OverDrive - Lindsay on the Panthers' championship pedigree, Tkachuk and Marchand's imperative role and the Maple Leafs' matchup

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

Panthers Analyst Bill Lindsay joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines from the Maple Leafs and Panthers' series, Florida's dominance on the roster, the winning culture of the team, Matthew Tkachuk's winning character, Brad Marchand's exceptional leadership on the ice, the Panthers' balanched contributions and more.

Introducing Brian Adams Radio on I Heart Radio. Hosted by Brian Adams himself. Join me for an insider look on a wild ride through 40 years of global rock and roll. Brian Adams Radio. Now available on the free I Heart Radio app. Or ask your smart speaker to play Brian Adams Radio on iHeartRadio. Here is Panthers analyst Bill Lindsay back on Overdrive. Do you have any idea when we're going to see game one Bill? Yeah, no idea. It's definitely Monday or Tuesday. That's all I got for you. It lines up pretty good if you go Monday, Wednesday, a couple of days off for travel. Yeah, that's all I got. That's all I got for you But it lines up pretty good if you go Monday Wednesday a couple of days off and travel then

Hockey night in Canada on Saturday back here in South Florida So if you wanted to do that kind of schedule that makes the most sense I believe so maybe we're under the gate on Monday evening I love it. Okay, so we've talked a lot about the Leafs, you know all year clearly You know the Panthers as well as anyone. How would you compare this Panthers team and this lineup and the way they're playing to last year's team that won the Stanley Cup? Yeah, very similar. What they have is they've established their DNA, their identity.

They're going to play it and you bring in what Bill Zito has done again with bringing in Seth Jones, Brad Brad Marsh and and he brings These are round pegs into round holes. He's not forcing anything. They're gonna fit into the locker room They fit in nicely and with all this stuff that's happened with their inaculad and the recent suspension They got a wealth of depth on this team and it continues to go around And they will play it's just a style that's built for playoffs they're gonna force you to dump the puck in they want to dump the puck in down on the other end it's gonna be physical they want to bring it into

an alley fight make it as mean as possible nasty as possible just down on the boards into the trenches who wins those battles the most is usually comes out victorious and the Panthers want to try and grind on you and lean on you as much as possible not only for the 60 minutes but for six seven games whatever it takes in a series they want to be heavy. So is that what you would say Billy like the like if you're talking to an opposing team it's like if you take one shift off that might cost you the hockey game like one silly play on the boards like they just they're so strong in all aspects of the game and by the way when

you get behind all those layers the D dumping it in penalty kill they've got one of the best playoff goaltenders around in Bobrowski yeah if I was talking in your Toronto you got to make sure you come out and if you can if you can spread it out against the Panthers and get a lead and extend the lead, maybe to a couple of goals, then you can get the Panthers out of their comfort zone. That's where it lies. I would really pay attention into that first period of this series and how it goes if you're able to get on top.

And that's one thing we really do get. For the five games, we scored the first goal. Tampa in game number five got the first goal, but we got it right back. The one game we lost we were chasing it but for the most part they're gonna come out and it's one of the best defensive teams that I've seen in a long long time with the way they play. They just don't give you time and space. The rush chances aren't available so if I'm looking at the Leaf side and there's plenty of explosive players but they have to understand that okay it's right from the get-go. We're going to have to go out and we are going to have to play them. Don't try anything extra. Don't be cute at

the blue lines. You have the skill to do it, but it's probably not going to work against the Panthers. So if the Leafs are in Craig Bruby, the way that he's kind of changed this team, they've gone into that philosophy where they will dump it in more they will grind out more into the cycles so it's going to come back into the trenches I firmly believe who wins this series if you can win those 50-50 board battles come out on top extend the leads then you're gonna have the better chances in the games. With Bill Lindsay, Panthers analyst, you mentioned Craig Barube and we were comparing and contrasting this upcoming series to the one from two years ago where Barube is in for Keefe and Stolars

is in for Samsonov and they got a bunch of new defense pairings. Is it Barube though in particular for you that represents the biggest change from a Maple Leaf perspective compared to what we saw two years ago when these teams met? Yeah, for the most part from what I've seen, you guys are willing to dump the puck in more of compared to what we saw two years ago when these teams met. Yeah, for the most part, from what I've seen, uh, you guys are willing to dump the pocket more and maybe some of the numbers have suffered from Matthews and those guys, the goal scoring. And it was much like us when we won that president's trophy that year, it was high octane.

It was a run and gun. Uh, let's get after it. Uh, let's go. But Paul Maurice understood that was not going to work in the playoffs and he reshaped it into more of a okay we're going to tighten down play a 1-3-1 through the middle of the ice a wing lock we're gonna have to dump the puck in you have to get the players to buy into that system it's difficult I seen the same thing from Craig Berube you guys are still dangerous off the

rush when you get the opportunities you gonna, you'll make things happen. But will they be there? But there's been more of a willingness, I've found, for the Maple Leafs. Okay, let's dump it in, let's grind, let's play a little bit heavier of a game, and it's a balanced lineup. I do like what they do, especially onto that fourth line.

Now, third line's got a little bit of grit, and plenty of talent on those top two lines, just like the Panthers. So, you can roll the four lines, you can test the Panthers with their depth. If I look up and down the lineup as far as the depth-wise, Toronto is one team that compares really well, in my personal opinion, in the depth. So that goes around the Craig Barube has changed the dynamic of that team to what Paul Maurice was trying to do here in Florida to win at this time of the year.

