Florida advances to the Stanley Cup Final with 2-1 win over the Rangers
The Florida Panthers capped off a hard-fought Eastern Conference Final with a 2-1 victory on Saturday night, eliminating the New York Rangers in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season. The Panthers will hope for a different result from 12 months ago, when they ran out of gas in losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games, as they will face the winner of the Dallas Stars-Edmonton Oilers series starting next Saturday either on the road in Texas or at home against the Oilers.
The Panthers' run which saw them come back from a 3-1 deficit in a surprising first-round upset of the President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, and eliminate Toronto and Carolina to reach their first Cup Final since 1996 began with them beating out the Buffalo Sabres for the final wildcard spot last season. Since then, the paths of the two franchises have deviated, with Florida continuing the positive momentum and winning the Atlantic Division this year and the Sabres taking a step back and missing the playoffs for a 13th straight campaign.
Florida has five former Sabres and the grandson of ex-Sabres player and broadcaster Jim Lorentz on their roster, but Dmitry Kulikov has not played in Buffalo since 2017, Evan Rodrigues since 2020, and Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour since 2021. The deepest and most emotional connection lies with former team captain Kyle Okposo, who spent eight seasons in Buffalo and has a chance to cap off a 17-year NHL career with a Stanley Cup victory.
Prior to signing with the Sabres as a free agent, the furthest the 36-year-old winger advanced in the playoffs was in the second round in 2016 and as the trade deadline approached, Okposo spoke with GM Kevyn Adams about being traded to a contender, which he obliged with a deadline day deal for minor leaguer Calle Sjalin and a conditional draft pick.
Buffalo will get a 2024 fifth-round pick instead of a seventh if the Panthers win the Cup, but the Sabres organization will likely be rooting for Florida more because of the player described by Adams as an “unbelievable person”.
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