Florida Panthers, Charlotte Checkers Both Playing in Cup Final

The Florida Panthers and Charlotte Checkers are both playing for a championship.

Tonight, the Panthers open the 2025 Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton as they go for their second straight title.

On Tuesday, the Checkers — Florida’s AHL affiliate — swept the Laval Rocket in the Eastern Conference final to move on to the Calder Cup Final.

Before this season, Florida’s AHL team had never even gone as far as the conference finals much less played for the Calder Cup.

The last time an NHL team and its AHL team both won championships in the same year was 30 years ago when the New Jersey Devils and Albany River Rats did it.

The Checkers, who have won eight straight playoff games, will play the winner of the Abbotsford Canucks and Texas Stars series starting next week.

Charlotte has home ice advantage, so Games 1-2 of the Calder Cup Final will start at Bojangles Coliseum.

The Checkers have won the Calder Cup once, in 2019 while part of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Tuesday, the Checkers trailed 2-0 early in the second before Justin Sourdif and MacKenzie Entwistle tied it by scoring within a 5-minute span.

The score remained tied at 2 until Jesse Puljujarvi, whom the Panthers signed after he and the Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways earlier this season, got the game-winner with 2:04 remaining.

Laval, the AHL team of the Montreal Canadiens, had the best record in the Eastern Conference this season but had not led against the Checkers until it scored the opening goal on Tuesday.

Kaapo Kahkonen (10-2) stopped 23 shots in the 3-2 win.

He has allowed two goals or fewer in nine of his 12 postseason starts.

“It was special,’’ Entwistle said. “We put in so much work all year. It wasn’t our best tonight, but good teams find a way to get it done and that’s what we did tonight. Our goaltending was great all series, we just kind of stuck with it, our crowd was great and we kind of fed off their momentum. Everyone can do a sigh of relief to get that one done. It was special.’’

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PANTHERS/ OILERS / FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

• Aaron Ekblad is a free agent after the Stanley Cup Final is over — but he says he “bleeds” for the Florida Panthers and doesn’t want to go anywhere else. Ever.
• Thanks to some nifty moves, the Panthers have retooled their blueline on the fly. These aren’t the same defensemen Edmonton saw last year.
• The Panthers don’t mind starting on the road.
• Connor McDavid stamps his ticket as an all-timer if the Oilers win the Cup.
• After losing to the Panthers last year, Stuart Skinner is thriving.
• Bill Zito isn’t looking back at what his team has accomplished. He says the Panthers still have work to do.
• Don’t forget to subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to watch interviews with the Florida Panthers throughout the postseason. Tuesday brought a ton of video from media day; more today before and after Game 1.

NHL LINKS

• The Carolina Hurricanes will be big spenders in free agency their GM says.
• The Samuel-De Champlain Bridge in Montreal is going to be lit up in Edmonton blue-and-orange for Game 1 tonight.
• Is there a new name to consider in the Pittsburgh Penguins coaching search?
• Noah Cates gets a new deal with the Philadelphia Flyers.
• A dream trade target for the New York Islanders has emerged.
• Some Montreal Canadiens trade talk, too.
• Meet the new assistant coaches of the Chicago Blackhawks

2025 STANLEY CUP FINAL

GAME 1

FLORIDA PANTHERS @ EDMONTON OILERS

Best-of-7 Series

• When: Wednesday, 8 p.m.
• Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton
• National TV: TNT/truTV 
• National Streaming: Max
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys), SiriusXM
• Radio Streaming: SiriusXM, NHL App
• Series Schedule (all games at 8 p.m., TNT) — Game 1: @Edmonton Wednesday; Game 2: @Edmonton Friday; Game 3:@Florida Monday; Game 4: @Florida, Thursday June 12; Game 5*: @Edmonton, Saturday June 14; Game 6*: @Florida, Tuesday June 17; Game 7*: @Edmonton, Friday June 20.
• Regular Season (Panthers won 2-0) — At Florida: Panthers 4, Oilers 3 (Feb. 27). At Edmonton: Panthers 6, Oilers 5 (Dec. 16).
• How They Got Here: Edmonton d. Los Angeles (6), Vegas (5), Dallas (5); Florida d. Tampa Bay (5), Toronto (7), Carolina (5)
• Postseason History: Florida Won 2024 Stanley Cup Final 4-3
• All-time Regular Season Series: Oilers lead 23-18-0, 3 ties