Do the things that can win at this time of the year and I do say that from the least. Billy, you talk about Paul Maurice coming in and dealing with some philosophy stuff, some X's and O's stuff. We were talking about it a few days ago. It might have even brought it back up today, but the transaction of Matthew Kachup coming on to that roster and replacing Hubert O. Like I just can't state how big of a factor that is and like organizationally changing kind of the mindset of the players and

everything that goes into the approach and on ice stuff. Can you just touch on how important this guy is and what he brings to the table on the ice and off the ice on a nightly basis? Yeah, so Matthew and his brother Brady too, but Matthew is a unicorn in the NHL. If you have a chance to get a player like that, you go out and get them, even if you have to sacrifice Huberto, because those players don't come along. They're gonna be after you all night. They're just like a dog kinda just nipping at you.

They're always in your face. It's gonna grind, it's gonna be heavy. He loves that kind of style. He's not the fastest skater. He's not gonna blow you out of the water. But he's got these exceptional hands. The locker room, it's talk, talk, talk, let's go. We've got a bunch of different leaders on the Panthers

that kind of help out. Barkov's quiet. Brynard's kind of the scientist behind it all. And then you get to players like Matthew Kachuk, Brad Marschand. They're go, go, go, just hypervelocity, hyperenergy. So when you bring a player like that into your locker room and kind of change that dynamic It's still fits into what Paul Maurice was trying to do and Bill Zito and the whole system change

That you are gonna play this way and they bought in and Matthew to Chuck was a big part of that Okay, this is we're gonna how we're gonna sell the game. This is how we're gonna buy into it And now you got bark off. Everyone else is okay We don't have to be flashy and dashy uh... to win hockey games so the trade for matthew chuck what he's meant to here in self florida is he's become a cult hero down here everyone everyone was in need embrace the community so on off the ice what he means in the dressing room

he definitely and just your point he changed the whole dynamic of this team. Well, how does that apply to Brad Marchand now, who is not in his prime the way Matthew Kachuk is, but has that personality, has the ability, what has he brought to the table, and what have you seen out of him that would allow you to believe Marchand can have a big impact in this series against the Leafs? Well, there's no greater impact than that line. That's where maybe the separator lies for the Panthers a lot of the time is with that Lundell-Lewos-Sterina line last year was Teresenko on the wing. This year you got Marshand and he's talking to him all the time. And Marshand's one of the greatest two-way wingers we have ever seen. And Lundell and Lewos-Sterina are built in that

same way. A lot of defense thinking first. first but Brad Marchand if you talk to Paul Maurice says talk to those guys a lot hey we get the puck on our stick let's do some stuff we've got the ability to score we can get after we've got talent here so let's hang on to it let's make some plays and they dominated they obliterated Tampa Bay in game number five. It was about a stunning performance from a third line that I've ever seen. And Marchand was all over the ice. And you go back to game four, we're down a couple of goals. And Paul Maurice mentioned Marchands up and down the bench.

He's talking, let's go. We're in it. We're in it. So he's got that leadership from being a captain in Boston. You bring that onto the bench. You're never out of fight. He's believing and he kind of installs once you hear that into a player like Marchand with over a thousand games, a hundred and seventy some playoff games. When he starts going on the bench and he starts talking and Lundell and Luis Serena, let's get after boys, let's go, let's go. It's just that

extra boost and it's not coming from a player. He's borderline Hall of Fame right now. He's probably gonna end up with Hall of Fame numbers at the end of his career. But when a future Hall of Famer is saying that kind of stuff, people listen and just watching him play and integrate into this team, especially the last five, six games into these playoffs you can see what kind of difference he makes. Bill were you how surprised were you that Florida dismantled Tampa the way they did? That was surprising I thought it'd be a close series throughout I thought it'd be six seven games for them for the most

part but it went right back to last year and Paul Maurice resting players down the stretch making sure everything was healthy. Not mattered about the standings, where you finished and giving guys days off. And once you got there, you just had to get the Eclat suspension out of the way. Now again, you got to get the Eclat suspension out of the way. But once they got into the playoffs, this team was healthy and ready to go. And I was talking to Maurice the other day and he said, yeah, a lot of stuff. We were playing on three quarters of a tank all year.

There were some great games in there, but to play that way, he wanted to pull tank of gas once the playoffs got there. He knows how important it is to be healthy. And so from that standpoint, now you can see what we did really special in the playoffs last year We took away the star players and you can see what we did against Kuturov Kuturov had some assists But was pretty much an on factor to the same thing could be said about Braden point He had a couple of moments not much Jake Gensel was the best player as far as the big guns go on Tampa Bay And there was a close series, but to yeah to do what they did Jake Gensel was the best player as far as the big guns go on Tampa Bay.

And it was a close series, but to, yeah, to do what they did, I was kind of surprised, but you look back and when this team is healthy and what they can do with the time and space and the defensive structure, if they score even a little bit, if I go back to the regular season, I believe they are 44, five and one when they score three plus goals. Uh, so if they get to that three goal barrier with their defense, they're pretty tough to beat. Well, we'll see what comes of it Monday, maybe Tuesday night. Leafs Panthers, he is Bill Lindsay, analyst for the Florida Panthers. Thank you for doing this, Bill.

We'll chat again soon. No problem. Thank you very much, guys. So that last messaging is one that you need Matthews and Marner and Nylander to listen to carefully. That they just, they completely smothered Kucherov and Point. That just happened with me, Vashi Kapelos. Candidate Asides, 2025. Stay informed with my exclusive iHeartRadio podcast, available Friday afternoon straight through till Election Day and beyond.

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