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The Florida Panthers will advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row. Florida beat the New York Rangers in Game 6 with a score of 2-1 and officially earned the Prince of Wales Trophy. Last year, the Florida Panthers touched the Prince of Wales Trophy after securing their spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. This year, they did not.
The Panthers are superstitious that touching the trophy last season ensured their defeat. Florida lost the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals 4-1 against the Las Vegas Golden Knights in a series where it felt like they had no hope. They want to avoid the same outcome this year. The Stanley Cup is the only one they want to touch.
“We touched it last year and it didn't work for us,” Sam Bennett said of ignoring the trophy, the one presented to the Eastern Conference champions. “So, we thought we'd try something different this year.”
Last year, Panthers grabbed it. This year, no chance https://t.co/CT8WnQXogx
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 2, 2024
Sasha Barkov understood the assignment. He didn't go near the trophy.
“I'm not touching it this year,” Barkov told Sportsnet reporter Shawn McKenzie about the Prince of Wales Trophy.
The Florida fanbase seems to be on the same wavelength as the team. Winning a championship is the only goal this season.
“Last year after we finished the Carolina series, pandemonium’s not the right word, but the energy level postgame was through the roof,” coach Paul Maurice said. “Slightly subdued this year relative to that. Lots of happy people, but maybe we’ve got a little more experience now. And I feel like even on the bench it wasn’t insanity when the buzzer went.”
Recapping Game 6 of NHL Eastern Conference Finals: Rangers fall to Panthers 2-1
The Rangers did not go away quietly, but the Panthers were able to get the job done in a narrow 2-1 victory.
Florida took a 2-0 lead midway through the third period after a Tarasenko goal. The Rangers pulled their goalie and scored 44 seconds later, but could not secure a second goal to force overtime.
“It is hard to play, but we like to think it is harder to play against. It takes a lot of buy-in, a lot of hard work,” Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk said during his postgame interview with ESPN. “We have worked so hard since training camp and practices. We are really happy to be back. It is special for us to be back in this position after such a tough loss last year.
“I remember going around in the locker room after the loss in Game 5 [to the Golden Knights], going on and telling everyone that we will be back. Well, we are back right now. We are really excited.”
The Panthers remember what it felt like to lose last year and sound singularly focused on winning it all this time.
“Listen, our guys fought this year,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “They bought in right from the start. It's disappointing; when you start something like this you don't do it to get three wins in the playoffs or five wins in the playoffs. You do it to go the whole way.”
The Rangers fought well throughout the series, but their season is now over.
“We were right there,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “We just came up short.”
Florida will take on the winner of the Dallas and Edmonton's series for a shot at becoming Stanley Cup Champions.
