Panthers Heading to Stanley Cup Final, 27 Years in the Making

It has taken 27 years, almost three decades and the moment has finally come. The Florida Panthers are heading to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history.

Their path to the pinnacle of the sport did not come easy, they were an eighth-seed that was staring down elimination in the first round of the NHL Playoffs; a 3-1 series deficit to what was dubbed the “greatest team of all-time” in the Boston Bruins. They would fire off three consecutive victories over the Bruins and advance, then take down the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 in the second round, and now completed their first playoff sweep (4-0) in franchise history over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Matthew Tkachuk scored his second goal of the game with just 4.9 seconds left, a goal that would seal a 4-3 Panthers win over the Hurricanes, and ultimately sent Florida to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996.

“This was pure joy,” Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 36 shots in Game 4 which was just another day on the job for him with his incredible series performance. Through four games, four one-goal victories and two sudden death victories in overtime, Bobrovsky recorded a .966 save percentage after defending 174 of the 180 shots he faced.

The Panthers scored 10 goals in the entire series against Carolina, and Bobrovsky made sure it was all that they needed to advance. The Panthers had not won a single playoff series for 26 years up until last season, now they’ve won three in a row as an eighth-seed this season and have the chance to win a championship.

Matthew Tkachuk arrived last summer via a trade from the Calgary Flames, an acquisition for the Panthers that has surely paid off on the ice. Tkachuk said he wanted to bring the Panthers a cup when he arrived, now he has four more victories ahead of him to finish the mission.

“It’s been unbelievable since July since I got here,” Tkachuk said. “And hopefully we can cap off this amazing year.”

Tkachuk’s two goals would raise him up to 21 points in the playoffs, which extended his Florida single-season postseason record, the record was previously held by Dave Lowry with 17 points in 1996.

“It’s amazing, we showed the resilience … and we’re lucky to have Chucky on our side. He knows how to score big goals,” Sergei Bobrovsky said.

While the Prince of Wales Trophy was being presented to the Panthers team, Aleksander Barkov, the Florida captain would grab the trophy and skate away with it. That moment would signify that the team has a much bigger goal set in their minds, the actual championship trophy in the Stanley Cup Finals.

“It’s hard to explain right now. Everything just happened so quick, it means a lot. It definitely does. … It hasn’t been easy and nobody said it’s going to be easy,” Barkov said.

Matthew Tkachuk would add – “We earned that thing, and definitely didn’t do it the easy way. We earned it.”

Anthony Duclair and Ryan Lomberg would add the two other goals for Florida, meanwhile the captain, Alexander Barkov, would add two assists and one of them was on the game-winner to Tkachuk.

There was a brotherly connection that played a part to a wild finish in the final minute. Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes, his two brothers Eric and Marc are on the Panthers roster, Jordan committed a tripping penalty with 57 seconds left in the game; which ultimately set up the grand moment.

The power-play was set, and it was all Matthew Tkachuk needed, he beat Frederick Anderson and scored his second goal of the game and Panthers fans within the arena and all of South Florida erupted in celebration. It was at that moment; they knew they were going to the Stanley Cup Final regardless of 4.9 seconds remaining.

“Eastern Conference champions, It’s really cool. No doubt about it. But you know, at the end of the day, we have our eyes on something different,” Florida’s Aaron Ekblad said.

A Florida Panthers tradition would ensue even if there was a bit of time still left on the clock, Panther fans would start chucking plastic rats onto the ice from their seats; this was all amid an official review from the NHL of Tkachuk’s game-winning goal, the rats were picked up, the play stood as good after the review and history was cemented.

“Everyone’s going to say, ‘You got swept.’ That’s not what happened, I watched the game. I’m there. I’m cutting the games. We’re in the game. We didn’t lose four games. We got beat, but we were right there. This could have went the other way. It could have been four games the other way,” Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.

The Panthers will play either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Dallas Stars for the Stanley Cup which will begin next week; Vegas currently holds a 3-0 series lead over Dallas in the Western Conference Finals. The last time Florida played in a Cup, they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1996 final, but this team appears to have more resilience and the will of an underdog.

Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel would make an appearance during Game 4 for the Florida Panthers, where he banged the drum before the start of the game. McDaniel has also been a frequent visitor to Miami Heat games in the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs; the Heat currently hold a 3-1 series lead over the Boston Celtics, meanwhile all of South Florida eagerly awaits having two professional sports teams competing for a championship as eighth-seeds… at the same time.

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