The Edmonton Oilers punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. Awaiting them on the NHL's biggest stage is the Florida Panthers, who also represented the Eastern Conference last year.
Does the Panthers' Stanley Cup Final experience give them an edge over the Oilers? Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch doesn't believe it does.
"Experience is good. I don't know how much experience is beneficial," Knoblauch said. "You'd have to ask the Buffalo Bills how important Super Bowl experience is."
Knoblauch is referencing the Bills' infamous run in the early 1990s. Buffalo made four straight Super Bowls from 1991 to '94 but lost all of them. Although the Bills went 49–15 in the regular season over that span, every campaign ended in the same fashion—a loss in the big game to an NFC East team in the New York Giants, Washington and the Dallas Cowboys (twice).
The Panthers have made five straight playoff appearances and advanced to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, only to fall in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Florida will be chasing its first Stanley Cup in franchise history this summer while the Oilers attempt to end Canada's 31-year drought without a title.
"I think the biggest thing is just having confidence to play," Knoblauch said. "When our guys are playing our best, they should have a lot of confidence."
The puck is scheduled to drop in Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette had his in-game interview with ESPN's Emily Kaplan upstaged by a shirtless Florida Panthers fan during his team's season-ending, 2–1 loss to Florida at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday night.
While there likely weren't many things making him laugh on Saturday night, Laviolette couldn't help but chuckle as the young Panthers fan flexed his biceps in the background, making it nearly impossible for any viewers to focus on the interview.
"How about this guy behind us?" Laviolette said with a laugh.
"He likes the interview more than you do," Kaplan, perfectly playing off of the situation, replied.
Here's the funny moment, courtesy of Bleacher Report's account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The shirtless kid behind the Rangers bench is back, and Lavi chirped him on TV 😂 pic.twitter.com/619OkgZLhN
Laviolette proceeded to conduct the interview, as the young Panthers fan continued to go full muscleman in the background.
Then, after the interview was finished, the Rangers coach bumped the glass in front of the young fan before walking back to the bench.
Unfortunately for Laviolette, the flexing fan was the one who went home happy, as the Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, where they will await the winner of the Dallas Stars-Edmonton Oilers conference finals series, which Edmonton currently leads 3-2.
In the NHL, as in other sports, trophies are awarded for conference titles—much in the way that hardware is given to the AFC and NFC champions, American League and National League champions, and so on.
However, only hockey's conference trophies have elaborate lore surrounding what you can do and not do with them.
Superstition generally holds that you should touch neither the Eastern Conference's Prince of Wales Trophy nor Western Conference's Clarence Campbell Bowl, instead saving your adulation for the Stanley Cup. However, the Florida Panthers bucked that tradition in 2023, embracing the Prince of Wales Trophy after their Eastern Conference title.
With a loss in the 2023 Stanley Cup finals to the Vegas Golden Knights fresh in mind, Florida made no such mistake after its 2–1 clinching win over the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday.
They aren't superstitious, but they are a little stitious... 🤷♂️
A video posted by the NHL showed the Panthers handling the trophy after beating the Carolina Hurricanes in '23—and then avoiding it like the plague in 2024.
Whether this hands-off approach will benefit Florida going forward remains to be seen.
For the fifth straight year, the Stanley Cup finals will have a Floridian flavor.
The Florida Panthers downed the New York Rangers 2–1 Saturday evening in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to win the series. With the victory, the Panthers won their third conference championship and second in as many years.
Previous Florida trips to the Stanley Cup finals include 1996, when the third-year franchise was swept by the Colorado Avalanche, and 2023, when the team lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
To best the Rangers Saturday, the Panthers overcame a Herculean effort from New York goalie Igor Shesterkin. Center Sam Bennett staked Florida to a 1–0 lead at 19:10 of the first period, and right wing Vladimir Tarasenko added a second nine minutes into the third.
The Rangers opened their account with left wing Artemi Panarin's goal at 18:20 of the third period, but it was too little too late for New York's best team by points percentage since 1972.
