'We've got our hands full' against Florida in Cup Final, Vegas coach says

LAS VEGAS -- Bruce Cassidy saw a lot of the Florida Panthers when he was coaching the Boston Bruins from 2016-22.

But the Vegas Golden Knights coach knows he'll see a different Florida team in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, starting with Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS).

"Obviously we've got our hands full," Cassidy said Wednesday.

The Panthers won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular-season team in 2021-22 and defeated the Washington Capitals in six games in the Eastern Conference First Round, winning a Stanley Cup Playoff series for the first time since 1996.

But after the Tampa Bay Lightning swept them in the second round, they made significant changes to become more of a playoff-style team this season, most notably hiring coach Paul Maurice on June 22 and acquiring forward Matthew Tkachuk in a trade with the Calgary Flames exactly one month later.

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The adjustment was among the reasons they struggled the first half of the regular season. But after a 4-2 loss at Vegas on Jan. 12, which dropped them to 19-20-4, they went 23-12-4 and earned the second wild card in the East. In the playoffs, they have defeated three of the top four teams in the regular season standings: the Bruins (first), Carolina Hurricanes (second) and Toronto Maple Leafs (fourth).

"The biggest thing I've noticed is, the rush game used to kill you [against Florida]," Cassidy said. "If you could shut that down, you'd probably be able to outwill them to get to the front of the net, different areas like that."

The Panthers now create more offense below the goal line, getting pucks deep, forechecking and going to the net front.

Tkachuk is a big part of that. He has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 16 games, second in the playoffs behind Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz, who had 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 19 games. Tkachuk has four game-winning goals, tied for first in the postseason with Stars forward Joe Pavelski, including three overtime goals, most in the playoffs.

Cassidy said Tkachuk has a high hockey IQ and will challenge the Golden Knights on small-area plays.

"We have to find a way to take away his time and space, yet take away his options, because he moves the puck so quick, so that's going to be a delicate balance," Cassidy said. "And you've got to get into him when he gets to the front of the net. We know that. He's got a great stick and nose for the net. We have some big 'D' that can do that."

Tkachuk (6-foot-2, 201 pounds) will battle with Vegas defensemen Nicolas Hague (6-6, 230), Brayden McNabb (6-4, 215), Alec Martinez (6-1, 210), Alex Pietrangelo (6-3, 215), Shea Theodore (6-2, 197) and Zach Whitecloud (6-2, 207).

"Now, our system is layered," Cassidy said. "We're not a man-to-man (system). So that will help us. We like to have our 'D' close to the net for the most part, so I think that will be a positive to defend him. So that'll be the initial part of it.

"We know that he likes to get involved with the chirping stuff. That'll play itself out one way or the other. I think our guys have all been around, and they'll handle it how they see fit."

Vegas has experience.

Six players were part of the run to the Cup Final in the Golden Knights' inaugural season of 2017-18: McNabb, Theodore, center William Karlsson and forwards William Carrier, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith.

Six have won the Cup with other teams: Martinez (Los Angeles Kings, 2012 and 2014), Pietrangelo (St. Louis Blues, 2019), goalie Jonathan Quick (Kings, 2012 and 2014) and forwards Ivan Barbashev (Blues, 2019) and Phil Kessel (Pittsburgh Penguins, 2016 and 2017), and center Chandler Stephenson (Capitals, 2018).

"You hope it works to our advantage," Cassidy said. "I can't help but hear things from the other side. They all hear things from us. They're enjoying their moment. We're seeing it on TV and different things. And good for them. They should. It's tough to get there, and if you have a little down time you use that as you see fit. Every team will do it differently."

The Golden Knights are a different team than they were last season too. After missing the playoffs for the first time, they made a significant change by hiring Cassidy, and here they are after a 6-0 win at Dallas in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Monday.

"I think this team has put the work in since September of training camp," Cassidy said. "We changed some things, and it's showing now in the playoffs. It showed the other night in Dallas. It was our best game of the playoffs, and it was a good time to have it. So the work we've put in came through, and that's what we expect to happen in the Final for us."