Can the Panthers’ top stars shut down McDavid, Draisaitl?

We’re one day away from Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, a matchup where both teams are loaded with talent and can beat you in a variety of ways.

One of the key storylines ahead of Saturday night is how Panthers’ forward Aleksander Barkov, a two-time Selke Trophy winner and a finalist for the award this season, can shutdown the Oilers’ two superstar forwards, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

With home-ice advantage and last change, how will Panthers’ head coach Paul Maurice deploy arguably hockey’s best defensive forward? And how will the rest of Florida’s lineup match up with Edmonton’s high-octane offense?

On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk are live from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. They discuss Barkov’s shutdown skills through the first three rounds, and how he’ll fare against the best one-two punch in the sport.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s start with the top: Connor McDavid vs. Aleksander Barkov. The best offensive player vs. the best defensive forward. Can Barkov stop him, but also, does he have to for the Panthers to win this series?

Frank Seravalli: Can he stop them? I haven’t seen anyone yet who’s capable enough to do it. The work Barkov has done up to this point in the playoffs is impressive. He shut down Nikita Kucherov in Round 1, David Pastrnak in Round 2-

Tyler Yaremchuk: -and then in Round 3, there was a point where Sergei Bobrovsky had more points than Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.

Frank Seravalli: Perfect. So is he capable? Yes? But I haven’t seen anyone yet who can shutdown both McDavid and Draisaitl in the playoffs. You may be able to slow McDavid a bit, but the next group over the boards is Draisaitl.