Florida Panthers Getting Lots of Offense from their Defense

Production by their defensive core has been critical to the playoff success of the Florida Panthers thus far.

It was never so evident as in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers.

Florida defensemen have produced a franchise-record 17 goals in these playoffs with all seven who have seen action scoring at least one.

The only teams in the past decade who have more goals from their defensemen in the playoffs were last year’s Oilers and the 2022 Avalanche — both with 18.

Edmonton has 13 goals by defensemen, but seven of have come from Evan Bouchard.

Only two of its blueliners have multiple goals, compared to five for Florida.

Nate Schmidt is another great find by Bill Zito & Co., coming to town on a team-friendly contract looking to turn his fortunes around much like Oliver Ekman-Larsson before him.

In 2023, Ekman-Larsson signed a one-year deal with the Panthers after being scratched and bought out by Vancouver; last summer, Winnipeg bought out the final year of Schmidt’s six-year, $35 million deal that he originally signed with Vegas.

Schmidt has been one of the hidden offensive stars of the first two games of the Final.

In Game 1, Schmidt set up both Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand with pinpoint passes for goals.

In the Game 2 double-OT thriller, Schmidt again had two assists off beautiful passing, the first being the primary on Bennett’s opener.

Jones, meanwhile, has played as expected when Zito gave up Spencer Knight and a conditional first-round draft pick for him in March.

In Game 2, Jones not only logged a team-leading 34:35 of ice time, but he scored a goal by rushing the net after Schmidt forced a turnover.

Jones assisted on Dmitry Kulikov’s goal with a slick pass to Carter Verhaeghe who fed it to an open Kulikov.

Paul Maurice could not have been happier with the acquisition of Jones.

“It was a bit of a challenge when he came in,’’ Maurice said of fitting Jones in after he was forced into bigger minutes after Aaron Ekblad was suspended two games after the blockbuster March 1 trade with the Blackhawks.

“We played him with every defenseman, just with injuries and our schedule and things like that. And then he’s just getting stronger and stronger, so his foundational game I think originally was offensive and now he’s built this kind of gap closure, great stick, some physicality — but he’s kept the offensive part of his game.

“So, that’s what we had hoped. I think Bill Zito had a great insight into him as a player and as a man, and he is as advertised.’’

For Jones, this road to the Final has been a long one.

Drafted along with Sasha Barkov in 2013, the deepest Jones had been in the playoffs was the second round.

And, since being traded to the Blackhawks in 2021, he had not been in the postseason since the Covid bubble of 2020.

“I’m just trying to take it all in,’’ Jones said when asked his emotions during Game 1 in Edmonton. “Obviously the energy in the building was fantastic. Speaking to the guys about last year, it was one of the loudest buildings they played in last year. Very intense, everything leading up to it. Really trying to focus on what you can do each shift for the game, kind of visualize and try to keep your heart rate down, really, before the game starts.

“Once that first shift happens, though, you kind of get settled in and just trying to play my game and make plays out there.”

While the Panthers pretty much knew what they were getting when they traded for Jones, Schmidt could be considered a gamble that paid off.

His best offensive seasons came with Vegas, where he spent three seasons after his selection in the 2017 Expansion Draft from the Washington Capitals.

Schmidt’s game went downhill after the trade to Winnipeg, where he briefly played for Maurice, as he was slowed by injuries and burdened with a big contract he was not living up to in a hockey-crazed market.

Last year, the Jets scratched Schmidt 20 times including two playoffs games. When he got on the ice, his head was all over the place trying not to mess up.

With the Panthers, he has no such concerns — and he has played in all but two games this season including all 19 in the postseason.

“He felt he was a better player than he was playing,” Maurice said of Schmidt. “He took full responsibility for that. …

“He just thought he had more to give, and it took him probably three or four months to get used to the way that we play and since that time he’s been incredibly effective. … He’s getting up the ice and he looks like he did when he was a kid when he first came into the league in Washington. He was dynamic with the way he’d get up the ice.

“Then coaches beat that out of you and take the fun out of the game for you, but it looks like he’s found his fun again.”

Schmidt held court in Edmonton and explained how happy he is to be part of the action.

There is little doubt Nate Schmidt has “found his fun again.’’

“I’m just trying to enjoy my time in these games,’’ Schmidt said. “The last time I was here [in the Final with the ‘misfit’ Golden Knights in 2018], it kind of was a blur. It went by too quickly for me.

“I’m just trying to relax and settle into it. You can’t say ‘It’s just another game.’ It’s the Stanley Cup Finals, but man, it’s fun to be a part of it. It’s the reason why we play.”

When Schmidt signed with the Panthers in July, he talked about finding the right fit and the opportunity to help Florida repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Did he really believe that?

“Of course! Yeah. Why not?” Schmidt said. “A lot of confidence has been instilled for me from this team and this staff into my game, and that’s helped out a ton.”

It shows.

2025 STANLEY CUP FINAL

GAME 3

EDMONTON OILERS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS

Best-of-7 Series Tied 1-1

• When: Monday, 8 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: TNT/truTV 
• National Streaming: Max
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys), SiriusXM
• Radio Streaming: SiriusXM, NHL App
• Series Schedule (all games at 8 p.m., TNT) — Game 1: @Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT); Game 2: Florida 5, @Edmonton 4 (2OT); Game 3: @Florida Monday; Game 4: @Florida, Thursday; Game 5: @Edmonton, Saturday June 14; Game 6*: @Florida, Tuesday June 17; Game 7*: @Edmonton, Friday June 20.
• How They Got Here: Edmonton d. Los Angeles (6), Vegas (5), Dallas (5); Florida d. Tampa Bay (5), Toronto (7), Carolina (5)
• Postseason History: Florida Won 2024 Stanley Cup Final 4-3
• Regular Season: Panthers won 2-0
• All-time Regular Season Series: Oilers lead 23-18-0, 3 ties