Florida understands there is work to be done after reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year

A year can make quite a difference.

Last season, the Florida Panthers shocked the hockey world by marching through a gauntlet of Eastern Conference opponents as an eight seed to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

When they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final to complete an improbable sweep, the mood inside Florida’s home arena was one of complete jubilation.

It helped that Matthew Tkachuk scored the series-clinching goal with four seconds left in Game 4.

That night was bonkers.

Walking around inside and outside the Panthers locker room after the win, it felt like a Stanley Cup-winning celebration.

Players were walking around with their brand new Conference Champions swag, owners and front office members were there, people were carrying around the Prince of Wales trophy and taking selfies with it.

They were truly soaking in every moment.

This time around, when the Panthers clinched the conference title against the New York Rangers on Saturday night in Sunrise, the vibe was not quite the same.

You can chalk it up to another year of familiarity and understanding of the playoffs, a longer conference final this time around or the lack of an unbelievable last-second series-clinching goal, but compared to last year, the Panthers didn’t seem to feel the need to celebrate as much or as hard.

“Last year after we finished the Carolina series, pandemonium is not the right word, but the energy level postgame was slightly subdued this year relative to that,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “It was lots of happy people, but maybe we've got a little more experience now. And I feel that way. Even on the bench, it wasn't it wasn't insanity when the buzzer went.”

It calls back to the story of the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

The year before the Dolphins pulled off their perfect season, they also went to the Super Bowl.

But in ’71, the players were so enthralled with getting to the Super Bowl, they didn’t prepare the way they should have for playing in the Super Bowl.

When they returned to the Super Bowl the following January, they were beyond ready. They dominated.

We’ll see if the Panthers story comes to a similar end.

“I just think it was kind of a journey to get to that point last year,” said Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk. “We barely made playoffs and then a month and a half later we're winning the East, so maybe it could have been more of like a celebration, whereas this year It's more of just businesslike approach; be happy but know there's still some work to be done.”

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