Before the Panthers embark on their latest postseason journey, let's look back at last year's incredible playoff run
The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Saturday.
It’s a day that is celebrated by sports fans – not only hockey fans – as the start of best and most exciting postseason out there.
For the Florida Panthers, it marks the start of what they hope is another long run through the Eastern Conference and back to the Stanley Cup Final, where they came up three wins short of a championship last year.
The ending may have been tough, but the ride was pretty special.
Speaking to Panthers fans over the past year, Florida’s run last summer provided some extraordinary experiences that will not soon be forgotten.
That begin said, there’s always room for new memories.
But before we dive into a new postseason of potential, I thought it would be fun to take a quick trip down memory lane and relive some of the amazingness that was the Panthers 2023 Stanley Cup Playoff run.
Round 1: The Comeback
There weren’t many people who gave the Panthers much of a chance against the historically good Boston Bruins. That list probably got even smaller when the best regular season team in NHL history went up 3-1 on the Cats after the first four games.
And then the fun started.
Round 2: “We want Florida”
Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs were pretty jacked when their team exercised some serious demons and advanced past the first round for the first time in what felt like ages.
They also didn’t seem to want to face the Bruins, so the fans celebrating in Maple Leafs Square started chanting “We want Florida.”
Well, they got Florida…and a quick exit from the second round.
Round 3: Tkachuk Cha-ching
In what turned out to be one of the tightest, closely contested four-game sweeps perhaps in the history of sweeps, Florida was able to advance to the Stanley Cup Final thanks to some incredibly clutch play by their superstar, Matthew Tkachuk.
He scored the overtime winning goals in Game 1 and Game 2, and then the series clinching goal with 4.9 seconds on the clock in Game 4.
Round 4: Close but no cigar
All good things must come to an end, right? Florida’s storybook run to the Stanley Cup Final didn’t come with a fairytale ending. The Panthers ran into a formidable Vegas team and the injuries were piling up for Florida.
They did get a comeback, overtime win on home ice in Game 3 that was a special experience for many.
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