Panthers lose Stanley Cup Final, couldn't overcome special teams woes

LAS VEGAS -- The Florida Panthers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights with a 9-3 loss in Game 5 of the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday.

The Panthers reached the Cup Final for the second time in their history, and a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3 was their first win in a Cup Final after they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996. Florida was unable to recover after losing the first two games at Vegas, however, and fell three wins short of winning the first championship in its 29-season history.

RELATED: [Complete Stanley Cup Final coverage]

Still, it was a memorable postseason for the Panthers (42-32-8), who qualified as the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference before eliminating three of the top four teams in the NHL in points during the regular season. Florida rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round against the Boston Bruins, who set NHL records with 65 wins and 135 points, to win in seven games and then defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs (tied for fourth in points) in five games in the second round and Carolina Hurricanes (second in points) in four games in the conference final.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Eric Staal, F; Patric Hornqvist, F; Marc Staal, D; Radko Gudas, D; Casey Fitzgerald, D; Lucas Carlsson, D; Alex Lyon; G

Potential restricted free agents: Givani Smith, F; Colin White, F

Potential 2022 Draft picks: 5

Here are five reasons the Panthers were eliminated:

1. Depleted depth

The Golden Knights were the deeper team with 13 players scoring goals and 17 of their 18 skaters getting at least one point in the Cup Final. The Panthers wore down from injuries, including to forward Matthew Tkachuk, who led them with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in the playoffs but couldn't play Game 5 because of fractured sternum he sustained in Game 3.

Forward Eetu Luostarinen didn't play in the Cup Final after blocking a shot off his leg in Game 4 of the conference final, and a host of others played through injuries. Some of the list that coach Paul Maurice shared after Game 5 included defensemen Aaron Ekblad (broken foot, shoulder, oblique) Gudas (high ankle sprain) and Brandon Montour (undisclosed), and forward Sam Reinhart (undisclosed). Forwards Anthony Duclair and Nick Cousins also played through unspecified injuries.

2. Sloppy start

Whether it was the nine-day layoff following their sweep of the Hurricanes in the conference final or they were too amped up for the Cup Final, the Panthers were not as sharp as they were earlier in the playoffs, losing the first two games in Las Vegas by a combined 12-4. Climbing out of that 2-0 series hole became even more difficult when their injuries began to pile up.

Breakdowns on defensive-zone coverage, particularly on rush plays, led to some easy goals against. The Panthers blamed some of this on being overzealous in their attempts to be physical (they had 80 hits in the first two games and 62 in the last three).

3. Bob's bubble burst

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky lost the unbeatable aura he had in the second and third rounds against Toronto and Carolina, when he was 8-1 with a 1.55 goals-against average, .954 save percentage and one shutout. Bobrovsky allowed eight goals on 38 shots for a 5.52 GAA and .827 save percentage in losing the first two games, including four goals on 13 shots before being pulled in the second period of a 7-2 loss in Game 2. He finished the series with a 4.70 GAA and .844 save percentage after giving up eight goals on 30 shots in Game 5.

The Golden Knights made Bobrovsky's job difficult with screens in front and the Panthers didn't help him at times by screening him themselves.

4. Special teams

Florida was outscored 7-1 on special teams in the Cup Final. The Panthers were 0-for-14 on the power play and the Golden Knights were 6-for-19 with the man-advantage (31.6 percent), including goals from Jonathan Marchessault in each of the first three games.

The Panthers scored a short-handed goal in Game 1, but allowed one to Mark Stone that opened the scoring in Game 5.

5. Couldn't get shots through to Hill

Vegas' defensive structure and commitment to blocking shots in front of goalie Adin Hill made it difficult for Florida to get open shots from the middle of the ice and second-chance opportunities on rebounds.

The Golden Knights blocked 123 shots in the series (the Panthers blocked 66), including 31 in Game 3 and 30 in Game 4.