Relive Florida's April 30th playoff success: The legendary 2023 upset of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins and last season's Tampa Bay triumph.
The Florida Panthers have had some very positive experiences on April 30.
Twice over the past several years, Florida has emerged victorious during the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the final day of April.
Back in 2023 came one of the biggest and perhaps most surprising playoff wins not only in Panthers postseason history, but in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That’s because the eighth-seed Panthers, who snuck into the playoffs at the end of the regular season, took down the historically-good Boston Bruins in a seven-game shocker.
Boston not only won the Presidents’ Trophy that season, but they also finished with more wins and more points than any other team in the existence of the NHL.
Unsurprisingly, the Bruins jumped out to a 3-1 series lead on the Panthers, shipping back up to Boston after winning Games 3 and 4 in Florida by a combined score of 10-4.
A gritty overtime win in Game 5 was followed up with a comeback victory at home in Game 6, setting up the seventh game showdown at TD Garden.
The Panthers jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but by the first TV timeout of the third period, the Bruins had re-taken the lead and were trying to put the clamps down on Florida.
With goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky on the bench for an extra attacker, former Cats defenseman Brandon Montour fired a shot that snuck between the post and Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman, sending the game to sudden death overtime.
It took less than nine minutes for Florida to finish off the Bruins.
Picking up a loose puck at the side of Boston’s net, Sam Bennett found Carter Verhaeghe in the right circle, and he wired a wrist shot that zoomed past Swayman’s left ear and into the top of the net.
Ballgame. Series over.
Florida, as we all remember, went on a hell of a run that postseason, marching all the way to the Stanley Cup Final after reeling off wins in 10 of 11.
Fast forward a couple of years and we arrive at last season.
During the Cats’ 2025 run to the Stanley Cup Final, they dispatched their cross-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in a quick five-game series.
That Game 5 was played on April 30 at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Defending the first Stanley Cup victory in franchise history, the Panthers entered the 2025 postseason as the third seed in the Atlantic Division.
Florida quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead, winning the first two games in Tampa by a combined score of 8-2.
After a split in Sunrise, the Cats headed back up to Tampa with a chance to knock out the Bolts and advance to round two.
The Panthers and Lightning went toe-to-toe for first half of the game, with each putting up three goals, before Florida slowly started to take over.
A goal by Bennett moments after the Panthers finished killing off his slashing penalty gave Florida a 4-3 lead late in the second period, one they would never relinquish.
Eetu Luostarinen fourth point of the night was a goal that put the Cats up by two, and a Sam Reinhert empty-net goal sealed the deal.
Following the five-game win over Tampa Bay, the Panthers went through familiar playoff foes – the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games and the Carolina Hurricanes in five – en route to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance and second straight championship.
So yeah, April 30 has become a good day to recall some Panthers playoff success.
We’ll have to wait and see if they can add to that list in the coming years.
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Photo caption: Apr 30, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) reacts on the winning goal during overtime in game seven of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)