(Reuters) – The Florida Panthers hope to put the finishing touches to their storybook playoff run when they face the Vegas Golden Knights in an intriguing Stanley Cup Final matchup that gets underway on Saturday.
Every game of the best-of-seven series to determine the champions of the 2022-23 National Hockey League season will be played in the Sun Belt for the first time and feature teams who could not have started the playoffs further apart.
Vegas entered the postseason as top seed in the Western Conference while Florida squeaked into the playoffs as the final wildcard in the Eastern Conference and were not even expected to advance past the first round never mind reach the final.
The Panthers, who lost in their only other Stanley Cup Final appearance when they suffered a four-game sweep at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, remarkably beat three of the top four regular season teams to reach the championship round.
“It’s just so fun being at the rink right now,” said Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk, who leads the Panthers with 21 points in the playoffs, including four game-winning goals.
“We’ve got a few weeks left of this. We talked about it in the room, it’s going to be the best few weeks of our lives, hopefully. It’s something that we’re all really excited for.”
Florida had to win three consecutive elimination games in the first round to beat the Boston Bruins, who were coming off the best regular season in NHL history, before upsetting the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games and sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tkachuk, who brings an emotional edge and an ability to step up when it matters most, scored two overtime goals on the road against Carolina before sending Florida to the Stanley Cup Final when he netted the series-winning goal with 4.9 seconds left.
LONG LAYOFF
The Panthers have also enjoyed stellar goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky, who has got better each round since taking over the starting reins in Game Four against Boston.
The 34-year-old Russian, who won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie in 2013 and 2017, has also emerged as a prime candidate to be named Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoffs’ most valuable player should Florida win the Stanley Cup.
Vegas needed just five games to get past the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, eliminated the Edmonton Oilers in six games and ousted the Dallas Stars in six to reach their second Stanley Cup Final in only their sixth year of existence.
“We had one goal at the start of the season: get better every day and put ourselves in the opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup, and now we have that chance,” said Vegas captain Mark Stone.
The Golden Knights are led by talented forward Jack Eichel, who was the second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, while goalie Adin Hill has been rock-solid behind a strong defense since taking over the crease midway through the second round.
By the time the puck drops on Saturday, the Panthers will have had 10 days off between games, and although concerns about their ability to come out sharp after such a long layoff are legitimate, the team are not bothered.
“I mean, it’s Game One of the Stanley Cup Final, you’re gonna have some nerves and you’re gonna have some excitement,” said Panthers defenseman Marc Staal.
“We’ll prepare the right way (and) our energy level will be right. Maybe a little bit rusty in certain aspects, but we’ll be ready to play.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
