logo
Scenes from Panthers' non-celebration as juggernaut team heads to third straight Stanley Cup Final

Scenes from Panthers' non-celebration as juggernaut team heads to third straight Stanley Cup Final

New York Times29-05-2025

RALEIGH, N.C. – In 1996, when the Florida Panthers won their first Eastern Conference championship in only their third year of existence, sticks and gloves launched high into the air from a bunch of grizzled, bearded, ecstatic third-year expansion castoffs.
They gleefully — and rightfully – celebrated after upsetting Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Petr Nedved and the mighty Penguins. They not only touched the Prince of Wales Trophy, they paraded it around the Igloo, posed for pictures on the ice and partied on their charter to Denver for the Stanley Cup Final.
Advertisement
And then Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy swept them fast and painfully.
Wednesday night was not like 1996. Heck, it wasn't even like 2023.
After rallying for a 5-3 victory to knock off the Carolina Hurricanes and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for a third consecutive season, the Panthers celebrated like this was Game 53 of 82 during the regular season.
They slowly skated to Sergei Bobrovsky to tap his mask. They shared a couple hugs, a few high-fives, then quickly skated to center ice for a nondescript handshake line to show respect for their 10th victim of the past three years. Coach Paul Maurice, who in the first round arranged with Toronto Maple Leafs counterpart Craig Berube to avoid the handshakes because in Maurice's opinion that should be time for the players, did the same with Rod Brind'Amour.
And after they didn't touch — for the second year in a row — the prize awarded for winning the Eastern Conference, there was no loud, triumphant music when the locker room door swung open five minutes later.
In fact, it was eerily quiet. Barely even smiles. Almost like they lost.
But, of course, they hadn't.
For a franchise that not too long ago hadn't even won a playoff round in a quarter-century, winning the Eastern Conference has become old hat for these Panthers.
It's a tradition at this point 🤭 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/O4yLPTMe15
— NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2025
They have larger aspirations, and that's to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, starting next week when the puck drops against either the Edmonton Oilers (for the second year in a row) or the Dallas Stars.
'I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,' Matthew Tkachuk said.
This time?
'It's all business, and we've got a bigger goal in mind,' Tkachuk said.
Advertisement
And that should be a terrifying thought for the Oilers, who are up 3-1 in the Western Conference final, or Stars.
The Panthers reminded everybody Wednesday night just what type of juggernaut they are.
Down 2-zip? Looking like, in Maurice's words, they didn't even deserve to make the playoffs? Playing slow? Looking low on energy? Serving up, in Maurice's words, pizzas?
No problem at all. No panic whatsoever. The Panthers, in multiple players' words, were calm between periods.
'We're comfortable in these situations,' Panthers newcomer Brad Marchand said. 'The guys in this room have been here in many different situations and been up and down. And when you've been through it before and you've gone all the way, you see the different way that momentum swings can happen throughout a game and how you can take advantage of that. We knew it would take one shot.'
And that it did.
First Tkachuk scored a power-play goal. Thirty seconds later, he took a hit to make a play and Sam Bennett set up Evan Rodrigues' tying goal — his first of the playoffs — after Maurice made one simple switch: flipping left wingers Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe by moving Rodrigues onto the Bennett-Tkachuk line and Verhaeghe onto the Aleksander Barkov-Sam Reinhart line.
THE CATS HAVE CLAWED THEIR WAY BACK 😼
Two goals in 30 seconds makes it a 2-2 game! #StanleyCup
🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/Zhhb2T9aF9
— NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2025
Four minutes after that, Marchand set up Anton Lundell for the go-ahead goal.
But even after Seth Jarvis tied the score in the third period to erupt Lenovo Center, the road-warrior Panthers once again didn't roll over.
Less than four minutes later, Barkov — whose pinch on the power play in the second led to Tkachuk's goal — powered himself behind the net, fended off Dmitry Orlov as the defenseman draped himself all over him, escaped, cut to the front of the net and served up a beauty pass for Verhaeghe, the NHL's most clutch playoff performer.
Advertisement
And in his latest ginormous moment, Verhaeghe roofed a perfect shot for his third series-clinching goal.
'I just tried to protect the puck,' Barkov said. 'Had Carter on the back door, by himself, so you want to give the puck to him in these moments.'
THE PANTHERS HAVE THE LEAD ONCE AGAIN 😱
What an insane play from Barkov to set up Verhaeghe! #StanleyCup
🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/1XuEyL2zX2
— NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2025
Seriously, what a play and pass by Barkov.
'That was nice, huh?' Rodrigues said. 'It speaks to who he is as a person. He's so even-keeled, doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low. And just when games get intense and very emotional, he's able to play his game and just do the right things over and over again, and then his talent just shines. He's just all-world, all skill, all talent, and it just comes out.'
And seriously, what a shot by Verhaeghe … yet again.
The man they call 'Swaggy' has scored 32 career playoff goals – 12 of which have been game-winners – in 86 games.
'He knows where to go on the ice to make himself dangerous every shift, and it just doesn't seem like pressure gets to him at all or the moment in the game,' Marchand said. 'And he's an incredible shooter. He's a shot-first guy. And when you have that mentality, you put more pucks to the net, the more opportunity you're gonna get. And he just buries his head and shoots it as hard as he can every time he's in that slot.'
And yet when the final buzzer sounded to send Florida to its latest championship round, nobody – not even the new guys – jumped for joy.
Nothing. It was just like a win in February.
'It's not our first rodeo with this,' Tkachuk said.
We know what we came for. pic.twitter.com/16ZbRPID1V
— x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 29, 2025
'We haven't accomplished anything yet,' Marchand added. 'You could just see the guys have been here before, and we're excited that we got through the round, but that's where it stops. The toughest team that we're going to face is coming up next. And if you don't do the job there, you didn't win anything.
Advertisement
'So, yeah, we're excited, but it's just like any other round. There's a huge job to do moving forward, and we have to prepare for that now.'
In 2023, the Panthers went to Stanley Cup Final and lost.
In 2024, the Panthers went to the Stanley Cup Final and won.
They liked that a lot better.
'There's one team that's happy at the end of this thing,' Sam Reinhart said. 'We're well aware of that. We've gone through both sides of it. You've got to enjoy this. You've got to enjoy every game, every win, every series win, but we know there's a tremendous amount of work left out there.'
(Photo of the Florida Panthers celebrating victory:)

