Fort Lauderdale — The Florida Panthers are one loss away from suffering one of the biggest collapses in sports history.
They don't seem to be worried about all that.
With a 3-0 lead over the Edmonton Oilers, the Panthers are heading into Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final with one simple mindset: Get their mojo back and focus on winning hockey games.
Just one hockey game and the ultimate prize is theirs.
“If you deal with the reasons why you're where you are, the hockey-specific details, you can't move it forward,” the coach says. Paul Maurice He spoke about his team's three straight losses after taking a 3-0 lead against the Oilers.
“I understand all of your questions, in terms of why you ask them, because there's a much larger contextual story that doesn't mean anything to me right now, but it means everything to you. That's the story you have to write, and it's that context that makes this big event so amazing.”
No one covers the Florida Panthers like FHN. End of story.
subscribe To Florida Hockey Now today!
What is the context from the outside?
The Panthers are just the third team in NHL history to reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final after leading the series 3-0.
A loss on Monday night would make them just the second team in history to completely erase a 3-0 lead, the only other having done so since the Detroit Red Wings in 1942 when they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs during World War II.
That’s not what the Panthers are worried about right now.
“To be honest, I haven't read much about it.” Brandon Montour “You never know how many times a team will come back from behind. We're just focused on this last game. The history, the media coverage. It's what it is. You know, these are the two best teams in this league. Two tough teams that play every game and it all comes down to this last game and it should be a fun one.”
But they teeth Are you staring?
Let's win Game 7 tonight and make our childhood dreams come true.
“Nobody's ever played in a backdoor rink in Canada and scored the winning goal in overtime in the third game of a qualifying round,” Maurice said. “That's the context of the game and we're going to live in that context.”
All 18 skaters who skate for the Panthers brought up the same scenario.
As the sun set on the outdoor rink near their childhood home and their mother called them for dinner, they imagined scoring the winning goal in Game 7 of the Cup final.
“I was certainly one of those kids playing alone outside or at home or literally anywhere and thinking, 'This is Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final,'” he said. Sasha Barkov “I had a lot of memories like that, and now it's going to be a reality tomorrow. It's the most exciting time to be a hockey player.”
Regardless of what happened before, it is happening now.
“Both teams have lost three games at some point in this series. It doesn't matter how you portray it.” Matthew Tkachuk “They lost their first three games and we lost the next three. It's the same situation now, it doesn't matter what happened to get us here. It's easy to forget, to forget everything that's happened this season. We're just focused on that one game at home, really.”
“It's impossible not to be excited about this game. This is just an incredible, incredible opportunity. I want to recognize and remember the positives that helped us beat them earlier in this series, but I'm going to put all of that behind me and just go into this game and try to win. That's all that matters.”
More FHN coverage of the Florida Panthers:
2024 Stanley Cup Final
Edmonton Oilers vs. Florida Panthers
Game Seven
Best of 7 series: 3-3 draw
- when: Monday, 8 p.m.
- where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
- National Television: A.B.C.
- Streaming: ESPN+/Hulu
- wireless: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- Series Schedule — Game 1: @Florida 3, Edmonton 0;Game 2:@Florida 4, Edmonton 1; Game 3: Florida 4, @Edmonton 3; Game 4: @Edmonton 8, Florida 1; Game 5: Edmonton 5, @Florida 3; Game 6: @Edmonton 5, Florida 1; Game 7: Edmonton vs. Florida, Monday
- How they got here — Florida: Tampa Bay 4-1, Boston 4-2, New York Rangers 4-2. Edmonton: Los Angeles 4-1, Vancouver 4-3, Dallas 4-2.
- This season (Florida won 2-0) — Florida: Panthers 5, Oilers 3 (Nov. 20)In Edmonton: Panthers 5, Oilers 2 (Dec. 17).
- Last season: Edmonton wins 2-0
- Regular season series so far: The Oilers lead with 23 wins, 16 losses and 0 ties.
- Postseason History: First encounter
