The Florida Panthers are returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row after beating the No. 1 overall New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 on Saturday night.
And they might be in better shape than last year’s team as they seek their first Stanley Cup title.
They’re scoring more goals, giving up fewer and have better special teams than last year’s team, which pulled off three consecutive upsets before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Panthers are also healthier and deeper.
“The right pieces were added, some great pieces added, and just one mindset of doing whatever it took to get back to it,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “I think the guys who were here last year did an unbelievable job coming back for the start of camp with this on their mind.”
They’re riding their system to perfection, with an aggressive forecheck making it difficult for opponents to get up the ice. And if they do get through, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is there to shut them down.
He made 23 saves on Saturday and has allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of his last 11 games.
The Panthers held New York’s Mika Zibanejad without a goal and limited Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin (who scored in the final minutes of Game 6) to one goal. NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov had no goals for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round and Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak had one in the second round.
The Panthers outplayed the Rangers throughout most of the conference final and only goalie Igor Shesterkin’s brilliance (32 saves on Saturday) extended the series to six games. Florida allowed only one Rangers power-play goal.
Sam Bennett gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead with 50 seconds left in the first period on a give-and-go with Evan Rodrigues. He ripped a shot over Shesterkin’s glove.
Trade deadline acquisition Vladimir Tarasenko added to the score with a goal in the third period, ending an eight-game goal drought. The Panthers have a 24-11 edge in scoring in the third period in these playoffs.
The Panthers are the first team since the 2008-09 Pittsburgh Penguins to return to the Final the year after losing in the championship round. That Penguins team beat the Detroit Red Wings for the title.
Florida players this year didn’t touch the Prince of Wales Trophy, awarded to the Eastern Conference champions, after touching it last year.
“I think we needed to do something different and that’s what we did,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov told reporters.
What’s next for the Florida Panthers?
They’ll head to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row and third time overall. They are 1-8 in their two appearances. They’ll face either the Dallas Stars or Edmonton Oilers in the championship round. Edmonton has a 3-2 series lead and can clinch the Western Conference final Sunday night at home. Florida went 2-0 against each team in the regular season and will have home-ice advantage if the Oilers advance.
The Panthers were expected to drop off because of early absences of defensemen Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad (offseason shoulder surgery). But they signed defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulkov and Niko Mikkola to help them cope, plus forward Rodrigues. Tarasenko and Kyle Okposo were added at the trade deadline.
“We are not done yet,” Tkachuk said. “We’re very happy with the way this playoffs has gone for us, winning the first three, but it’s a different feeling this year, for sure. I’m very proud of the effort from everybody.”
What’s next for the New York Rangers?
They went after big names at the 2023 trade deadline, including Tarasenko, and plugged gaps at this year’s deadline. In both cases, they fell short of their goal and became the latest Presidents’ Trophy winner to miss out on winning the Cup.
The Rangers should be able to come back with most of their players. Offseason acquisitions Blake Wheeler and Erik Gustafsson are unrestricted free agents as are trade deadline acquisitions Jack Roslovic, Alex Wennberg and Chad Ruhwedel. Kaapo Kakko is their top restricted free agent. Shesterkin and Alexis Lafreniere are entering the final years of their contracts and are eligible for an extension after July 1.