Dave Hyde: It’s hockey hell in Edmonton — just how the Panthers usually thrive

EDMONTON — There again will be thousands of fans outside the Rogers Place cheering in a plaza Friday night. A horn section at one end of the arena again won’t be heard sometimes over arena’s relentless noise.

A fan will again hold up a sign, “SERGEI,” to signal it’s time to serenade Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

“Seeer-geeeeei!” the crowd will chant.

Sometimes, during the half-second’s lull in that chant, a sub-chorus will sound.

“We want the Cup!”

Yes, it will be hockey heaven again in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, as electric a championship venue as there is in all of sports.

Unless you’re the guest of honor.

Then it’s hockey hell.

“It’s not us against the 20 guys,’’ Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “You’re also playing against the 20,000 that are in the rink, the 20,000 that are outside the rink. It’s just us against everybody.”

Don’t misunderstand. They love it.

“That’s what makes playing on the road fun,’’ Tkachuk said.

So, now we see if it’s still fun. Now we see if the Florida Panthers respond to Game 1’s loss in the manner you’ve come to expect, the manner they’re built to respond, the manner they’ve constantly responded over the past three postseasons.

The best way to survive a tough loss, you see, is having been through one before. These Panthers have, too. They’ve been through everything by now.

“We’ve got a lot of battle scars on us in the last few years, you know, way worse than just (Game 1).,’’ Tkachuk said. “We can adjust a few things and come out and try and get one and get some momentum going back home.”

Sam Reinhart’s Game 7 goal was the difference between them last final. It picked right up again Wednesday in what could be called Game 8.

The difference in these teams after this opening act — 80 minutes of often great, mostly white-knuckled hockey — was an accidental flip of the puck out of play for a two-minute penalty near the end of overtime. That led to Connor McDavid passing to Leon Draisaitl for the winner.

It also meant both teams spent Thursday looking for any detail to polish, any crack to take advantage of.

“Quicker puck movement, better communication,’’ said Panthers defenseman Seth Jones of clearing play from their defensive zone.

“A couple pucks we didn’t really get deep,’’ Brad Marchand said of dumping the puck in their offensive zone. “Got to be a little bit better making plays under pressure, getting our legs going a little bit more. We got caught just kind of flipping pucks and they’d regroup and come back at us.”

“We’d like to possess the puck more in the offensive end,’’ Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said.

Edmonton had the puck 5 minutes in the offensive end in Game 1. The Panthers had it 4 minutes and 54 seconds. That’s the way it could be this entire series. That’s how close these teams are, how well these two teams know each other thanks to last year’s final.

“Funny, Game 1 looked almost exactly what you thought it might look,’’ Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of the style of play. “Game 1 against Toronto and Tampa Bay didn’t look anything like we thought it’d look like and they play in our division.”

They’re 8-3 on the road these playoffs. They’ve finished off Tampa Bay, Toronto and Carolina on the road. But Edmonton, as you’d expect in the championship round, is better than any of those teams. Deeper. Stronger than a year ago — just like the Panthers are.

“They’re very good at what they do,’’ Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said of the Panthers. “They defend really well in defensive zone. They forecheck. They’re great around net in the defensive and offensive zone.

“I’m sure there’s going to be some adjustments, but they’re pretty confident in their identity and they play to their identity really well. I’m sure they’re confident they’ll play their game and they’ll come out on top.”

He then said what every Panther fan thinks, what anyone who’s watched this team after a playoff loss over the last year knows as they take on the Edmonton’s team, its 20,000 fans in the arena and 20,000 more outside it.

“They’re going to be better,’’ Knoblauch said. “We better be ready for it.”