NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 5, 2023

June 4, 2023

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* Florida saw its eight-game road winning streak end in Game 1, its first loss as visitors since its playoff opener at TD Garden seven weeks ago. However, the Panthers have a different streak they will aim to extend before heading back to Sunrise: they are 3-0 in Game 2s during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Vegas has a chance to become the third straight club to take a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final, following eventual champions Colorado (2022) and Tampa Bay (2021). Overall, 53 teams have taken a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven Final, with details of how those series played out available in the June 5 edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates.

* The stars of tomorrow are in Vegas for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final as four of the top prospects for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be in attendance at T-Mobile Arena: Connor Bedard, fresh off a sweep at the CHL Awards, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson and William Smith.

CATS WILL LOOK TO COME BACK ONCE AGAIN
Despite winning 11 of their last 13 games, the Panthers find themselves in familiar territory – underdogs down 1-0 against a team that finished the regular season as the conference leader, a position they were also in during the First Round against the Presidents’ Trophy winners.

* Florida enters its sixth Stanley Cup Final game in search of its first victory in the championship series. Two other clubs have lost at least their first five contests in the Final – St. Louis halted an 0-12 run with a Game 2 victory in 2019 (against the Bruce Cassidy-led Bruins) and Washington stopped an 0-5 stretch with a Game 2 win in Las Vegas in 2018.

* Anthony Duclair was one of two Panthers players who found the back of the net in Game 1 and has goals in each of his past two games. He can tie a franchise record for longest goal streak in the playoffs should he score in Game 2 – three of his teammates have matched the mark this postseason: Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk.

* Eric Staal, who has the most Stanley Cup Final experience of any player in the series, opened the scoring in Game 1 after having not scored since Game 2 of the opening round. He has been on both sides of a 1-0 Final – in 2006, Staal and the Hurricanes took a 2-0 series lead before the Oilers went on to force a Game 7 (with Staal and Carolina eventually hoisting the Cup). He then went down 3-0 in 2021 with Montreal, before winning Game 4.

* Montourwas an important part of helping the Panthers bounce back from their Game 1 loss in the First Round, scoring twice and establishing a postseason franchise record for fastest goal to open a period (0:22 into P3) and becoming the first Florida defenseman to record a multi-goal playoff game. A look behind who Montour is, including his childhood fandom of growing up cheering for the Red Wings, his national lacrosse championship, his philanthropy work and passion to inspire Indigenous youth, as well as his many on-ice accomplishments was featured ahead of Game 1.

EICHEL AMONG SHORT LIST OF 2015 DRAFTEES WITH STANLEY CUP FINAL EXPERIENCE

Jack Eichel’s impressive Stanley Cup Playoffs debut rolled over into his first game in the Final as he posted his fifth multi-point effort this postseason. The 26-year-old, who was selected second overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, has not gone consecutive games this postseason without a point and has a chance to become the seventh player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to record multiple points in each of his first two career contests in the Stanley Cup Final.

* While Saturday was Eichel’s on-ice debut in the Stanley Cup Final, he has attended the championship series on at least two other occasions: in 2019 when he watched Game 7 in Boston and in 2015 when he attended Game 3 between the Lightning and Blackhawks in Chicago, along with fellow top prospects at the time Noah Hanifin, Connor McDavid, Dylan Strome, Mitchell Marner and Lawson Crouse. Eichel is the first of that group to skate in the Stanley Cup Final. Now-teammate Jonathan Marchessault also was there, then as a member of the Lightning.

* The 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs were the last to finish with a U.S.-born player pacing the League in points, with Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson (Spokane, Wash.) and Chicago’s Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) sharing the distinction with 23 points apiece. Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk (9-12—21; Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Eichel (6-14—20; North Chelmsford, Mass.) are the two highest-scoring players remaining in the postseason and sit three and four points back, respectively, of the League lead.

TOP PROSPECTS SET TO APPEAR AT FINAL AHEAD OF NHL DRAFT COMBINE
While the stars of the Panthers and Golden Knights take to the ice to battle it out at T-Mobile Arena, the stars of tomorrow will also be in Vegas. Here’s a look at top prospects Connor Bedard (No. 1-ranked N.A. Skater), Adam Fantilli (No. 2-ranked N.A. Skater), Leo Carlsson (No. 1-ranked International Skater) and William Smith (No. 3-ranked N.A. Skater), who are all set to appear at the Stanley Cup Final ahead of the NHL Scouting Combine presented by adidas.

* Bedard became the first player in Canadian Hockey League history to sweep the Player of the Year, Top Prospect and Top Scorer awards Saturday. No player had won all three in the same season since the Top Scorer award was introduced in 1994. He also became the first player to win three trophies at the CHL Awards since Connor McDavid won Top Prospect, Player of the Year and Scholastic Player of the Year awards in 2015.

* Bedard, who became the first WHL player to be granted exceptional status, led the league in goals, points and points per game (2.51) after tallying 71-72—143 (57 GP) in a season highlighted by a 35-game point streak (44-46—90). Bedard posted twice as many five-plus point outings (10) as games he was held off the score sheet (5). His goal total was 21 more than the next-closest skater and the most by a WHL player in 24 years (Pavel Brendl: 73 in 1998-99). Meanwhile, his 143 points were the highest single-season total in the WHL in 27 years – three players hit that number in 1995-96: Mark Deyell (159), Frank Banham (152) and Hnat Domenichelli (148).

* At the 2023 World Junior Championship, Bedard registered 9-14—23 and led the tournament in all three scoring categories (7 GP). In the process, the 17-year-old passed Jaromir Jagr, Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros for the most points at a single World Junior Championship across all teams by an under-18 player.

* Carlsson was named the Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year in 2022-23 after pacing the country’s top professional league in assists (15) and points (25) as well as ranking second in goals (10) among his age group. Carlsson also represented Sweden at the 2023 World Championship, where he sat tied atop his country in goals (3-2—5 in 8 GP).

* Fantilli led all U.S. college players in goals and points this season (30-35—65 in 46 GP) and became the third freshman in NCAA history to win the Hobey Baker Award, joining Jack Eichel (2015) and Paul Kariya (1993). The Toronto native has won two gold medals for Team Canada, at the 2023 World Junior Championship (2-3—5 in 7 GP) and 2023 World Championship (1-2—3 in 10 GP).

* Smith had 51-76—127 in 60 games as a member of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 Team – the second most goals, assists and points on the roster behind fellow prospect Gabriel Perreault (No. 10-ranked N.A. Skater). Smith also helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 2023 Under-18 World Junior Championship and was named MVP after leading the tournament in goals (tied) and points while also placing among the top two in assists (9-11—20 in 7 GP).