SOLR
Registered User
Actually, The Habs did contain the Lightning to a fair amount. Their PP was an impressive 37.7% before they faced the Habs. Tampa's PP was 13.3% against the Habs in the finals and Danault was a big factor in this.
Tampa beat us with Coleman, Johnson, Goodrow, Palat, Point, McDonagh, Rutta, Cirelli, Cernak. Kucherov was the only one of their stars that put up the points you would expect.
Tampa being over the cap was a factor. Their depth behind their stars was a strong area.
Depth makes the single contribution of stars slightly more resilient, we need to make sure to have enough depth coming out of the rebuild. 4 1st in the next 2 drafts (likely). Hopefully we get to 6 1st and we score on a few 2nds/3rds.
But I think the Panthers are showing us something else. Hard to play against "at the limit", at the highest level, has a significant physical component. We need depth that add to that quality so we can at least compete in a more physical battle.