Third Straight Cup Final Berth Puts Panthers in Good Company

The Florida Panthers are going to the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight year, a run that has put them in rarified air.

Very few professional sports teams can make it to their championship round in consecutive seasons.

It is quite rare to have a team do it three straight years.

Wednesday night, the Panthers punched their ticket to the 2025 Stanley Cup Final where they will try and win their second straight championship.

It is the best sporting run in South Florida since the Miami Heat went to the NBA Finals four straight years during the Big 3 Era from 2011-14.

The Heat — led by Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh — won two championships during that four-season run.

The Miami Dolphins also saw their best run come in threes.

The Don Shula-coached Dolphins went to the Super Bowl three straight times, winning it twice including with their Perfect Season 1972 team.

On the national level, the Panthers are the first to make it to the Stanley Cup Final in three straight years since the Tampa Bay Lightning did it from 2020-22.

Of course, the 2020 title was won in an empty Edmonton arena in the Covid bubble; the second run came during a 56-game season with reworked divisions.

Not taking anything away from the Lightning, but in one of those years, it did not have to play in a raucous road arena. In the other, capacity was limited.

The Golden State Warriors are the gold standard of pro teams over the past 30 years making it to the NBA Finals five straight times from 2015-19.

LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers made it four straight times from 2015-18.

Of teams who have gone to the championship round three straight years since 1995, the Panthers join teams like Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs, Derek Jeter’s New York Yankees, Tom Brady’s New England Patriots, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, and Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers.

Not too shabby.

2025 STANLEY CUP FINAL

GAME 1

FLORIDA PANTHERS @ DALLAS STARS/EDMONTON OILERS

Edmonton Leads Dallas 3-1 in Best-of-7 Series

• When: Wednesday, June 4 or Saturday, June 7
• Where: AmericanAirlines Center, Dallas/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: TBA

IF DALLAS

• Regular Season — Panthers Won 2-0 (Tampere, Finland): Florida 6, Dallas 3; Florida 4, Dallas 2 
• How They Got Here: Dallas d. Colorado (7), Winnipeg (6); Florida d. Tampa Bay (5), Toronto (7), Carolina (5)
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 28-21-2, 3 ties
• Postseason History: First meeting

IF EDMONTON

• 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); 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