Breaking down how Panthers can rally against Golden Knights in Cup Final

The Coaches Room is a regular feature throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs with former NHL coaches and assistants who turn their critical gaze to the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher. Phil Housley and Mark Recchi will take turns providing insight.

In this edition, Recchi, a three-time Stanley Cup champion and Hall of Fame player who has been an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils, writes about why the Vegas Golden Knights have been dominant taking a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final and adjustments the Florida Panthers will have to make to get back in the best-of-7 series.

The Vegas Golden Knights are a whole new challenge for the Florida Panthers. That much has been obvious in the Stanley Cup Final through two games.

This is a team the Panthers haven't seen yet. Their defense group is the difference.

To me, the Panthers and Golden Knights are probably equal teams up front, very balanced, but the difference between Vegas and each team its played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is its defense is big, mobile, physical and blocks shots.

Their six defensemen do all the right things and, honestly, I do not see that changing going into Game 3 at FLA Live Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS).

The Golden Knights will continue to do their thing. They've done it all playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars. They've methodically gone about their business. They've got depth, size, leadership. They've had a couple different goalies. Adin Hill looks great. They've been resilient on how they play the game.

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If the Golden Knights just keep playing the way they're playing, it's going to be very tough for the Panthers. Florida could win Game 3 and maybe we see a chink in the armor, but the way Vegas is focused and kept its focus in the playoffs, it's a hard team to beat.

All that said, it's adjustment time now for the Panthers and it starts with getting back to what made them successful in the first three rounds.

They're getting out of their game a little bit. They're letting the emotions get the best of them, which happens. It's an emotional game. Frustration is real. But you must rein that in and get control if you want to come back in this series.

They've got to get back onto their forecheck. They're not spending as much time in the offensive zone as they did against the other teams.

Give credit to the Golden Knights. They close off quickly because of their mobility and size. But Florida has a big team too. Fast and big forwards. The Panthers must spend more time in the offensive zone.

Get on the forecheck. Get on their toes. Dump the puck in. Rim it in. Go get it.

Florida has struggled against Vegas' rush game, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that it hasn't sustained offensive-zone pressure.

Vegas is getting the puck and moving it, catching Florida in between.

The Panthers either must get on top of them quickly in the offensive zone when they lose the puck, or make sure they're above people all the time, meaning their third or fourth guy will have to backtrack.

The defense relies on forwards to backtrack to enable them to stand up and then stop that rush game. But if you spend more time in the offensive zone it takes away from those rush chances. If they can make Vegas spend 30 seconds in the zone, the Golden Knights won't be able to rush the puck when they get it. It'll be more of a get it, chip it and change.

The Panthers are also being hurt by undisciplined penalties taken far away from their net, like Ryan Lomberg's cross-check against Jonathan Marchessault and Brandon Montour's roughing against Marchessault in the first period of Game 2.

Those are the penalties that end up hurting you. Marchessault scored with Lomberg in the box to give Vegas a 1-0 lead.

You have a blowout game and you take one of those then fine, it's not a huge deal. But when you take those penalties early in games, in close games, it takes momentum from your team and those are the ones that the opponent says they must score on to make you pay.

And it happens that way often.

The Panthers have leaders. They must stay on the line. Like the Golden Knights, who are not allowing emotion to dictate the game. Their emotions are in check. They're dictating the game.

The other one for the Panthers is getting their full body in shot lanes or getting the heck out of the way.

Anthony Duclair screened Sergei Bobrovsky on Zach Whitecloud's goal in Game 1. Gustav Forsling didn't lay out to block Marchessault's shot that led to his goal that made it 1-0 in Game 2. Josh Mahura was in the way and didn't block Alec Martinez's shot that gave Vegas a 2-0 lead.

That is a simple adjustment. If you're in there, you block out their guy and let the goalie see the puck, or you have to block the shot yourself.

Give the Panthers credit, the effort is there. But if you're in the way, your goalie is in trouble if the shot gets through.

You can't lay it at the feet of Bobrovsky right now. The Panthers must fix that aspect of the game. If you're there, you must block it. It's desperation.