Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
It's only game 1, and the Panthers are riding a serious high after beating Boston, but is it just possible that they finally found their game from last year? They look really good, but now have that feather in their cap of winning a hard playoff series against a serious cup contender. I think all they needed was that belief that was maybe lacking all year after losing handily to Tampa Bay last year.
The team isn't that different to last year, just a few different supporting pieces and one major change out of a star player. I'm getting vibes of a serious run from this team.
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I’d say having Tkachuk as the defecto leader (vocally and on the ice) is a huge culture shift for the team. Barkov is great (albeit reserved, it seems), but having a player like Chucky who is determined and has a swagger, boosted the team as a whole. In my humble opinion, that change/swap of a major player is immense. Especially since Tkachuk will carry any line he is on and play almost any style of game, skill or rough.