At 23, Panthers' Anton Lundell knows his playoff success isn't typical

New York Times

13 hours ago

​FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Anton Lundell knows how fortunate he is, considering how many good, young Florida Panthers of yesteryear didn't get a sniff of the playoffs. Let alone go on playoff runs.
Olli Jokinen, Stephen Weiss and Jay Bouwmeester played seven postseason games with the Panthers. At least Jonathan Huberdeau was part of Florida's first playoff round win in 25 years before he was traded to Calgary in 2022.
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But Saturday night, when the Panthers play Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton, Lundell is scheduled to play his 76th playoff game. And he's just 23.
In Lundell's four seasons, the Panthers have made the playoffs every year and have been to three Stanley Cup Finals in a row, winning one last year. He's won 11 playoff rounds — or seven more than the Minnesota Wild have won in their 24 seasons.
Just consider that it took Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov nine years to win a playoff round and Aaron Ekblad eight.
'I know it's not normal,' Lundell said. 'You try to kind of soak in everything around here. But at the end of the day, it's hockey. That's what I love to do, and that's what we're here to do.'
Reminder: Anton Lundell is just the 4th player in NHL history to skate in 75 playoff games before turning 24. pic.twitter.com/rEWCufeBpz
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) June 13, 2025
In Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Oilers in Game 4, Lundell scored his sixth goal of the playoffs, doubling last year's total. And, frankly, while he may be centering the Panthers' third line with Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen, a case can be made that the Lundell line has been Florida's best during Lundell's attempt to win another championship.
'They've been unbelievable all year, and even in the past, and I think a lot of the times, they really didn't get the appreciation that they deserve, how hard they play and how skilled they are,' said Panthers veteran Carter Verhaeghe. 'It's really kind of gone under the radar. They definitely could be top-six on any given team, and I think playing with Marchand has really been great. That line has been probably our best line throughout the playoffs, so they can defend. They're so good defensively and, obviously, have a really good offensive touch that I think is really underappreciated. They're one of the big reasons why we're here.'
Lundell, known as 'Baby Barkov' because of how his foundation is so similar to that of his mentor and countryman on Florida's top line, has continued to improve due to the playoff experience he continues to accumulate.
'He plays well above his games played status, or his age status,' defenseman Seth Jones said. 'He's a super smart player, playing unbelievable hockey for us right now, even garnering some of the harder matchups on that line.'
Coach Paul Maurice has talked often about how Lundell's defensive acumen has always been there (career plus-70). But the Panthers felt there had been untapped offensive potential after an 18-goal, 44-point rookie year as a 20-year-old. He's had 12, 13 and 17 goals since and just hit the 45-point mark this year. Maurice feels that Marchand's arrival late in the season has done wonders for Lundell and Luostarinen by almost forcing them to think more offensively.
Lundell has assisted on three of Marchand's goals in the series, including his two breakaway goals in Game 2 and his goal in the opening minute of Game 3.
THAT WAS QUICK!! 👀 pic.twitter.com/OUUxV3pHe8
— x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 10, 2025
Maurice also credits GM Bill Zito for seeing it all along.
'Before I came for the first training camp, he said, 'Wait until you see this kid. He's going to be great. It just takes some patience to let him develop his game,'' Maurice said. 'Anton Lundell is a Bill Zito draft (pick), and he was his champion for the last 2 1/2 years, and he was right.'
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The Panthers didn't practice Friday after surrendering a 3-0 lead the night before and losing a chance to take a 3-1 series lead as the Oilers stormed back. They instead met at the Fort Lauderdale airport for another long flight to Edmonton.
Players echoed what was said Thursday night and felt they'll be able to turn the page on such a disappointing defeat.
'I think our mindset is always playing for that Game 7,' defenseman Gustav Forsling said. 'But that's always our mindset, so we're calm and confident, and if we play our game, we know we're going to win most games.
'We obviously didn't like our second period. They took some momentum and really capitalized on it. That's hockey, though. It's big swings, but we did a good job coming back and took it to overtime.'
It was the second time in the series that the Panthers gave away a multiple-goal lead to the Oilers in a loss.
Asked if there was anything common between the two, Maurice said, 'No.'
He doesn't feel the Panthers are sitting back: 'We're not sitting on it for 40 minutes thinking that we're going to go. I think that the team that's behind's risk profile changes a little bit. You get four up the ice quite a bit more. You're down the wall quite a bit more. You're not as worried about the result of a bad play because you need one. (That's what) changes.'
Maurice said he didn't expect to make any lineup changes for Game 5.
Since 2023, the Florida Panthers are 6-1 when playing in a Game 5 on the road.
The only game they lost?
The Vegas Golden Knights Cup-Clinching game in 2023.
They have won four straight Game 5's on the road.
The Oilers have played one home Game 5 in the past two years,…
— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) June 13, 2025
Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed 14 goals in four starts in the series. Stuart Skinner has allowed 16 and has been pulled in two straight games — and will likely find himself as the backup to Calvin Pickard in Game 5. Pickard improved to 7-0 by winning in relief Thursday night.
Yet, Maurice has gone out of his way to praise the goaltending on both teams, saying after Thursday's game, 'From my point of view, there's been phenomenal goaltending in this series. The numbers say I'm lying, the final score says I'm lying, but the goaltending's been incredible.'
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He continued that theme before the Panthers' flight Friday.
'Sergei made some big saves last night. So did Skinner in the games, and sometimes it changes,' Maurice said. 'The goaltending has been right on. And I don't think you look at a regular season when it's a 5-4 game, you're not very happy. I don't think anybody's cheating the game out there, right? There's nobody being lazy on the back check. They're just two really powerful offensive teams.
'I don't do the analytics on the goaltending. It's all chances for and against. And then the 'A' chances off one of the reports last night are really high. It's in the teens from both teams, about even, but really high. So a little bit more deep. I guess defending is the key to the next one.'