1 week ago
6
The champion squad successful hockey, again, was a squad that did things wholly its ain way.
The Florida Panthers went to Finland aboriginal successful the play and wore their gifts from that travel — plush robes, a motion to the sauna civilization there — to the adjacent fewer games alternatively of suits and didn't attraction however ridiculous that looked. They blared Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” successful the locker country aft wins for reasons that cipher afloat understood. They not lone welcomed a one-time hated rival successful Brad Marchand into the fold from Boston astatine the commercialized deadline, but they became Blizzard-eating buddies with him connected disconnected days during the playoffs.
“This team,” guardant Matthew Tkachuk said astatine 1 constituent this season, shaking his head, “is special.”
“Different,” was the connection guardant Evan Rodrigues used.
“They are thing else,” coach Paul Maurice said.
Call them immoderate you want. But you person to telephone them back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, an perfectly absurd improvement for a franchise that spent astir of its archetypal 3 decades incapable to triumph thing but present simply cannot lose.
Final score: Panthers 5, Edmonton 1. Final people of the series: Panthers 4, Oilers 2. The result: Another Cup, and a squad that won't beryllium forgotten.
“It’s incredible. It’s a feeling you can’t truly describe,” Marchand said. “Seeing the household and everyone up determination and everyone that supported maine and helped maine get to this point, words can’t enactment this into world however large it feels. Such an unthinkable group.”
South Florida was a shot municipality erstwhile the Miami Dolphins reigned 50 years ago, past became a hoops municipality erstwhile the Miami Heat started winning championships, and it’s ever been a shot municipality due to the fact that of the area’s beardown Latino culture. But now, it’s a hockey town.
The Panthers ne'er had immoderate uncertainty that they would repetition arsenic Stanley Cup champions. They didn’t attraction what the regular play results were, nor did they attraction astir their seeding, nor did they attraction that they were going to person to commencement each playoff bid connected the roadworthy and astir apt had the astir hard of each imaginable paths: in-state rival Tampa Bay successful Round 1, a now-or-never Toronto squad successful Round 2, a tough-as-nails Carolina squad for the Eastern Conference title, and aft each that, Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers were waiting to avenge their nonaccomplishment successful past year’s Stanley Cup Final.
The Lightning were overmatched. The Maple Leafs wore down. The Hurricanes couldn’t support up. And the Oilers, aft a twelvemonth of studying, had adjacent less answers for the large test.
“We’ve got to beryllium a dynasty now,” Tkachuk said. “It’s 3 years successful a row, finals, 2 championships. This squad is truthful special. Stanley Cup champion. This ne'er gets old.”
Everything changed for Florida successful July 2022 erstwhile wide manager Bill Zito shocked everybody by swinging a commercialized with Calgary for Tkachuk. They went to the last successful 2023 and got rolled by Vegas. Back to the last they went successful 2024, astir blowing a 3-0 pb earlier beating Edmonton for the franchise's archetypal title. This season, determination were injuries and suspensions and trades to woody with.
But determination was nary doubt. Maurice said each that mattered was getting into the playoffs healthy. He was right.
Tkachuk came backmost contempt a torn adductor successful clip for Game 1 of the playoffs. Aaron Ekblad was backmost from a 20-game suspension for taking a banned substance successful clip for Game 3 of Round 1. The Panthers kept getting stronger and stronger, each the mode to the end.
They person a subordinate successful skipper Aleksander Barkov who seldom says anything, conscionable leads by example. They person a goalie successful Sergei Bobrovsky who ne'er takes recognition for wins, and whose galore quirks see not getting immoderate haircuts during the season. They person a manager successful Maurice whose claims to fame see overzealous java depletion and copious swearing. They did not attraction who got the recognition for anything, due to the fact that it was a squad built for conscionable 1 happening — winning the Cup, thing that required everyone connected the roster to bash thing large astatine the close time.
That's precisely what happened. And erstwhile the Cup was awarded to Barkov, who accepted it arsenic captain, helium didn't manus it to Marchand oregon Tkachuk oregon Bobrovsky oregon playoffs MVP Sam Bennett.
He handed it to Nate Schmidt, due to the fact that Schmidt — who paid for each those Blizzards, by the mode — hadn't won a Cup before. And Schmidt handed it to different first-timer, Seth Jones, different late-season commercialized addition. And truthful on, and truthful on, and truthful on. The past on-ice enactment of the play was the epitome of what benignant of squad it was. Backup goalie Vitek Vanecek got to hoist it earlier astir of the regulars; Vanecek, it should beryllium noted, didn't play 1 2nd successful these playoffs, and the Panthers could not person cared less. He was portion of it. He earned his thigh with the Cup.
“These men conscionable emotion 1 another,” Maurice said. “That's the lone mode to explicate it.”
There's a parade successful a fewer days, and past escaped bureau is coming. Bennett could beryllium moving on. Marchand mightiness not stay. Ekblad's aboriginal is the root of speculation. The wage headdress is the wage headdress and everybody can't beryllium kept. But it sounds similar Florida volition effort to support arsenic overmuch of this squad unneurotic arsenic possible.
“We're going to bask this together,” Bobrovsky said. “And then, we'll spell backmost to work.”
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
English (US) ·