weiss remain largely unanswered.

Stephen Weiss has been a Florida Panther his entire career. He made his debut during the 2001-02 season and he owns the franchise record for most games played with the team. He also holds the franchise assists record with 249 and is second in points with 394 trailing Olli Jokinen by only 18 points. He has endured with the Panthers through historical struggles and has only played in the playoffs once, in 2012, 637 regular season games into his career. Would the Panthers let Weiss walk? a player so entwined in their history?

Weiss is only 30 years old and despite injury troubles last season, he has been a relatively consistent player throughout his career. He has three 20 plus goal seasons under his belt as well as three 50 point seasons. It is highly unlikely that Florida would not even attempt to re-sign Weiss but will they be willing to go as high as Weiss may command on the open market?

Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, Weiss made $4.1 million which concluded a six year deal worth $18.6 million. My guess is Weiss will get four or more years at around  4.5 million per year. I think the Panthers would be happy to get Weiss at that rate but there could be teams out there willing to pay a little extra for Weiss’ services. There has already been interest around the league from a number of teams. According to CBC’s Elliotte Friedman, the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs are the three teams confirmed to be interested in Weiss. If the Panthers feel like they will be unable to get a deal done, they could trade their rights to negotiate with Weiss before the start of free agency on July 5th. By doing this, Florida could at least get a draft pick of some sort as compensation for losing one of their star players.

How exactly the Stephen Weiss situation plays out remains to be seen, but I think that when it is all said and done, Stephen Weiss will not be putting on a Panther uniform on opening night. Weiss has been playing in the NHL since the 2001-02 season and during that time he has only played in one playoff series. With the Panthers looking a year or two, at least, away from contending Weiss would probably prefer to move to a team that can compete immediately. At 30 years of age, it doesn’t seem likely that Weiss would savor the opportunity to go through another rebuilding ordeal after spending his entire career playing for perpetually rebuilding Panther teams.

Also fromm the Panthers’ perspective, it might make sense to let Weiss walk. If Weiss is able to produce at his peak levels for the next couple of years, he would probably be worth the 4.5 or so million per year he will likely receive. He is however moving towards to wrong side of 30 and coming off an injury plagued season. A team like the Red Wings or the Maple Leafs can afford to take on the kind of risk that comes with signing Weiss. I am not entirely convinced the Panthers would or should risk re-signing Weiss to another long term contract.

We should hear more about Weiss in the coming days and I expect this situation will be resolved one way or another prior to the start of free-agency. How do you think the Weiss situation will play out? Do you think the Panthers re-sign him? Will they trade away his negotiating right? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, and for more Panther news, be sure to follow us on twitter and Facebook.