‘You’re looking for that third line advantage’: Anton Lundell and company are ready for the playoffs

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Good hockey teams win games because of their stars. Great hockey teams win titles because of the guys who fly under the radar. 

Look at recent championship teams — what did they have? Yes, they all had elite goal scorers or Norris caliber defenseman. Great Goaltending? You bet. But what played a pivotal role for teams like Tampa, Colorado or Vegas win the Stanley Cup? Their depth. 

The ability to confidently and consistently roll four lines all game is a luxury that not every team has, but it’s needed if you want any hope of winning the Stanley Cup. 

“I think, it seems to be the deciding factor in almost any series,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said on the importance of a team’s depth in the postseason.

A day before the Florida Panthers were set to take the ice for Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Anton Lundell took the ice — dawning his baby blue Panthers practice jersey. 

Unlike the other forwards, who wear white (top six), or dark blue jerseys (fourth-line, scratches), Lundell and his third line companions  — Eetu Luostarinen and Evan Rodrigues — stood out in their bright Panthers attire. 

The distinctive uniform color was nothing more than a way to separate one line from another, but the variance of the jersey aligns with the role that’s bestowed upon the ones who wear it — it’s unique. 

The top-six on the Panthers — really on most teams — is where you expect the bulk of the offense to come from. The fourth line is where you’d like to see your grinders generate some energy, whether that’s laying a big hit or disrupting the flow of the opposition. 

So what’s the role of the third line?

On the Panthers, it’s a little bit of everything. 

“The elite players are elite on both sides, there’s no advantage to one or the other, they’re just great,” Maurice said. “But It’s the third line, it’s the guys that come out third. They’re going to play against the top two [lines] at some point. And then you need an advantage somewhere in your lineup. So if it’s true that the first two lines saw off, then you’re looking for that third line advantage.”

Anton Lundell will be playing in his third Stanley Cup Playoffs — in as many years as he’s been in the league. The 22-year-old was heavily relied on by the Panthers on their run to the Stanley Cup Final last season. 

“I saw last year, it was no problem to play against whoever,” Lundell told Five Reasons Sports. “I saw I’m able to play great and it felt like I played the best hockey of my life in the finals and the playoffs. 

A year after putting up 10 points in 21 playoff games as a 21-year-old, he will once again command the middle of the ice as the Panthers’ third-line center come Sunday’s Game 1. 

Alongside him will be another Finn, Eetu Luostarinen, who has basically been glued to Lundell’s wing since last year’s postseason. First-year Panther Evan Rodrigues is the other piece to Florida’s third-line puzzle.  

“I’m going to put a lot of pressure on those guys tomorrow morning (Game 1),” Maurice smiled. 

The identity of the line is almost congruent to the roles of the three who will start the playoffs on it. 

Lundell has often been the guy to center the top line when Panthers captain Aleksandeer Barkov is out of the lineup. Luostarinen has bounced around numerous lines and positions since joining the Panthers in the 2020-2021 season and Rodrigues has been stapled to basically every line combination in the top-nine, all of which were fairly successful.

Like a Swiss Army knife, the three have more tools than you originally thought you needed, but in the end, they’ll be heavily relied on.

The Panthers will look to get off on the right foot this Sunday as they begin their playoff journey against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Sunrise. 

Expect to see Paul Maurice roll out his third line quite frequently as they face off against their cross-state rivals. 

The task at hand won’t be easy, as the Panthers have yet to beat the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions (2020,2021) in the postseason, but with their experience from last year’s run to the final — it should be a different ball game in this rendition of the Battle of Florida. 

“We remember a couple of years ago how our season ended (by the hands of Tampa),” Lundell said. “It’s a new series, it starts from nothing, 0-0. We want to take the charge in this series.”