The Florida Panthers are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year, aiming for hockey’s greatest prize. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots, while Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko scored, sealing a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday night. “We touched it last year and it didn’t work for us,” Bennett said about the Prince of Wales Trophy, which the team chose not to touch this time. “So, we thought we’d try something different this year.” The message is clear: The Stanley Cup is the only one they want.
- Key Moments and Highlights:*
- Bennett's Opening Goal: Bennett opened the scoring in the final minute of the first period, one-timing a shot over Igor Shesterkin’s glove into the upper right corner of the net. It was Bennett’s third straight game with a goal, marking his first postseason streak of this kind.
- Tarasenko’s Easy One: Midway through the third period, Tarasenko found himself alone on the side of the net and easily made it 2-0, igniting the countdown to victory.
The Panthers, who lost the Cup final to Vegas last year, clinched the Eastern Conference title series in six games and now await their final opponent, either Edmonton or Dallas, with the series set to start on June 8.
Florida’s win means it has now been five consecutive seasons that a team from the Sunshine State won the Eastern Conference; Tampa Bay won the Prince of Wales Trophy in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and now Florida has gone back-to-back. The Panthers also ousted the regular season’s best team — the Presidents’ Trophy winner — for the second consecutive year. Last season, Florida stunned Boston in Round 1, winning Game 7 on the road. This time, it was the Rangers who fell to Florida, making them the first franchise to eliminate the No. 1 overall seed in consecutive years since Pittsburgh did it to Washington in 2016 and 2017.
The Rangers didn’t go quietly. Shesterkin went to the bench with 2:24 left, and Artemi Panarin scored 44 seconds later, cutting Florida's lead in half. But Florida held on, and with the final horn, it was time to celebrate — without carrying the trophy away this time.
“Listen, our guys fought this year,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “They bought in right from the start. It’s disappointing; when you start something like this you don’t do it to get three wins in the playoffs or five wins in the playoffs. You do it to go the whole way.”
- Rangers’ Effort and Struggles:
- Artemi Panarin scored with 1:40 left and Igor Shesterkin stopped 32 shots for the Rangers, who had a 2-1 lead in the series — then lost three straight, costing them their season. It was New York’s longest losing streak since mid-January.
- Exciting Potential Matchup:*
- If Edmonton, which leads the West final 3-2, advances, Game 1 of the title round will be on Florida’s ice. If Dallas wins the West, the Stars will have home-ice advantage for the title series. The Oilers can clinch that series on Sunday night.
Bobrovsky has become a giant killer, taking down the top overall seed for the third time in six years — the Rangers this year, the Bruins last year, and Tampa Bay when he was in Columbus in 2019.
“We were right there,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “We just came up short.”
For Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who lost with Carolina in 2002 and then with Florida last year, this will be his third time in the final. “My enjoyment of the game — and this is new for me — comes from my understanding that I’m really not that important here,” Maurice said. “It’s the players. And when they’re going, they don’t need me.” At 57, Maurice is bidding to be the second-oldest coach to win his first Stanley Cup; Bruce Cassidy was 58 when Vegas gave him his first title last year.
Maybe the third time’s the charm for both Maurice and the Panthers. As Matthew Tkachuk said, “We expected to be back here. Obviously, nothing’s guaranteed. But we expected this.”
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