How the Panthers and the Golden Knights are Handling the Stanley Cup Final Grind

SUNRISE, FLA – It's funny how professional sports work.

Athletes spend the entire months-long off-season training rigorously for the campaign ahead, sculpting their bodies into the best shape that high-performance fitness will allow. All of this is done to burst out of the gates at the start of the regular season and hit the ground running. It's why every training camp attendee tends to enter "in the best shape of my life." 

But as the season chugs along, that sterling physical condition lessens – reaching the point that, by the time the Stanley Cup final rolls around, those taking part are ultimately in something resembling the worst shape of their lives. 

Such is the case for the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights – two teams each having embarked upon the marathon called the Stanley Cup playoffs, a gauntlet that has featured gruelling travel schedules, endless bumps and bruises, and do-or-die stakes night after night. 

That kind of grind takes a toll on a person, no matter their stamina. So, when the games matter most, these teams must pull out all the stops to remain as fresh as possible. 

But it sure ain't easy. 

"It's a year-long mindset of handling your day," said Panthers coach Paul Maurice following a 'very optional' skate on the morning of Saturday's Game 4. 

"We went through a stretch of time, I'll even go back to December, where we started playing way harder. You could just tell. Between our injuries and our travel schedule, we just didn't have much left in the tank." 

That exhaustion didn't let up for the Panthers as the final stretch approached. In fact, Florida is something of an anomaly in these playoffs, given their status as the Eastern Conference's eighth seed and the fact they managed to squeak into the post-season by a single point. 

For all intents and purposes, Maurice's Panthers have been fighting for their lives for the better part of the calendar year. Even if their travel schedule outside of the first round hasn't been too daunting, thanks to the club's penchant for dispatching opponents in four or five games, the mental toll of being mired in perpetual fight-or-flight mode cannot be underestimated. 

It caused Maurice to adopt an entirely new mentality with the Panthers as they began their improbable run. Very little effort was to be spent on the past. Learn from it, and move on. So far, it's worked. 

"We didn't want to carry losses forward," said Maurice. "We didn't need to. So, if it was a practice day, it was just a practice day. We handled our day." 

That's what the Panthers did on Saturday as they prepared for the crucial night ahead. Very few players hit the ice for the morning skate at FLA Live Arena, and yet the jokes and laughter echoing out of the locker room could still be heard. That levity is crucial to the Panthers' success. And it's born out of Maurice's insistence to, as Kylo Ren told Rey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, let the past die. 

"Don't get too high and don't get too low. It's not a cliche – it's a really important way to handle it," continued Maurice.

"The intensity levels and the mood swings – I mean, going from an overtime win to a 7-2 loss, that's different ends of the spectrum. You need to be able to get to the next day. And when you're there, you're in that day. We burn way too much energy thinking about tomorrow or tonight's game. The puck doesn't drop until 8:10. There's no point in getting all wound up for morning skate." 

At the other end of the rink, the Golden Knights are adopting a similar blueprint. 

"I turned on Lord of the Rings yesterday and just marinated in my room." - Keegan Kolesar

That mental toll Maurice harps on is just as devastating as the physical one. The pace of a seven-game series can vault a team to the top of the world one day and then pull the rug out from under them the next. 

The Golden Knights find themselves grappling with that whiplash at the moment, having strode into the Sunshine State following two dominating wins that placed them on the precipice of glory, only to outplay the Panthers for the entirety of Game 3, surrender a 6-on-5 goal to force overtime, and ultimately lose. 

Now, there's a crack in their armor. And for a team whose names were being pre-emptively etched onto the Stanley Cup as recently as Thursday, purging any leftover angst over allowing their opponent back into the series is crucial. 

It's why the Golden Knights took a reset day on Friday. No practice. No skating. Just some good old-fashioned time off. 

"Obviously, it sucks in the moment. Losing any game in overtime does," said Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar on Saturday. 

"But, you know what? Now we've got another chance at it. We knew it wasn't going to be an easy route. No series we've had has been easy for us. So, we're accustomed to being in these positions of a little bit of heartbreak, you would say, and then bouncing back and playing a better game." 

Vegas defender Shea Theodore said to try not to think about the game. Until recently, he had been fighting the frustration of a personal playoffs-long goal drought. 

"We've been doing this since early October. So, if you're thinking about every single day, it can wear on you," Theodore said. "And I think we're doing a good job distracting each other, having fun, and joking around. Keeping the mood real light." 

These Golden Knights, like their Panther counterparts, are a remarkably close-knit group, spending hours together off the ice both at the facility and outside of it. But the team also recognizes the importance of alone time, of which Kolesar took clear advantage. 

"I turned on Lord of the Rings yesterday and just marinated in my room," laughed Kolesar, outlining his off-day itinerary. 

"I'll probably start The Hobbit on the next day off I get. So, you find ways to just mellow out and relax. Obviously, it's a long haul, a long stretch. And you need to find ways to compartmentalize the mental stresses that come with it." 

Kolesar credits these Lord of the Rings marathons for his own personal ability to bounce back in the face of any setback. He watches it every year, he says, and loves how the immersive world pulls him in and blocks out all external distractions. 

For Kolesar, solace is found in Middle Earth. For others, it lies elsewhere. But regardless of what form it takes, both teams know just how important the ability to re-group on a dime is in their pursuit of glory.