Why are Florida Panthers players playing so poorly? Analyzing their performances from the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals

The Florida Panthers are down 0-2 in their Stanley Cup Finals series against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Panthers entered the Stanley Cup Finals having played some of their best hockey of the year. After going down 3-1 in the first round to the Boston Bruins, the Panthers then went 11-1 to advance to the Cup Finals.

However, against Vegas, Florida has struggled to find the back of the net and keep the puck out of theirs. On that note, let's take a look at the Panthers' struggles in the Stanley Cup Final.

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#1 Sergei Bobrovsky

The biggest reason for the Florida Panthers' struggles is Sergei Bobrovsky who played a key role in helping the team reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

Bobrovsky was pulled in Game 2 as he allowed four goals on 13 shots and only made nine saves for a .692 SV%. Entering the Stanley Cup Finals, Bobrovsky was 11-2 with a 2.21 goals against average and .935 save percentage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, he gave up eight goals on 46 shots but Maurice says the Panthers have done a poor job in blocking shots.

"We've got to block, we've got to get in front of those shots," said Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. “We could be a little better in front of our goaltender, he’s been unbelievable for us. I got him out to keep him rested.”

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#2 Bennett-Tkachuk-Verhaeghe struggles

Three of Florida's best players are Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Carter Verhaeghe and they have led the Panthers on the power play which was a key reason for them getting to the Cup.

However, in the first two games, Bennett has just one assist while Tkachuk has just one goal. Verhaeghe, meanwhile, has yet to record a point in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Panthers aren't getting many high-dangerous scoring chances and Tkachuk and Bennett are big reasons why.

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#3 Depth players aren't stepping up

The final reason why the Florida Panthers are down 0-2 in the series is due to the fact the third and fourth lines aren't stepping up and getting key goals.

In the series against the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs, the depth players played a key role in getting timely goals and helping steal the momentum back.

However, in the Stanley Cup Finals, the bottom six forwards have just three points with Eric Staal having a goal and Anton Lundell recording a goal and an assist. Outside of those two, no one in the bottom six has recorded a point.