The Panthers will meet either the Dallas Stars or Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals; the Oilers lead their series three games to two with Game 6 scheduled for Sunday evening.
As a franchise nearly seven decades older than their Eastern Conference finals opponents, the New York Rangers have more than their fair share of ghosts to call forth at any given time.
On Saturday night, they did just that ahead of a must-win Game 6 against the Florida Panthers.
Before the Rangers and Panthers' showdown, ABC's cameras found a young rinkside fan at Amerant Bank Arena holding up a copy of The New York Post. It wasn't just any copy, however—it was a perfectly preserved copy from May 25, 1994.
"We'll win tonight," reads the headline, paraphrasing New York forward Mark Messier's famous guarantee before the Rangers' Eastern Conference finals-tying 4–2 win over the New Jersey Devils.
THIS RANGERS FAN HELD UP AN ORIGINAL COPY OF "THE GUARANTEE" HEADLINE FROM 1994 😱🔥 pic.twitter.com/c5SllDT3j6
Amidst a drama-filled postseason, the 2023-24 NHL campaign is nearing an end. A new champion will be crowned in the upcoming 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Final.
The format of the Stanley Cup Final is simple—a best-of-seven series just like the first three rounds of the playoffs. The team with home-ice advantage (awarded based on which team had the better regular-season record) hosts Game 1, Game 2, Game 5 (if necessary) and Game 7. The other team hosts Games 3, 4 and 6.
The Rangers would have home-ice advantage if they advance past the Eastern Conference Final since they finished with the most points (114) in the regular-season standings. The Stars (113 points) would have home-ice advantage if the Panthers (110 points) won the East, and Florida can only have the advantage if the Oilers (104 points) beat Dallas.
Without further ado, here's everything you need to know about tuning in to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final:
The best-of-seven series to crown the 2023-24 NHL champion will begin with Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final on Saturday, June 8.
Every game will be televised exclusively on ABC in the United States. In Canada, the games will be aired on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports.
GAME
DATE
TIME
CHANNEL
Game 1
Saturday, June 8
8 p.m. ET
ABC
Game 2
Monday, June 10
8 p.m. ET
ABC
Game 3
Thursday, June 13
8 p.m. ET
ABC
Game 4
Saturday, June 15
8 p.m. ET
ABC
Game 5 (if necessary)
Tuesday, June 18
8 p.m. ET
ABC
Game 6 (if necessary)
Friday, June 21
8 p.m. ET
ABC
Game 7 (if necessary)
Monday, June 24
8 p.m. ET
ABC
Every game of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final will be available for fans in the United States to stream on ESPN+ and the ABC app. Both will require a TV provider login.
Streaming options that don’t require cable include FuboTV, DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV. For fans not looking to spend exorbitant amounts on a streaming service, FuboTV offers a free one-week trial to new subscribers.
The Florida Panthers are once again making a deep run in the NHL playoffs in 2024, continuing the franchise's chase for its first Stanley Cup title.
Florida was established as an NHL expansion franchise in 1993 and made its first playoff appearance in '96. Over 30 seasons, the Panthers have made 10 playoff appearances—including their current streak of five straight seasons—and have won nine postseason series as they battle the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Panthers advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in two of those 10 playoff appearances in 1996 and 2023, coming up just short of hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup both times. Here's a look back at the Panthers' two runs to the Stanley Cup Final:
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Avalanche 3, Panthers 1
Game 2
Avalanche 8, Panthers 1
Game 3
Avalanche 3, Panthers 2
Game 4
Avalanche 1, Panthers 0
The 1995–96 Panthers made the most of their first playoff appearance in franchise history, defeating the Boston Bruins in five games, the Philadelphia Flyers in six and the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven for a chance to play on hockey's biggest stage.
The 1996 Stanley Cup Final featured a matchup between two franchises attempting to win their first league title, as the Colorado Avalanche battled through the Western Conference bracket. The 1995–96 campaign was the Avalanche's first in Colorado, as the franchise formerly known as the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver after the 1994–95 season.
