Final Fun? Panthers in Stanley Cup, Charlotte Checkers Close to Calder

Things are going pretty well in the Panthers hockey universe what with Florida being in the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year — and their AHL team having unprecedented success in Charlotte.

Although the Charlotte Checkers have won the AHL’s Calder Cup championship once before, the Panthers have never had their AHL team make it to the conference finals much less the championship round.

This year, the Checkers became the first Florida AHL team to go as deep as their conference championship.

After Sunday, Charlotte is a win a way from playing for the big prize.

The Checkers, who won the Calder Cup as Carolina’s affiliate in 2019, took a 3-0 series lead on the Laval Rocket in the AHL Eastern Conference final with a 5-1 win on Sunday afternoon.

Charlotte, which joined up with the Panthers in 2020, can make it to the Calder Cup Final with a win on home ice Tuesday night.

And, if both the Panthers and Checkers won their respective championships, they would be the first partnered teams to win both the Stanley Cup and the Calder Cup for the first time since the New Jersey Devils/Albany River Rats in 1995.

Not too shabby.

“Our guys have done it all year,’’ said Charlotte coach Geordie Kinnear, whose team has now won seven straight playoff games and have outscored the Rocket — Montreal’s AHL team — by a combined 15-4 in this series.

“You can talk about it, but when you’ve done it all year and you know that as a group, I couldn’t be more proud of how consistent the group has been. They’ve done it all year. It’s a matter of going out and doing it.”

Sunday, Riley Bezeau scored twice including in a four-goal second period.

Up 1-0 after the first, the Checkers got three goals from John Leonard, Bezeau, and Will Lockwood within the first 5:14 for a 4-0 lead.

Laval scored a power-play goal later in the period, but Sandis Vilmanis scored with 4:11 left in the second for a commanding 5-1 lead going into the third.

Kaapo Kahkonen, acquired from Winnipeg before the NHL Trade Deadline for Chris Driedger, had another terrific game with 22 saves.

“That’s a great team,’’ Bezeau said. “They finished first in their division, they’re not going to go away and we know that. We’ve just got to stick to our game plan and keep going.”

The Abbotsford Canucks hold a 2-0 series lead over the Texas Stars in the Western Conference finals after winning their first two at home.

That series turns to Austin for Game 3 tonight.

• Want exclusive, insider content only available to Florida Hockey Now subscribers? For the next day or two, we’re offering a special one-year subscription to FHN for just $12! That’s just $1 a month. No code necessary, just click on the above link and sign up for the annual subscription. Thanks, eh.

FLORIDA PANTHERS / FHN

• Who has played more hockey than the Florida Panthers over the past three years? By Friday, no one in NHL history.
• A couple days off before the start of the Stanley Cup Final is just fine with the Panthers.
• VIDEO: George and Mike DiPasquale talk about the Panthers on 7 SportsXtra.
• Brad Marchand is extremely grateful to have this chance with the Panthers.
• Previewing the start of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final rematch between the Oilers and Panthers.
• Connor Brown missed the final two games of the West final, but the Edmonton forward is good for Game 1.
• The Panthers paying tribute to Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau on Saturday was a prime example of what Paul Maurice expressed Saturday when asked what makes his team so special.
• Matthew Tkachuk was on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday and says there is no doubt this Final features the best two teams in the NHL.
• The Panthers will open up the arena for official watch parties during the Final.
• The Charlotte Checkers are up 2-0 in the best-of-7 AHL Eastern Conference final. Game 3 against the Canadiens’ Laval Rocket is today at 4 from Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte.
• Don’t forget to subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to watch interviews with the Florida Panthers throughout the postseason. Sunday brought Maurice, Tkachuk, and Sergei Bobrovsky. More today from the FTL.

NHL LINKS / NEWS

• Matt Duchene wants to stay with the Dallas Stars.
• The Maple Leafs’ front office has to get creative.
• The London Knights won the Memorial Cup.
• With better RFAs and some salary dumps, the Pittsburgh Penguins have an opportunity this offseason.
• Why Cam York would benefit from a bridge deal from the Philadelphia Flyers.

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 June 9; 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