Panthers have chance to join list of franchises with 3 straight Cup final appearances
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Only eight franchises in NHL history have reached the Stanley Cup Final in three or more consecutive seasons.
There's Montreal, Toronto and Detroit, franchises that all have three separate streaks of doing so. And five other franchises — Edmonton, the New York Islanders, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Tampa Bay — have had such a streak once.
The Florida Panthers have a chance to join that club.
The Panthers are one win away from a third consecutive trip to the title round and can get there as early as Monday night when they host the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. Florida — the defending Stanley Cup champion — leads the series 3-0.
It would be the latest accomplishment in what has been an incredible turnaround for the Panthers, who were once a moribund franchise and now are a hockey power. Florida went to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996 and didn't win another playoff series until 2022, missing the playoffs entirely 18 times in that span.
But in the last four years, Florida has more wins than any other team in the NHL — 243 and counting going into Monday night. The team won the Presidents' Trophy for finishing with the league's best regular season record in 2021-22, then hired Paul Maurice as coach going into the following season. The Panthers went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 and lost to Vegas in five games, then returned last season and beat Edmonton in seven games for the franchise's first title.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
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Newsweek
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NBA Finals Game 2 Betting Odds, Picks, Best Bets: OKC Heavy Home Favorites
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OKC had a number of other issues in Game 1, though, but those problems should be fixable for a team that has been dominant throughout the regular season and playoffs. First of all, the Thunder allowed the Pacers to grab 13 offensive rebounds on just 43 missed shots in Game 1. That includes nine OREBs by Indiana on just 23 missed FGs in the second half. On the other end, the Thunder recorded just 10 offensive rebounds on 59 missed shots The Pacers were 29th in the league in offensive rebounding rate in the regular season, so it's hard to imagine OKC losing this battle throughout the series. In Game 1, Indiana not only got big rebounding nights from bigs Myles Turner (9 boards, including 5 offensive) and Pascal Siakam (10 rebounds, including 4 offensive), but also forward Aaron Nesmith (12 rebounds) and Haliburton (10 rebounds). The turnover battle will be the bigger talking point tonight. 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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Vancouver Canucks 2025 NHL Draft Target: Braeden Cootes
The Vancouver Canucks enter the 2025 NHL Entry Draft with a pick in each round. Leading up to the draft day, we at The Hockey News will be profiling a different prospect who the Canucks could take with each of their picks. Today's prospect is Seattle Thunderbirds center Braeden Cootes, who Vancouver could select 15th overall. Latest From THN's Vancouver Canucks Site: How Former Vancouver Canuck Vasily Podkolzin Went From Scoring Droughts To The Stanley Cup Finals Advertisement Sarah Nurse, Jennifer Gardiner, And More Joining PWHL Vancouver For Inaugural 2025–26 Season The Hockey News' Vancouver Canucks Mailbag: Chytil, The 2025 Draft & More Cootes is a leader on and off the ice. Listed at 6'0", 183 lbs, the right-shot center served as not only captain of the Thunderbirds, but also wore the "C" for Canada at the 2025 U18s. There is also reported interest between the Canucks and Cootes as Vancouver did take him to dinner at this year's NHL Draft Combine. Starting in the offensive zone, Cootes excels as a play driver. While he does have a good shot, he is more known for his playmaking ability, as he can deliver crisp tape-to-tape passes to teammates in scoring positions. Cootes is also a player who is always moving, and, when he doesn't have the puck, will relocate to an open area in order to collect passes. Advertisement The transition game is always a strength for Cootes. Thanks to his strong puck-handling ability, he thrived at creating not just zone entries but also zone exits. Cootes was also able to show off his playmaking skills in the transition game, as he could find teammates who had already left the defensive zone and hit them with accurate passes in stride. Lastly, Cootes' ability in the defensive zone is one of the reasons why he will be a top pick in this year's draft. He can shut down the opposition's top players not just at even strength, but on the penalty kill as well. One of the best board battlers in the WHL this season, Cootes was able to create turnovers consistently thanks to his physical brand of defensive play. The next step in Cootes' development will be using his shot more consistently in the offensive zone. While he scored 26 goals in 60 games, he often chose to be a playmaker and would sometimes give up shooting opportunities in order to find an open teammate. If Cootes can generate shots during the regular season at the same rate he did during the U18s, it will go a long way in helping him become a top-six forward at the pro level. In the end, Cootes is exactly the type of player Vancouver needs in their prospect pool. He is a right-shot center who is hard to play against and has shown he can step up for his team on the biggest stage. If the Canucks keep their first-round pick this year, it will not be shocking if they use it to select Cootes. Braeden Cootes of the Seattle Thunderbirds (Photo Credit: Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds/WHL) Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
