The Florida Panthers opened the NHL season on Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks, raising their second Stanley Cup banner before the game. Even without Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk for the first game, Florida is considered a favorite for the title again. The Panthers and their fans celebrated the second title once more before trying for their third.

The entire Panthers team gathered on the blue line to watch the 2025 Stanley Cup banner rise to the rafters. It joins the 2024 championship banner, along with 2023, '24, and '25 Eastern Conference Champion banners. This core, led by Barkov and Tkachuk, has put together the best stretch in franchise history. Now, they try and make history.

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The Panthers could become the first team since the 1983 New York Islanders to make the Stanley Cup Final in four consecutive years. They would also be the first NHL team to three-peat since those Islanders and the first team in North American sports to three-peat since the 2002 Los Angeles Lakers.

The Panthers were able to keep their core together in the offseason, signing Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad. They were looking to pair those free agents with their superstars, Barkov and Tkachuk. But both are injured, which will not be the case at least for the first part of the season.

The Panthers play their first three games of the season under the Stanley Cup banners. After the opening game against the Blackhawks, they host the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators. Their first matchup with two-time Cup Final foe, the Edmonton Oilers, is on November 22, which will likely not include Tkachuk.