Panthers Plan To Take An Extra Rest Day Before Game 3 May Have Backfired

The Florida Panthers took a somewhat unorthodox approach to a two-day break between Games 2 and 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, and it may have backfired spectacularly thanks to a tropical depression clobbering South Florida.

A lot has been made about how the Panthers and Edmonton Oilers — at 2,543 miles — are farther apart geographically than any other pair of teams in Stanley Cup history, even surpassing the previous record holder, which was the 2011 Final between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks.

So, how to handle that long trip has been something to consider. 

According to the Associated Press, While the Oilers headed home on Tuesday, the Panthers opted to take an extra day to rest in Florida before leaving for Edmonton on Wednesday.

It's an interesting idea, but apparently, no one checked the weather because a tropical depression has dumped buckets of rain in South Florida.

That has left the team stranded in Fort Lauderdale.

I don't have any clue what the Panthers were thinking. Anytime I fly, I feel like crap afterward. So, considering how long the flight to Edmonton is, why not go Tuesday and then take Wednesday to relax?

That makes more sense to me even before you add rain to the equation.

And this isn't a pop-up shower. These storms were known about well in advance, and the Panthers still didn't adjust their travel schedule accordingly.

The latest report is that the Panthers will try to take off at 4:32 ET, but according to AP writer Tim Reynolds, that might be wishful thinking.

The Panthers did get off the ground around that time, but still, what a nightmare.

If the Panthers come out of the gate a little on the sluggish side in Game 3, I don't think it will take a genius to figure out why that might be the case.