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Florida looked so dopey in the first period, too. They do this every year. Like a rope-a-dope.

Bennett planned the whole thing.

They literally can not talk about anything else for 90% of the time they have a local show on, so, that's what you get. Brought to you by Big Pharma®.

They looked tired. Would've been better to have won tonight to get a little extra recovery time before the SCFs. The Canes put in all they had and their 1/2 D pairs are going to be super sore.

Absolutely not. The bias of the league will be on full display, too. Double the penalties for Florida each game will be the norm.

The Panthers' PP can be very Sabre-like.

Man, I just can not get into this Oilers/Stars series. Especially tonight with the Stars clearly thinking about other things. I could never stand to watch the Oilers, generally, regardless of McDavid and Draisaitl on that team. I think we already had the best series of these playoffs with Florida vs. Toronto.

Samson out after a hit to the knee. I'd call it a dirty hit but at this point it's difficult to call any hit on a Panther "dirty".

Overall I agree with this except for the Sabres' part. I think the colors are right for our sweaters; always liked the original color combo. It is curious that the Sabres took basically the same exact color scheme as the Blues three years later.

It'll be quite the party atmosphere in Sunrise.

Our offense would be certifiably lethal. Maybe get another guy in there somewhere on offense who has some skill, isn't afraid to take hits and who can dish them out. Replace Sammuelson (and Power - but that ain't going to happen) with a person not made of thin glass and who knows how to clear the front of the net. This could be a good team and that's before finding a goalie who is top 16 NHL caliber.

I'd root for Dallas with much more enthusiasm if it weren't for their spearmint green primary color.

Times were simpler then.

Coincidentally, the third period was by far the best period. The first two were snoozers.

The McDavids may have to activate Jeff Skinner.

Just keep giving Dallas PPs and they may stand a chance.

Good game up until about 5 minutes left when the Canes realized it was over. I love the way Florida plays hockey. ERod is criminally underpaid.

The Canes are using Bob as a boxing dummy.

Too early to talk ?

Mmm. The first instance of a real kick and NHL-dom would be up in arms, let alone the act of making kicking with knives on one's feet allowable.

"Scoring isn't the issue" he'd say and he wouldn't be wrong. Team cohesion and single-mindedness are. It's difficult to tell what kind of guy Marner is; what effect he'd have on team culture. If Adams knew Marner would be a "glue guy" then you pay him whatever it takes. Glue guy + 100 point guy = back up the Brinks truck.

Not a kick, but definitely a redirect. If this first period is any indicator, the Canes have their hands full.

The Spittin' Chiclets guys had Tkachuk on, and Tkachuk was saying he feels sorry for the Leafs because they live in such a high-pressure fish bowl. Also, I think there's a lot of truth in this: So, the question becomes: if Marner were to go to another team, does he learn from his experience in Toronto and figure out how to compete in the playoffs in another, more chill market? If he can do that, then what's to stop the Sabres from trying to get him?