Great Night for the Panthers: Cup Banner, Blast Bruins, Verhaeghe Signs

SUNRISE — Tuesday night was about as good as it gets for the Florida Panthers. This is coming from your defending Stanley Cup champions, no less.

Yes, Tuesday night had everything a hockey fan in the tropics could want.

Or anywhere, really.

The Panthers celebrated their 2024 Stanley Cup championship by raising a crisp, new banner high above the Amerant Bank Arena.

Then, the Panthers went out and smashed a Boston Bruins team out for blood.

That 6-4 final was a lot closer than it appeared.

Florida took a 2-0 lead in the first, led 4-1 after 20 minutes and were up 5-2 going into the third.

Boston made it close in the final portion of the third, but if David Pastrnak’s pass from the left circle does not ricochet off Dmitry Kulikov and make a beeline past Sergei Bobrovsky, this was just a ho-hum effort by a Bruins team which really wanted to make a statement.

Florida and the Bruins meet again on Monday afternoon at Boston’s Garden in a matinee — and Jeremy Swayman should be in net for that one.

Regardless, Tuesday was a night to celebrate for the Cup champion Panthers.

Wait, we forgot to mention the big news which came in the postgame.

Carter Verhaeghe, one of three high-profile pending free agents for the Panthers, signed an eight-year extension which should keep him in South Florida for the remainder of his career.

Once again, the Panthers and GM Bill Zito worked out a nice deal for both sides with Florida signing their top-line left winger who has averaged 33 goals over the past three seasons for $7 million annually.

Not a bad deal for either side.

Cue talk about how Verhaeghe left money on the table because he doesn’t want to pay state income tax.

Regardless, Tuesday night was one in which everything was going Florida’s way.

Even the crummy weather that was forecasted to soak the Florida faithful stayed mostly in check.

If you could craft a better opener for the defending Stanley Cup champs, one would think the Panthers hired Bob Ross to paint little trees all over a loud and proud Florida-heavy crowd.

As much as Boston fans have stormed the gates in Sunrise over the years, Tuesday was all about a Panthers team which announced earlier in the day that they had sold out their season ticket allotment for the first time in franchise history.

For a team that drew over 1 million hockey fans to their barn on the edge of the Everglades, it does not look like the party is coming to an end anytime soon.

“It was the banner for sure,” coach Paul Maurice said when asked about his team’s jump, “but it was actually the fans. There was a great buzz in the building tonight.

“It was so nice that it was all Panther fans. I think we played off that and got lots of energy from it.”

There was certainly a lot of energy in the building.

As fans filed in, the Panthers played Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on the scoreboard with cheers rising as that game rolled on.

When the Panthers skated onto the ice for warmups and bodies were seen from the top rows of the building to the ice level, the energy could be felt.

Then came the pregame ceremony — one the Bruins sat out.

Florida’s new banner rose from the ice into the air, and its placement was left to be seen throughout the game.

If the Bruins say they did not notice it, they’re lying.

“It’s an emotional start to the season,’’ said Sam Bennett, who scored twice.

“Obviously, seeing that banner go up shoulder-to-shoulder with all the guys was a pretty special moment. I think it definitely gave us a little juice to start the season off. We came out flying, playing right back to our style of hockey right away. It was a great start.”

Yeah it was.

Florida controlled the game from beginning to, well, almost the end.

The Panthers held a 6-2 lead until the final minutes but clamped down when they had to, something the Bruins — and Florida’s fans — have grown accustomed to.

A total of 12 Panthers hit the scoresheet.

It was a night to remember — and look ahead.

If the Bruins thought the Panthers were going to come into this one with a hangover following Monday’s championship ring ceremony, they were wrong.

“Throughout camp, we have looked really good,’’ said Evan Rodrigues, who scored a goal and assisted on another.

“We had all four lines contributing tonight. That’s how we have to play if we want to play our style of hockey. I thought up and down the lineup, the new guys fit in perfectly. It was nice to get right to our game in Game 1.”

— Defenseman Adam Boqvist, who was running the top power-play unit, took a clearing pass off his face in the first period and left the game. Maurice said he had to have “some imaging’’ done and his status is unknown.

— Chris Driedger was Bobrovsky’s backup on Tuesday after being placed on waivers earlier in the day. Spencer Knight was sent to AHL Charlotte on Monday due to cap concerns.

He could be back with the Panthers for their road trip which starts Thursday in Ottawa.

Florida also placed MacKenzie Entwistle on waivers. Rookie Patrick Giles could be called up after a very strong training camp.

ON DECK: GAME 2

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT OTTAWA SENATORS

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Canadian Tire Center, Ottawa
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/Fort Lauderdale); WHDT 9 (West Palm); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/Fort Myers)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• This Season (Panthers Lead 2-0) — At Ottawa: Panthers 5, Senators 0 (Nov.27); Panthers 6, Senators 0 (April 4). At Florida: Panthers 3, Senators 2 OT (Feb. 20); Panthers 2, Senators 0 (April 9).
• All-time Regular Season Series: Ottawa leads 57-48-5, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday at Buffalo, 7 p.m. (Local TV)