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier earns 2nd Player of the Week award this season
Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier earns 2nd Player of the Week award this season

CBS News

time21 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier earns 2nd Player of the Week award this season

Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier has earned her second Western Conference Player of the Week award this season, adding another accolade to her MVP-level year. Collier's latest honor covers two Lynx games, during which she averaged 23 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2 steals and 1.5 blocks. She logged a double-double in each game. The 28-year-old forward was named the West's Player of the Week for the first four games of the season and Player of the Month for May. Collier leads the WNBA this season in points per game (25.5), steals per game (2.2), player efficiency rating (32.1) and win shares (2.4). Her play has the Lynx off to a 9-0 start, matching how the Lynx began their last championship season in 2017. Last season, Collier finished second in MVP voting behind the Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson. She's having another stellar season for the Aces, but if Collier continues at her current level of play, it'll be hard for voters to deny her the first MVP award of her career. Collier also made the All-WNBA First Team last year and was named Defensive Player of the Year amid the Lynx's surprising but ultimately unavailing run to the WNBA Finals. She also won a gold medal with Team USA at the Summer Olympics. Since then, she's had a productive offseason. She was named the MVP of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 basketball league she co-founded, and TIME magazine listed her among its 100 Most Influential People.

Lee Corso's final ‘College GameDay' to come at Ohio State in Week 1
Lee Corso's final ‘College GameDay' to come at Ohio State in Week 1

New York Times

time26 minutes ago

  • New York Times

Lee Corso's final ‘College GameDay' to come at Ohio State in Week 1

Lee Corso's final mascot headgear pick for 'College GameDay' will come at Ohio State, where it all began. ESPN's flagship college football show will go to Columbus, Ohio, in Week 1, where the Buckeyes will face Texas in what is expected to be a top-five matchup. ESPN said in April that the 89-year-old Corso would retire after Week 1 of the upcoming season, giving him a celebratory sendoff, but it did not name the location. There was some speculation the show could go to the Florida State-Alabama game, as Corso played at FSU in the 1950s alongside actor Burt Reynolds (and because Ohio State-Texas will be broadcast on Fox). 📍 Week 1: Columbus, OH We're kicking off College GameDay with a trip to Texas-Ohio State, as we celebrate Lee Corso's final show back where he first made headgear history! 🤩 — College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) June 10, 2025 But the show will send Corso off where the headgear picks began. While Corso has been on the show since its inception in 1987, his first mascot pick came at Ohio State in 1996 for the Buckeyes' game against Penn State. Corso has made 430 headgear picks, from Buckeyes to animals to helmets to full-on costumes. He's correctly picked 66.5 percent of those choices, according to ESPN, including a perfect 11-0 in 1999. Brutus Buckeye has been the most popular pick, chosen 45 times, with Alabama just behind at 38. 'When it was our game, I was always hoping he didn't pick us,' Nick Saban said in April, 'because I knew the players were watching and I wanted reverse rat poison.' Coach Lee Corso by the numbers 🤯 🐻 430 mascot headgear picks🏈 66.5% win rate of picks all-time🏆 Perfect season = 1999 More on LC's 38 years on @CollegeGameDay: — ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 17, 2025 'My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and 'College GameDay' for nearly 40 years,' Corso said in a news release in April. 'I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement.'

Sacramento Railyards soccer stadium plan faces key city council vote
Sacramento Railyards soccer stadium plan faces key city council vote

CBS News

time26 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Sacramento Railyards soccer stadium plan faces key city council vote

A key Sacramento city council vote deciding the future of Republic FC's new soccer stadium is set for Tuesday. Plans for Republic FC's new home, an expandable 12,000-seat facility, can't come to life without figuring out how to cover infrastructure in the area – things like roadways, pedestrian bike lanes, and traffic lights that the city estimates will to cost north of $90 million. Tuesday's vote will be to approve a special tax district that the city is looking to use to cover the cost. "I think this one is a good investment. We're not investing, subsidizing the stadium," said Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty. The Railyards development will cost an estimated $321 million at least, according to city numbers, with most of it privately funded, like Republic FC's stadium and the area around it. Developers of the project – including Indomitable Ventures, formed by Republic FC – would pay for the infrastructure costs up front, then be reimbursed through funds generated by the special tax district. "We're subsidizing the infrastructure by giving a return on property taxes that but for this project wouldn't be generated anyways," McCarty said. If approved by the council, the deal would commit the city to paying more than $90 million to the project developers in the form of future tax revenue from the soccer stadium and central shops. McCarty says construction would start this year if the plan passes. The stadium is planned to be opened by 2027.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store