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The 2023 Eastern Conference Final ended in the blink of an eye. The Florida Panthers finished their sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes with a significant 4-3 win in Game 4.
Despite the brevity of the series, there is still plenty to discuss in the after-effects of the Panthers’ success.
Let’s have a look at the greatest takeaways from the Panthers’ sweep of the Hurricanes.
Matthew Tkachuk is a bonafide super star
Everyone understands Matthew Tkachuk is great, however it’s time we began discussing him in the very same classification as gamers like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon. That is the level Tkachuk has actually used over the last 2 seasons — which’s prior to he began this existing, outrageous run he is on the playoffs.
- Since 2021-22, Tkachuk has 82 objectives, 131 helps, and 213 points in 161 video games.
- That puts him ahead of Matthews in 2 classifications (helps and points)
- It likewise puts him ahead of Mackinnon in all 3 classifications.
More crucial is that Tkachuk has actually brought that supremacy from the routine season to the postseason. Through the Panthers’ initially 16 championship game, Tkachuk has actually scored 9 objectives while tallying 21 points, Oh, and he’s shown a style for the significant.
All that stated, Tkachuk’s effect extends well beyond his own statistics page. The Panthers are a various group when he is on the ice, which has actually appeared in the playoffs. With Tkachuk in the video game at five-on-five, Florida manages 57.1% of the anticipated objectives and 73.7% of the real objectives, per Natural Stat Trick.
Without Tkachuk, those numbers dip to 41.9% and 45.9%, respectively.
Coming into the 2022-23 season, there were a couple of geniuses pounding the Tkachuk drum, however he has actually gone beyond even the loftiest of expectations. With each game-winning objective, it gets more difficult to reject that Tkachuk is among the best gamers on the planet.
The hockey gods are unforgiving
When individuals reflect on this Panthers-Hurricanes series years from now, they will just see a sweep. But that will not paint a precise photo of the 2023 Eastern Conference Final.
- The Hurricanes lost each video game by simply one objective.
- Two of those losses was available in overtime, and another loss included 4.3 seconds staying in policy. Series do not get much closer than this one, whether they go 4 video games or 7.
- To make matters a lot more destructive for Carolina, it played a reasonably strong video game at five-on-five. The Hurricanes created more anticipated objectives than the Panthers in all 4 video games, and Game 3 was particularly frustrating.
In that Game 3, a 1-0 loss for the Canes, they created 2.62 anticipated objectives at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. The Panthers, on the other hand, created 0.75 anticipated objectives.
Throughout the whole of the series, the Hurricanes developed more predicted objectives, scoring possibilities and high-danger scoring possibilities than the Panthers. Unfortunately for Carolina, groups do not get points for any of that.
Teams require a couple bounces en route to a Stanley Cup, however the hockey gods bestowed no bounces upon the Hurricanes in this series. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour will take some heat for stating that his group didn’t get swept, which is reasonable, however his group did should have much better than the brooms.
Sergei Bobrovsky is making his income
All of those previously mentioned statistics about the Canes’ anticipated objectives and high-danger scoring possibilities never ever made an effect in this series due to the fact that of Sergei Bobrovsky. For a good part of his time in Florida, the goalie’s $10 million cap hit appeared like a huge limitation for the Panthers.
These days, it appears like Bobrovsky may be underpaid.
Following a middling routine season, Bobrovsky didn’t even begin the very first video game of the playoffs for Florida. That honor went to Alex Lyon. But Bobrovsky got approval in Game 4 versus the Boston Bruins, and he’s ran rather far with the chance.
Bobrovsky has actually backstopped the Panthers to a Stanley Cup Final, and he is a genuine competitor for the Conn Smythe Trophy now. He has actually been the very best goaltender in these playoffs, and it’s not especially close.
- In his 14 looks, Bobrovsky has actually conserved 14.7 objectives above average, per Natural Stat Trick.
- The next closest netminder is Adin Hill of the Vegas Golden Knights at 8.13 objectives conserved above average.
- Bobrovsky has actually likewise stopped 86.4% of the high-danger possibilities he has actually dealt with, which is 5th in the postseason.
Bobrovsky raised his video game even further in the Eastern Conference Final. He conserved 5.67 objectives above average in simply 4 video games while warding off 91.1% of the high-danger efforts that the Hurricanes tossed his method.
Heading into the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers have the very best goaltending circumstance of all the staying groups with Bobrovsky dipping into the top of his video game. He simply requires to do it 4 more times.
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