2023-24 Playoff Focus: Gustav Forsling (ECF, GM5)
2023-24 Playoff Focus: Gustav Forsling (ECF, GM5)
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There’s no denying that Aleksander Barkov is an all-around monster. However, he only runs half of Florida’s shutdown operations.
Gustav Forsling faces similarly tough usage, and despite insulating the corpse of Aaron Ekblad on top of his own defensive responsibilities, he refuses to concede an inch to the league’s best forwards. His gaps are airtight. His stick work is masterful. The Panthers thus dictate the lion’s share of the action during the blueliner’s shifts.
Yet against the Igor Shesterkin-led Rangers, control is…not enough. Florida’s 1D understood the assignment and was visibly involved on the offensive side in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final:
Usually content to launch bombs from the point, Forsling (FLA 42) zooms down to initiate a half-wall exchange with Barkov (FLA 16) while Sam Reinhart (FLA 13) does his thing (i.e. find a quiet area). Confusion for the Rangers, Grade A opportunity for the Panthers.
This bolder tack caught New York off guard throughout the contest:
As Sam Bennett (FLA 9) zigzags on entry to buy his team a beat, Forsling doesn’t settle for a trailing route. He floods the right side of the Rangers’ defense, slices between Alexis Lafreniere (NYR 13) and Adam Fox (NYR 23), and beats Shesterkin (NYR 31) on the backhand.
Rather than accepting what New York is willing to give up, the blueliner takes matters into his own hands and creates a mix-up in coverage. The tying goal wrestled momentum away from a Rangers club that was riding high after a SHG.
Of course, we still can’t discuss Forsling without lauding his defense. Thanks to his in-your-grill approach, he’s among the finest NZ stoppers in the NHL:
On this 3-on-2, he negates the Rangers’ numbers advantage by pressing up on the pass, angling the puck-carrier to the boards and imposing his hyper-aggressive, inside-out stick placement. He’s hugging the puck. The middle of the ice doesn’t feel accessible unless Lafreniere button-hooks, at which point the backchecker (FLA 82) will have arrived to even the scales.
An odd-man rush consequently becomes a chip-in.
Forsling is no slouch in the DZ either. While protecting a lead in the waning minutes of the third period, he defuses a sketchy situation down low:
The Rangers have a bumper design up their sleeve, but watch his stick. With Vincent Trocheck (NYR 16) occupying a central post instead of shading toward either circle, Forsling knows that he can afford to turn and pressure the first pass recipient (NYR 20) while extinguishing the second feed as well. Crisis averted.
By combining his savvy defense with a surprising offensive breakthrough, Forsling provided the Panthers with the three-zone forcefulness required to claim a pivotal swing game.
On the night, he registered 1 goal, 7 shot attempts and Florida posted 2 GF vs. 0 GA during his 5-on-5 TOI.
Here are the full highlights: