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2023 Stanley Cup Final

Panthers Hope to Keep Road Streak Rolling in Stanley Cup Final

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Panthers bruins
The Florida Panthers celebrate after defeating the host Boston Bruins on a goal by Carter Verhaeghe in overtime of Game 7 on April 30. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

The Florida Panthers go into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight having never won in Las Vegas.



When it comes to this playoff run, however, the Panthers have been very successful in going against their historical grain.

Remember, they had not had much success winning games in Boston, Toronto or Raleigh.

Yet here they are.

Florida’s success on the road this postseason is a huge reason why it is in the situation it is in.

The Panthers go into Game 1 having won eight consecutive road playoff games, a mark that ranks second all-time in Stanley Cup history.

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In 2012, the Los Angeles Kings won 10 straight road games en route to that franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship.

Like the Panthers, the Kings did so as an eighth-seed which had to run through the toughest teams the NHL had to offer to get to the mountaintop.

“We are ready to go and are ready for the challenge,” Ryan Lomberg said on Friday. “We know it is not going to be easy, of course, but we like things the hard way. We’re looking forward to the battle. On the road, teams resort to playing a more simple game especially with time off, that’s going to play right into our wheelhouse.

“We’re going to keep things simple. You can feel the energy, even if it’s for the opposing team, you can still feed off the energy in the building.”

The Panthers have not lost a road playoff game this year since its first one.

Way back on April 17, the Panthers trailed Boston 2-1 going into the third period and ended up losing 3-1.

Florida bounced back with a 6-3 win in Game 2, then returned to Boston and won Game 5 on a Matthew Tkachuk overtime goal to keep its season going.

Carter Verhaeghe’s goal 8:35 into overtime won Game 7 and sent the Boston Garden into mourning.

This postseason, Florida is 3-1 in Boston, 3-0 in Toronto and 2-0 in Raleigh.

And, of the Panthers’ six overtime wins this postseason, five have come away from Sunrise.

Now, the playoffs turn toward Las Vegas where the Panthers are 0-4-1 since the Golden Knights came into the league in 2017.

Florida has not won a single game at T-Mobile Arena but this, obviously, is different.

The Panthers are coming to Vegas at the end of a long road trip, or flying in the night before the game from Arizona or Colorado.

This is the Stanley Cup Final and the Panthers have been primed for playing on enemy ice.

Of course, Raleigh did not have showgirls dancing behind the net during warmups as they do in Vegas.

Hey, whatever works.

“This is a great place to play, an amazing place with great fans and it is a loud building,” Sasha Barkov said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun on the ice. But Carolina was very loud, Boston, Toronto. Our home ice is very loud. We’re used to that now. We just have to go out and play as hard as possible.”

FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK

THE 2023 STANLEY CUP FINAL
FLORIDA PANTHERS AT VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
GAME 1
  • When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
  • Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
  • TV: TNT
  • Radio: WQAM 560-AM, WPOW 96.5 FM2, WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
  • Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
  • Series Schedule — Game 1: Saturday at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 2:Monday June 5 at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 3: Thursday June 8 at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 4: Saturday June 10 at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 5*: Tuesday June 13 at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 6*: Friday June 16 at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 7*: Monday June 19 at Vegas, 8 (TNT). * – If Necessary
  • 2022-23 Regular Season Series Vs. Vegas (Even 1-1): @Vegas 4, Florida 2 (Jan. 12); @Florida 2, Vegas 1 (March 7)
  • All-time Regular Season Series: vs. Vegas Golden Knights lead 6-3-1
  • Postseason History: First meeting
  • How They Got Here — Vegas: d. Winnipeg in 5, Edmonton in 6, Dallas in 6; Florida: d. Boston in 7, Toronto in 5, Carolina in 4.

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