How the Florida Panthers became the NHL’s playoff bad boys

Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterMay 28, 2024, 07:00 AM ET

CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Like their namesake mascot, the Florida Panthers are a rare breed.

The Panthers are physical and feisty. Skilled and speedy. As likely to outscore as outhit an opponent — perhaps in the same game.

Florida can be an all-around overachiever. The team has top-tier talent — on both sides of the puck — with a killer instinct. It’s an enviable combination, one the Panthers used to separate from the pack these past 12 months. But Florida wasn’t always so self-assured.

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There were years when the Panthers were an afterthought — a warm-weather novelty. But over time, Florida rewrote the narrative and grew into a team with powerhouse potential.

But there was still something missing: those key ingredients to take the Panthers from one-and-done playoff runs to perennial Stanley Cup contenders.

It didn’t happen overnight. The changes were deliberate and calculated. And what has come out of them is the Florida bruisers we see now, entrenched in a second consecutive Eastern Conference finals bout, with an eye on making another Cup Final appearance — if they can vanquish the New York Rangers, who currently lead their best-of-seven, 2-1.

This is the first time Florida has trailed in a postseason series this spring, after vanquishing the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins in five and six games, respectively. And they had a specific rhythm in those matchups: frustrating, free-flowing and full of finesse.

Florida is annoyingly incapable of being rattled. That’s the Bad Boy Panthers at their best.

It has worked to this stage. Channeling that same energy likely is the formula to get Florida back on the right side of its battle with the Rangers.

STANLEY CUP WINNERS aren’t built in a day. Neither was this version of the Panthers.

It was late May 2022 and Florida was skating the most gut-wrenching handshake line in franchise…

Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40230752/nhl-playoffs-2024-stanley-cup-florida-panthers-bad-boys-rangers-tkachuk-bennett

Author : Kristen Shilton

Publish date : 2024-05-28 11:13:54

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