How quickly perception can change in sports.
Before the puck dropped on the Florida Panthers' first round playoff series against their in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning, there were a lot of Florida doubters. To be fair, there were valid questions about the team that would need to be answered on the ice.
Was Matthew Tkachuk healthy enough to make an impact? Would the Panthers' defense be able to stifle the Tampa offense in the absence of Aaron Ekblad? Would the Cats be able to turn up the intensity for the playoffs after resting players and coasting into the number three seed?
The answers to all of those questions was a resounding yes. Tkachuk made an immediate impact with a three point performance in Game 1. The Lightning were held to two points in Game 1, and shutout in Game 2. The NHL's top regular season offense was held to 12 goals over five games. That's an average of 2.4 goals per game compared to their regular season average of 3.56.
It seems that strategically resting players instead of making an aggressive push for home ice advantage paid off as well. Three of Florida's four wins in the series were on the road. Their only loss was on home ice. Florida has embraced a style of hockey that translates as well on the road as it does at home.
A violent series
Speaking of that particular style of hockey, this series was full of physical play and hard hits from both teams. Some of the hits crossed the line of what is considered acceptable by the league and led to multiple major penalties and suspensions.
Brandon Hagel was suspended for a brutal hit on Aleksander Barkov in Game 3.
Not to be outdone, Aaron Ekblad (fresh off his 20 game suspension) received a two game ban for a equally hard hit on Hagel in Game 4.
Florida put the NHL on notice
The Panthers showed the rest of the NHL and any doubters that they are still a force to be reckoned with. A majority of analysts picked Tampa Bay to win the series in six or seven games. I cannot find a single example of a major hockey personality predicting the Panthers to close out the series in just five games.
The TSN Hockey panel made their predictions for the conference finals and Stanley Cup finals at the start of the playoffs. Not a single panelist has Florida anywhere on the board. I'd be willing to bet they might feel differently now.
The Panthers can now take the next few days to rest and prepare for there second round matchup. They will face the winner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators. Toronto currently has a 3-2 series lead.