Sunrise, Fla. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - It's a return to the Stanley Cup Final for the Florida Panthers.
For a second-straight season, the Panthers will represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final after running the gauntlet and downing the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers in the playoffs.
After taking care of the Lightning in five games and the Bruins in six games, the Panthers were set to face their toughest challenge to date against the Presidents' Trophy winning Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final.
After earning a 3-0 win in Game 1 of the series in New York, the Panthers went on to drop two-straight games in overtime to face a 2-1 deficit, needing a win in Game 4 to get back in the series.
Like Games 2 and 3, Game 4 in Sunrise went to overtime, but the Panthers got themselves a much-needed victory thanks to the heroics of former Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Reinhart to even the series at 2-2.
After surrendering the opening goal of Game 5 back at Madison Square Garden, the Panthers managed to climb back and grab a third period lead thanks to a goal from forward Anton Lundell with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Florida was able to put the game on ice thanks to an empty-net goal from forward Sam Bennett, but not before the Rangers added a late tally to make things interesting.
Then in Game 6 on Saturday night back in South Florida, the Panthers got out to a 1-0 lead late in the opening period due to a goal from Bennett. Florida added to its lead in the third period when forward Vladimir Tarasenko netted a perfect pass from Lundell with 10:52 to go in regulation.
Despite the Rangers adding a late goal from forward Artemi Panarin with less than two minutes to go in regulation, the Panthers managed to hold off any last-second push from New York to capture a 2-1 win and a 4-2 series win.
In the Eastern Conference Final, leading the way up front for the Panthers was Bennett, who scored four goals and accounted to six points in six games played against the Rangers. Overall in the playoffs, he's put up 10 points (6+4) in 12 games played for the Panthers.
Leading the way in scoring for the Panthers is winger Matthew Tkachuk, who has put up 19 points (5+14) in 17 games this postseason. During their series with the Rangers, Tkachuk contributed with a goal and four assists for five points.
Carter Verhaeghe also had a strong Eastern Conference Final for the Panthers with three goals and three assists for six points. He has put up 17 total points in 17 games played for Florida, with his nine goals scored leading the team overall.
A significant presence for the Panthers on the blue line has come from Gustav Forsling, who leads all Florida defensemen with four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 17 games. In his six games against the Rangers, Forsling managed to score twice and add two assists for four points.
In goal, Sergei Bobrovsky has, arguably, been the best goaltender of any team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 17 starts for Florida, the 35-year-old veteran has a 12-5 record with a 2.20 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage and a shutout.
In his six starts against the Rangers, Bobrovsky needed to be on top of his game against a high-powered offense, and that he was throughout the series. The Russian netminder went 4-2 against New York with a sparkling 1.89 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage and his shutout in Game 1.
On the other side of the ice, Igor Shesterkin was, arguably, just as good as Bobrovsky over the course of the six-game series against the Panthers. Despite going 2-4 against Florida, the 28-year-old put up a stellar 2.25 goals-against average and an even better .935 save percentage.
However, not only could the Rangers not provide enough solid defense around Shesterkin, their offense disappeared at the wrong time in the series.
New York's top players in the Eastern Conference Final were Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere. Trocheck led the group with two goals and four assists for six points in six games, while Lafreniere put up four assists in the same amount of games played.
However, the Rangers were only able to get a combined two combined goals from the likes of Panarin, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
The Panthers will, once again, be looking to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup in team history. Florida has been to the Stanley Cup Final twice before in 1996 (losing in four games to the Colorado Avalanche) and in 2023 (losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights).
Aside from Reinhart, a number of former Sabres players are currently on the Panthers roster and playing significant roles on Florida's run to the Stanley Cup Final. This includes defensemen Brandon Montour and Dmitry Kulikov, as well as forwards Evan Rodrigues and Kyle Okposo.
The Panthers will face the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars. Game 6 of that series is set for Sunday night in Edmonton, with the Oilers holding a 3-2 advantage in the series.
