Articles in Florida Panthers

from Matt Levy of the New York Post,

Either Jonathan Marchessault’s Golden Knights or Matthew Tkachuk’s Panthers will emerge victorious and get to hoist the famed silver trophy above their heads for the first time.

And if you want to be there to witness hockey history, we’re happy to report that last-minute tickets are still available for all seven games.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any bargain prices available for the high-profile series.

The cheapest tickets available we could find at the time of publication were $349 before fees on Vivid Seats for a game at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Ticket prices start at $424 before fees at Sunrise, FL’s FLA Live Arena.

Want to go to a game?

Here’s everything you need to know and more about the 2023 Stanley Cup between the Golden Knights and Florida Panthers.

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Both teams playing for their first Stanley Cup.

from Michael Russo of The Athletic,

After two-plus decades of instability under different owners and general managers and a revolving door of coaches and players, the Panthers’ fans are back and are showing a hockey world that enjoys tossing potshots their way that if given reason to come, they will come.

“Historically, if you win in South Florida, people show up — they pay attention,” says longtime Panthers TV play-by-play guy Steve Goldstein. “Most of the teams are relatively new — and by new, I mean 25, 35 years. You don’t have the generations of fans. You don’t have the grandfather, the dad and the son that all went to the games. Now, what you’re seeing with the Panthers, you have the mom and the dad, and the daughter and the son are Panthers fans because their parents were.

“There’s a lot of things to do in South Florida. You can go to the beach anytime you want for free. So there needs to be a reason to come to the games. Once teams give that — and the Panthers have the last three, four years been a very good, exciting team with a committed ownership that spends big money — the attendance grows. And now, with this run, it’s off the charts.”

In an entertainment market as competitive as South Florida, you have to win. Period.

And since the Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, they didn’t win a playoff round until last spring. Slowly but surely, the fans largely and understandably stopped coming.

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from Alain Poupart at the NHL's website,

"We just have a plan now of what we're going to do the next few days here before we travel," defenseman Marc Staal said. "So everyone knows what we've got the next few days and we'll prepare as best we can and go from there. So, it just gets a little more structured if we know what we're doing and prepare that way."

It will be 10 days between games for the Panthers. They completed a four-game sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday with a 4-3 victory at FLA Live Arena.

While concern about staying sharp might be valid, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he preferred the idea of his players getting additional time to recover from the wear and tear of the Carolina series, which featured four games decided by one goal, starting with the quadruple-overtime victory in Game 1.

"None of the things that you would normally have wanted to have happen has happened to us and they all turned out good, so be careful what you wish for," Maurice said. "So we've just decided not to wish for anything, just take what it is. The positive for us is we do have players that are healing.

"That quadruple-overtime game, there was a cost to it for both teams and I don't think that you get to recover from that until the series is over. … It's a big block of time off and how do you stay sharp, but I would take the rest over worrying about how sharp we're going to be in Game 1."

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The Florida Panthers in many of the regular season predictions were supposed to be very good - they weren't. They barely made the playoffs as the last wild card spot.

Now they are in the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 to sweep the series.

Along the way Florida defeated the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and now the Hurricanes, not an easy road.

They will open the SCF on the road against the winner of the Vegas/Dallas series.

Below watch the game winning goal with 4 seconds left in regulation. added 11:19pm, Handshakes and highlights have be added in the comment section along with other post game moments

A good one tonight.

from David Dwork of The Hockey News,

The Florida Panthers are on the cusp of doing something shocking.

Something amazing.

Something fans of the team who have followed along for years and suffered through countless losing seasons have been waiting for since the 90s.

Wednesday night the Panthers will host Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Florida has won each of the series' first three games against the Metropolitan Division Champion Carolina Hurricanes, all by one goal.

They have also allowed Carolina to score a total of just three goals in the series.

One more win and the Panthers will be playing for the Stanley Cup.

Florida has picked a wonderful time to play its best hockey of the season, but the level that goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has reached during the postseason is something truly incredible to behold.

Overall he's gone 10-2 with a 2.15 goals against average and .935 save percentage. Those are excellent numbers.

During the conference final, however, Bob has entered another atmosphere, stopping 132 of the 135 shots Carolina has directed his way.

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from Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet,

Sergei Bobrovsky picked a perfect time for his first career Stanley Cup playoff shutout.

Thanks to the 32 saves he made on Monday night in a 1-0 triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Florida Panthers now hold a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final.

