Taylor Hall Takes Shot at Maple Leafs as Hurricanes Fall Into 2-0 Hole Against Panthers

With the Eastern Conference Finals in full swing, the Panthers are the Panthers are picking things up right where they left off, jumping out to a 2-0 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes, and threatening to put a stranglehold on the series.

They have outdueled the Hurricanes for sure, and that has not sat right with forward Taylor Hall who took the time to criticize both the Panthers and the Maple Leafs as he prepares for Game 3:

No one is perfect, and the fact that the Leafs took them to seven games is more of a testament to Toronto's resilience considering the Panthers deserved to win that series in less games.

It's big words coming from a player who is not only down 2-0 to the defending champions, but for Hall, who is playing in his longest ever postseason, he should keep his words short.

You saw what happened when Florida gets picked on; they come out swinging. It wouldn't be too shocking to see Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, or Brad Marchand take exception to his words and go after him.

Hall has eight points in seven games this postseason after coming over in a trade with Chicago, the same one that sent Mikko Rantanen briefly to Chicago before being sent to Carolina as well.

Coming off a 5-0 drubbing of the Hurricanes, Florida is doing quite well on their quest for a repeat, and could be in line to raise the Cup once again if they keep this pace up.

Outscoring their opponents 10-2 so far in the Conference Finals, the foot is firmly on the gas. Florida has scored 29 goals over their last seven games, and nearly tripling their opponent's goal output.

It's a collective effort too, as nine Panthers have double-digit point totals, and surprises like Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen have certainly helped things especially when Sergei Bobrovsky is struggling.

All credit needs to be given to Paul Maurice, and while you may not agree with his coaching tactics or how his team can play at times, you can't argue its success over the last two seasons.

While some like Taylor Hall think that the Panthers need to batten down the hatches and worry about the Carolina Hurricanes, they'd much rather chase the storm, and the glory that comes afterwards.