Are the Panthers playing a bit too much dump-and-chase?

The Florida Panthers have been playing well enough to win, but are they doing it the right way?

As the Stanley Cup Final heads to South Florida for the first time, the Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers are deadlocked at a game apiece. A lot of that has to do with the Panthers’ persistent pressure and fierce forecheck. The defending champions are a team that tends to dump the puck into the offensive zone more than most in the NHL.

While some might believe the Cats do it a little too often, it seems to be a formula that works, albeit possibly missing out on opportunities for clean zone entries and better scoring chances.

On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Jon Goyens joined Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk to explain whether the Panthers have been giving up possessions too easily.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Everyone who’s been following these last few runs for the Cats knows they love to dump and chase. They love to grind down the other team’s defensemen and play that physical style. I guess my question is against this Oilers team, playing them a second time around in the Cup final, are they doing it a little bit too much?

Jon Goyens: They’re still near the top of the league in the playoffs just like they were in the regular season for teams that have a high rate of dumping. There are times where they could create some 2-on-1s. They could affect the play differently instead of skating in lines. Maybe they, what they call, climb across the two defensemen through the neutral zone, forcing them to maybe bump into each other, not be able to gap up as well, take certain time and space to their advantage instead of always going, “Let’s get to the red and hammer it deep.” Because there’s times where, by the time someone decides to dump it in at the red, there’s nobody going in with speed or not enough numbers going in with speed. 

You can watch the full segment and entire episode…