The Panthers goalie has now made 67 consecutive saves and accumulated 131 total stops over three games — and it certainly looks like he’s had numerous Carolina Hurricanes players shaking their heads in utter disbelief through three games.

Bobrovsky, who made the 58th start and 64th playoff appearance during his 10-year NHL career on Monday, has expressed gratitude throughout this series whenever he’s been in front of a microphone and after the final buzzer, his teammates once again were tossing compliments in his direction.

“We have so much confidence with him back there,” Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe told reporters inside FLA Live Arena. “It seems like every day he’s making another huge save, changing momentum and helping our team win games. He’s so important, he’s so calm.

“He’s our backbone and our best player.”

You won’t get any argument from anyone playing in, covering or watching this series.

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from Mark Lazerus of The Athletic,

from Mark Lazerus of The Athletic,

Sergei Bobrovsky is having fun. Honest.

The Florida Panthers goaltender might look like he just came back from a trip to the post office, and he might sound like he’s talking about winning a neutral-site preseason game in front of a few hundred curious onlookers, and it might seem like he’ll doze off at any moment, but really, this is everything he’s ever wanted.

This atmosphere. This pressure. This level of mind-bending success. One hundred saves in two games....

Before Game 1: “It’s great to be here.”

After Game 1: “I’m really fortunate to be in this playoff. I’m happy to be here, very happy to be part of this team.”

After Game 2: “I’m fortunate to be here and happy to play hockey, playoff hockey.”

Also after Game 2: “I’m just happy to be in net at this time.”

Also after Game 2: “I’m just thankful for this spot.”

Sources close to Bobrovsky suggest he’s happy to be here. More on this story as it develops.

But hey, why shouldn’t he be? This is a man who’s lost that net multiple times in recent seasons.

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Another overtime win by the Florida Panthers tonight, this time a 2-1 win.

Matthew Tkachuk with his 2nd ot winner in a row, he now has three ot winners this post season.

Below watch the game winning goal and game highlights.

from Kurt Dusterberg at the NHL's website,

Matthew Tkachuk scored with 13 seconds remaining in the fourth overtime, and the Florida Panthers won their seventh straight on the road in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 3-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at PNC Arena on Thursday....

It was the sixth-longest game in Stanley Cup Playoffs history (79:47 of OT length), and the longest in franchise history for each team.

"Probably my favorite [goal] so far in my life," Tkachuk said. "Big to not let it go to five overtimes there. [Sergei Bobrovsky] played great, everybody followed. Total team effort for two games, basically."

Bobrovsky made 63 saves, and Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, the second wild card from the East.

Florida is 5-0 in overtime in the postseason.

"At the end of the day, both teams spent what they had; that's a huge cost for both teams," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "There were pieces of that game that both teams owned and looked exactly like they're supposed to look."

Frederik Andersen made 57 saves, and Seth Jarvis had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, the No. 1 seed in the Metropolitan Division....

"It's the worst way to lose, there's no way around it," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "A lot of ups and downs in that game. At the end of the day, it's one game."

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Below. watch the game highlights.

With 13 seconds left in the 4th overtime, Matthew Tkachuk scored to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Team Stats

More in the morning but in the meantime catch the game winner and the highlights below.

Best of luck to both teams.

via Sportsnet's YouTube page,

Paul Maurice and Rod Brind’Amour have a long history that began in Carolina when Maurice was a Head Coach and Brind’Amour was a player. Now they face off in the Eastern Conference Final.

from Amalie Benjamin of the NHL's website,

These are four teams that don't always get the headlines and the publicity, that don't come from traditional hockey markets, that have everything to gain from the spot in which they find themselves, here in the Eastern and Western Conference Finals. Combined, the Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights have won the Stanley Cup twice, with the Hurricanes winning it in 2006 and the Stars in 1999.

They will begin the next step of trying to make some new history -- and some new fans -- when they start off the conference finals, with the Panthers and Hurricanes playing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday at PNC Arena in Raleigh (8 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, TVAS, SN) and the Stars and Golden Knights playing Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, TVAS, SN).

"A deeper playoff run will draw attention to the unique players that we have that you can come and enjoy watching play," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "What happens in these runs, it's not just about getting excited because of the spectacle of playoff hockey. You want to get the connection to the home crowd too.

"There'll be a whole bunch of people who are going to buy (Panthers forward) Sam Bennett jerseys based on what they saw. And then I can say that about a bunch of different guys."

