Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov just hasn’t looked right in Stanley Cup Final

The Florida Panthers might be even after two games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, but one of their best players hasn’t been among their top performers. 

Their captain, Aleksander Barkov, sits at a -4 plus-minus rating through the first two games, and has put up just five shots and no points despite skating 26:44 in Game 1 and 30:30 in Game 2. 

While his form has taken a noticeable dip from the six goals and 11 assists he recorded in the first three rounds, is there reason for the Panthers to be worried, or should they have faith in their captain returning to his usual level as the series shifts to the Amerant Bank Arena in Florida?

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli dove into what’s been going on with Barkov through the early parts of the series. 

Yaremchuk: [Aleksander Barkov] has looked a little out of place. Do you think there might be something nagging him, or could Barkov have a bit of a resurgence here, now that it’s back on home ice?

Seravalli: I would bet on a resurgence. This is a guy that, for the first two games of this series, has looked a step and a half slow, which is really surprising, because even if he’s not the most blazing fast skater on the planet, his mind works so fast that he’s still usually two to three steps ahead of his opposition, and things balance each other out. 

Part of it has been a matchup game. I think the Oilers were using their last change and Barkov has been victimized by the matchup game. Now, as this series shifts to Florida, I think it’s a real advantage for Paul Maurice to try and change things up, to try and get away from that, if at all possible, and put him in a position where he can create and thrive. 

He’s been on the ice for zero even-strength goals so far in the first two games. You can put it on your star players, for sure, but also maybe create an environment that’s a little bit different, that allows you to make some adjustments and then take off. If Barkov  is able to create, the Florida Panthers are going to be in a great spot.

You can catch the full segment and the rest of Tuesday’s Stanley Cup Final-focused episode here…