With the Utah Hockey Club and the Toronto Maple Leafs set to face off against each other on Monday night, it means that former teammates will be at odds with each other. There’s obviously the Arizona connection with Max Domi and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in Utah for the first time. However, one that’s being overlooked is the Florida Panthers connection.
Last season, Kevin Stenlund played on the Panthers with Ekman-Larsson, Steven Lorentz, and Anthony Stolarz. The group went on a long battle to eventually win the Stanley Cup in Game 7 of the Final. While the Maple Leafs hosted Utah back in November, it’ll be the first time one of the most historic franchises in the league visits Salt Lake City, and Ekman-Larsson and Lorentz couldn’t be more excited to face off against Stenlund.
Stenlund Was a Key Contributor to Cup Run
In the Panthers’ run to the Cup, Stenlund wasn’t one of the team’s main contributors offensively, only scoring one point in 24 playoff games. However, he provided something else that many Utah fans know him for: winning faceoffs and being an effective two-way player and penalty killer.
Lorentz knows how critical Stenlund’s role was during the Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup, despite playing a bottom-six role. He also knows that not only is he defensively gifted, but he sneakily has some great moves as well.
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“He was a four C lock all season,” Lorentz said. “A big righty that’s strong, can take faceoffs, and he’s got some undercover really good mitts. He can make really good plays and he showed that off. He wasn’t super flashy all year, but then he’d make a flashy play. It was like, oh, okay, this guy’s capable of doing it. He understood his role, and he played into it. Great penalty killer, great stick.”
Stenlund has provided exactly that for Utah this season. Although he hasn’t scored a lot, he’s made a lot of great plays, especially defensively. He’s also one of the best players in the faceoff circle in the league. Head coach André Tourigny has been known to put Stenlund out for a faceoff to open overtime periods or at critical points during games where Utah desperately needs a win in the circle.
An Incredible Teammate
While Stenlund only played one season with the Panthers, he became friends for life with a lot of his teammates. Winning the Stanley Cup was…
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