Florida Panthers seize control of series and are heavy favorites now for Stanley Cup | Schad,

 

Florida Panthers seize control of series and are heavy favorites now for Stanley Cup | Schad,

SUNRISE - Connor McDavid may in fact be the best player in the world.

But the Florida Panthers are the best team in hockey.

It's hard to envision a scenario in which Florida does not celebrate a Stanley Cup championship in the near future, based on what we've seen in Games 1 and 2.

The Panthers beat the Oilers, 4-1, in a game on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena that was much more lopsided than even the final score indicated.

Florida thoroughly outplayed Edmonton and they'll get on that 2,541 mile flight to Western Canada with a two-games-to-none series lead.

Florida is the much better defensive team.

The Oilers had seven - seven! - shots in periods 1 and 2 on Monday night.

Florida is talented. And physical. And well-conditioned.

They are so structurally sound. They wear down their opponent. They frustrate their opponent.

Stanley Cup Final: Florida Panthers control Edmonton Oilers

They are an unbelievably good defensive team.

They are winners of five straight in the postseason now. And it's entirely possible they win this thing in, say, five games, potentially wrapping up South Florida's first sports championship in more than a decade on home ice.

On Monday, it was veteran Evan Rodrigues with two goals, both in the third period, as Florida pulled away after the game was tied at 1.

"I signed here for a reason," Rodrigues said on ESPN after the game.

Florida does not make many defensive mistakes. And when they do, they have future Hall of Famer goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to clean things up.