The series was all Colorado from the start. Goaltender Patrick Roy stopped 147 of the 151 shots he faced, and Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic tallied five points apiece as the Avalanche swept Florida in four games.
The Panthers wouldn't make another appearance in the Stanley Cup Final until nearly 30 years later in 2023.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Golden Knights 5, Panthers 2
Game 2
Golden Knights 7, Panthers 2
Game 3
Panthers 3, Golden Knights 2 (OT)
Game 4
Golden Knights 3, Panthers 2
Game 5
Golden Knights 9, Panthers 3
The Panthers' run through the 2023 playoffs was quite a roller coaster. As the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, Florida found itself trailing the Boston Bruins 3–1 in the opening round but battled back to win the last three games of the series 4–3, 7–5 and 4–3 to advance. Florida defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games and swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
Florida's momentum stopped against Vegas, however. Golden Knights forward Mark Stone scored a series-high five goals and Jonathan Marchessault won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP after tallying eight points (four goals, four assists) in the Stanley Cup Final.
After making the playoffs for three straight years from 2019 to '22 and winning the Presidents' Trophy in the 2021–22 campaign, the Panthers reconstructed their roster and traded top scorer Jonathan Huberdeau and three other assets to the Ottawa Senators for Matthew Tkachuk. The gamble paid off, as Tkachuk led them back to the Stanley Cup Final, but a championship still proved to be illusive for the franchise that calls Sunrise, Fla., home.
Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo and his wife Mayson welcomed their second child on Monday morning in Boston.
Carlo, who was present for the birth of his first son, named Crew, flew into Miami on Monday afternoon and arrived at the arena just hours before the Bruins were set to take on the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Carlo was instrumental in Boston's 5-1 Game 1 victory, scoring the team's third goal of the night to add some insurance in the second period.
Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo arrived late to the arena after welcoming his newborn son earlier this morning.
Carlo admitted to the media after the game that there was no guarantee that he was going to make it to the arena in time to suit up and play on Monday night.
"Yeah, we sped it up as fast as we could," Carlo said. "We were flipping her around, putting her upside down - whatever we could do to get that baby out of there."
Not only did Carlo make it in time, but he made quite the impact as the Bruins took the first game in the series and stole home ice away from the Panthers. Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman, who has had quite the postseason himself so far, said that Carlo's goal will go down as one of the most memorable moments of the playoffs for Boston.
"I don't celebrate often but I raised my hands with that one," Swayman said. "It's so incredible what he did today. Just the attitude he brought, he was so excited. I couldn't imagine what that's like, leaving your little one and your wife at home right after. And Mayson is a big part of this team too because of that, and allowing him to come and be here and supporting him and it's probably one of the most memorable moments I'll have with this playoff run, no doubt about it."
Game 2 between the Bruins and Panthers is set for Wednesday night, and Carlo is sure to be a big part of it once again.
Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper apologized Wednesday for comments he made Monday after the Lightning's playoff elimination that were widely condemned as misogynistic.
"I made an inappropriate analogy about goalies and skirts," Cooper told reporters. "You know, it’s one of those moments if you could just reach back and grab the words back, I would have."
Tampa Bay lost 6-1 to the Florida Panthers Monday in Game 5 of their first round series. After the contest, an irate Cooper questioned two goalie interference calls by suggesting "we might as well put skirts on (goalies) then, if that’s how it’s gonna be."
Cooper said he had to explain himself to his twin daughters after his comments.
Jon Cooper opened his press conference by apologizing for his goalies wearing skirts comments. “Quite frankly, it was wrong.” Said it has pained him more than the series loss. Especially with daughters at home. Wishes he could go back in time and take it back. pic.twitter.com/4iDgrpRhY9
"I have girls that play sports," Cooper said. "Quite frankly, it was wrong. I had to go explain myself to my girls... it’s pained me more than the actual series loss itself."
In 12 years with the Lightning, Cooper has won two Stanley Cups and four Eastern Conference titles.
