Carolina Hurricanes v Florida Panthers - Game Four

Enough is enough: the Florida Panthers are clear Stanley Cup favorites amidst an incredible journey

Modified May 25, 2023 13:46 GMT

The Florida Panthers are in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Let that sink in for a moment!

After overcoming the record-setting Boston Bruins in seven, the motivated Toronto Maple Leafs in five, and sweeping one of initial favorites in the Hurricanes, the men from Florida are just four wins away from their second-ever Stanley Cup championship.

The Florida Panthers are the clear Stanley Cup favorites amidst an incredible journey

Let's take a moment to reflect on the Panthers' incredible journey.

With a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season, Florida sat on the outside, looking in. They were a long shot to make the postseason in the Eastern Conference.

But then, in came Alex Lyon.

The 30-year-old netminder completely turned the Panthers' momentum around. In the final weeks, Lyon won six straight starts. In those games, he recorded a .951 save percentage, including one shutout which allowed Florda to draw closer to the playoff line.

But in the end, it wasn't Florida that had the final say in their playoff hopes. The service was provided by Pittsburgh Penguins.

Pittsburgh controlled their own destiny for the postseason. If they could handle their business and win the final few games, they were in and would keep the longest active playoff streak alive, spanning 16 years.

But that wouldn't be like the NHL!

Instead, Pittsburgh fell to the cellar-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks on home ice.

Chicago had lost 13 of their last 14, were considered to be "tanking" for a better chance at drafting Connor Bedard, and were playing on the second night of a back-to-back after a home loss to Minnesota. Chicago dominated Pittsburgh 5-2 and the door flew wide open for Florida.

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Then, to make things even simpler for the Panthers, Pittsburgh dropped their final regular-season game to the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of only two teams with a worse record than the Blackhawks.

So Florida had just barely made it in. But what did it matter? Certainly, they had no chance against the Boston Bruins superteam, right?

Since falling behind 3-1 in that first-round series, the Panthers have been by far the best playoff team. They proved that again by sweeping a very strong Carolina Hurricanes team that had just knocked off the New Jersey Devils in only five games. And it didn't hurt that Sergei Bobrovsky was playing out of his mind.

Now they sit and wait for their Stanley Cup Final opponent. But no matter who comes out of the West, Florida Panthers are now the clear favorite to raise the greatest trophy in the sport. There is no debating that!