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.
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.
The 2024 Stanley Cup Final is ready for the puck drop, as the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will battle in the best-of-seven series to decide who will hoist the most important trophy in hockey.
The Panthers cruised through the Eastern Conference bracket, defeating the in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in five games, the Boston Bruins in six and the New York Rangers in six to punch a ticket to their second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance and third in franchise history. Florida is led by 35-year-old goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who has allowed just 2.20 goals per contest across 17 games this postseason.
The Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five games, the Vancouver Canucks in seven and the Dallas Stars in six to make their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2006. Connor McDavid, the six-time NHL All-Star, five-time Art Ross Trophy winner and three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner, is chasing the one piece of hardware that has alluded him his entire nine-year career—Lord Stanley's Cup.
It's shaping up to be a memorable Stanley Cup Final. So, what's the ticket price to get in the door? Here's a breakdown for each game (ticket prices as of June 5):
Most expensive tickets
If you're looking to buy a ticket to Saturday’s Game 1 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., and have some cheddar to spend, look no further than the second row in Section Club 29. Tickets there are going for $8,642 apiece before fees. Otherwise, most tickets in the lower bowl will cost anywhere between $1,500 and $4,200.
Cheapest tickets
The Panthers have won just one home game in the Stanley Cup Final in the club's 30-year history. They were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in four games in 1996 and won Game 3 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights before losing the series.
If you're looking for the cheapest ticket in the door to witness a chance at history, it'll cost you at least $445 to do so. Those "cheap" seats are located in the upper deck, the 15th row in sections 326 and 310—both of which sit behind each goal.
Most expensive tickets
The Panthers will be looking to either extend their series lead to 2–0 or head to Edmonton with a split series with a win in Game 2 on Monday. The most expensive ticket into the arena June 10 is $6,638 before fees, which will land you in the first row of Section Club 3, located in the club level parallel with the net the Panthers will occupy twice in the game.
Cheapest tickets
The cheapest way to get into Amerant Bank Arena for Game 2 is, once again, $445 before fees. Those tickets will seat you in the 10th row of Section 308, which overlooks one of the nets from an angle in the upper deck.
The least expensive ticket in the lower bowl currently is going for $617—in the 27th row of Section 109.
Most expensive tickets
Both teams will take the eight-plus hour flight from South Florida to Edmonton for Game 3, which is set to begin June 13 at 8 p.m. ET at Rogers Place.
The most expensive ticket listed on Ticketmaster is currently priced at $11,595 in Canadian dollars, or $8,466 in U.S. dollars. Those seats are in the third row of Section 103, right behind the Oilers' bench. Fans sitting there will have a decent chance of being pictured on television behind an elated—or grumpy—Edmonton bench depending on how the game unfolds.
Cheapest tickets
If you thought the $445 from the first two games in Florida was too much to see the Stanley Cup Final in person, we have some bad news. The cheapest ticket for Game 3 is currently going for $1,271.36 in Canadian dollars, or $928 in U.S. dollars. Those seats are located in the eighth row of Section 208, in the upper deck behind the net that the Oilers will attack twice in the game.
Most expensive tickets
The country of Canada is currently in a 31-year drought without one of its teams bringing the Stanley Cup home. The last team to do it was the Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the Kings in five games in 1993. The Canucks (1994, 2011), Flames (2004), Oilers (2006), Senators (2007) and Canadiens (2021) all have fallen just short of hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup since then.
If the Oilers claim the first three games of the series, they can end Canada's drought and claim the Stanley Cup in Game 4 at home on June 15.
Fans in attendance will pay for the chance to witness history, too. Per Stubhub, the most expensive tickets for Game 4 are listed at $18,441 apiece in Section 127. Fans sitting there will get a great view behind the net that the Panthers will shoot at in two of the game's three periods.
Cheapest tickets
Ticket pricing is subject to change based on how the first three games of the series unfold, but as of June 5, hockey fans can buy their way into Rogers Place for $960. Those seats are in the seventh row of Section 215, located in the upper deck over the net that the Oilers will shoot at twice.
The Florida Panthers have proven a major headache for the Edmonton Oilers thus far in the Stanley Cup Final.
First, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky dominated Game 1 as Florida scored a 3-0 shutout win. Then, a big third period from center Evan Rodrigues paced the Panthers in Game 2.
Ahead of Game 3 Thursday in Edmonton, drastic measures appear to have been placed on the table. Among them: diverting Florida's team plane from Edmonton, as Canadian air traffic controllers joked about doing Wednesday.
"I've got about a two-hour hold for you, or whatever it would take that you'd be low enough on fuel that you'll have to divert from Edmonton," a controller said over the radio in audio posted by Andy Slater of WMEN-AM in Royal Palm Beach, Fla. "Mention it to your passengers, maybe they'll figure it out."
NEW: Florida Panthers pilots were jokingly told by a Canadian air traffic controller to run low on fuel so the team wouldn’t be able land in Edmonton.
Pilots from other flights join in on the conversation.