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from Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet,

The road to this point of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been an interesting one, to say the least, with the Panthers relishing the role of underdog in knocking off the top-seeded and record-setting Boston Bruins in the seventh game in the opening round, then stunning the hockey world once again by ousting the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games, moving Maurice into the fourth conference final of his coaching career.

For the Hurricanes, it’s mostly been a business-like approach in knocking off the New York Islanders in six games and New Jersey Devils in five.

This is a group that’s enjoyed plenty of regular-season success, had a taste of the playoffs over the past few seasons and was supposed to be ready to take the next step, at least until an Achilles injury to Max Pacioretty and a torn ACL for Andrei Svechnikov sent the two high-scoring wingers to the sidelines, reducing them to the role of spectator.

As if that wasn’t enough to overcome, fellow forward Teuvo Teravainen suffered a hand injury in Game 2 of the opening-round series with the Islanders, taking another potent weapon out of the Hurricanes lineup.

Instead of wilting under the pressure and leaning on the excuse of not having enough offensive catalysts to persevere, the injuries seemed to have galvanized the Hurricanes. What is surprising is that the team is scoring at an even higher rate, all the while playing a structured style that has made it difficult for the opponent to penetrate.

As Maurice pointed out to reporters in Florida earlier this week, there are certainly similarities when it comes to the style these two teams play.

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from Dave Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel,

This is who you’re happy for: the long-time usher by the penalty box; the voice of more than 1,800 Florida Panthers games; the bartender pouring drinks in their arena for 17 years and greeting a regular, as always, between Sections 101 and 102 during the Toronto series....

There are many who worked for years and waited for decades for this franchise to make the larger world notice. It has been 27 years since the Florida Panthers played this deep into a hockey spring, meaning this is a rare run, a special event, maybe even a career opus for the team, depending on where it ends.

All the talk of patience centers around the center, Aleksander Barkov, who was 8 months old the last time the Panthers were in an Eastern Conference final game. Now, at 28, he’s played for the franchise 10 often driftless years — until now.

“This is what you play for,’’ Barkov said earlier these playoffs. “It’s what we’ve wanted as an organization for years here.”

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from David Dwork of The Hockey News,

There is no question that what the Florida Panthers have done during the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been remarkable.

Florida was the last team to punch its ticket to the postseason, entering the tournament as the eight-seed in a stacked Eastern Conference.

It was a hot goalie, 30-year-old AHL veteran Alex Lyon, who stepped in for a sick Sergei Bobrovsky and helped carry Florida into the playoffs over the final weeks of the regular season.

Bobrovsky has since reclaimed his net and is playing some of the best hockey of his career, a career that includes of pair of Vezina Trophy wins.

His clutch play in big moments have propelled the Panthers to the conference finals. Bobrovsky was particularly brilliant during Game 5 in Toronto, turning aside 50 shots in the series-clinching victory.

“Bob was unbelievable once again,” Panthers captain Sasha Barkov said afterward. “He gave us a chance.”

During the five games against Toronto, Bobrovsky stopped 164 of 174 shots for a .942 save percentage to go with a tidy 1.89 goals against average.

Those are elite numbers.

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The Florida Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime to win their series 4-1.

Florida will open up in Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.

Below watch the series winning goal, handshakes and highlights.

Ruled no goal on the ice and the situation room confirms it.

from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,

We’re not sure which was more impressive, the kid’s ability to lock down a 2-1 win facing elimination, or his composure in doing so.

“I’ve had a good mindset of what I want to pursue in my life, what’s important to me. And when I have that, when I have my groundwork, it’s easy to see everything that happens in life brings you closer to that. I’m just happy to be where I am,” Woll says.

“My mindset doesn't change regardless of what the situation is in the game, and that's the little game within the game I play in my mind.”

Ilya Samsonov skated Friday morning. That’s a first since leaving Sunday’s Game 3 with an upper-body injury.

The net — and all its pressures — belongs to Woll, who until Wednesday had not started a playoff game since March 23, 2019, for the Boston College Eagles.

“Confident but calm in there at all times,” Ryan O’Reilly observes. “It’s so impressive. To come in for that pressure of a game and doing what he did, only gives up one, that’s an amazing thing.”

Adds John Tavares: “You can just see the focus. His preparation, his focus, is elite.”

In attempt to shake the rookie, the Panthers vow to get more shots and more traffic Friday in Game 5.

“He was good,” Aleksander Barkov conceded. “Obviously, we could’ve had more guys at the net to make his job tougher.”

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