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Panthers Defensemen Tie Impressive NHL Record

The Florida Panthers are getting the most out of their blue line.

Jon Alfano

Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling celebrates scoring during the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling celebrates scoring during the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes. / James Guillory-Imagn Images
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The Florida Panthers showed once again Thursday night that they are a team to be feared, demolishing the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 in Game 2 to take a commanding 2-0 series lead back to Sunrise.

They wasted absolutely no time in setting the tone, as Gustav Forsling beat Frederik Andersen at the 1:17 mark of the first period to give the Cats an early 1-0 lead. The onslaught certainly didn't stop there, but Forsling's goal was historically significant in its own right.

Forsling became the seventh Panthers defenseman to score a goal this postseason, tying the NHL record for most by one team in a single postseason. Six teams have accomplished this feat before, with the Vegas Golden Knights being the most recent to do so in 2021.

Aaron Ekblad, Nate Schmidt and Seth Jones lead the way with three goals apiece, while Forsling, Dmitry Kulikov, Niko Mikkola and Uvis Balinskis have one each.

It seems unlikely that the Panthers will break the record, as all of their other defensemen played fewer than 20 games during the regular season and have yet to suit up in the postseason. Who knows, though? If Adam Boqvist or Tobias Björnfot have to come into the lineup for whatever reason, maybe they can break it.

Of course, Florida's blue line is doing far more than just scoring goals. The Panthers have now outscored their opponents 16-3 over the past three games - all on the road, by the way - and it's largely thanks to their suffocating defense. Their relentless forecheck has made it incredibly difficult for their opponents to find quality scoring chances, even though those teams have some of the best offenses in the league.

At the rate they're going, the Panthers will be incredibly difficult to stop as they look to win their second straight Stanley Cup.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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