Florida Panthers Continue To Play with a Championship Mindset

After defeating the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 5-3 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, the celebration was muted. There was not a big celebration by the Florida Panthers. Instead, there were some hugs and high-fives. It was more of a celebration, you see, earlier in the season than something you see when a team advances to the Stanley Cup Final.

However, that is what champions do, because they know the job is not yet finished. That is all the Panthers players talked about after the game. While they were happy to be back in the Stanley Cup Final once again, the players know the ultimate goal is winning the Stanley Cup, not the Prince of Wales Trophy. Winning that trophy is part of the journey, but the Panthers are not satisfied.

“We’re extremely excited to be going to the finals, but the job is not done, and it just kind of feels like we ended any other series, and there’s still a huge job to do,” Brad Marchand told Jackie Redmond on NHL on TNT. “So we’re looking ahead, but definitely excited about the opportunity and trying to take this moment in for sure.” 

As Full Press Hockey documented over in the Western Conference Final, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid has that Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant mindset in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where it is all business all the time. You can’t be satisfied until the job is finished. And the job is not yet completed because the Panthers know how hard it will be to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. The final four wins are the toughest.

Having that championship mindset means they carry it with them all the time, which means you expect to be in this position every season. These players will celebrate these little victories, but it is on the next round. Again, the Florida Panthers are only three quarters of the way to what they want to accomplish. It takes four wins four times (16 wins) to get your name on the Stanley Cup.

“The bigger picture has changed maybe a little bit for our team the first time,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said post-game. “Then you fight to get to the final it’s just such a big deal. And then when you do it a couple of times, you understand that you’re three-quarters of the way through, and there’s lots more that has to happen.”

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While the players will enjoy the journey to get back to the final, the belief in the room is that the Stanley Cup is the one you want to touch.

“Yeah, I didn’t even think about it. I mean, yeah, just reacted how I reacted,” Matthew Tkachuk said post-game. “I mean, I think it was different than a few years ago. I remember a few years ago, like it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at the end of the regular season, and then barely squeaking in, and then just three crazy rounds on the way to winning it like it was a huge accomplishment for us. Last year was part of the journey, and this year it is as well. And just kind of just all business for us. We were here for one reason. we know we know what we know what we’re capable of, and we’re not going to celebrate until we get that.”

And if you look at the game too, champions all find a way to win, even when it looks like they are down and out. Florida went down 2-0 after the first period in Game 5 against the Hurricanes. However, they did not panic. The Panthers maintained their momentum and were rewarded with three goals in 4 minutes and 26 seconds to take a 3-2 lead, including two goals in just 30 seconds.

“Obviously, experience helps, like, we know what it takes,” Aleksander Barkov told Sportsnet following the game. “Like, we know how hard you need to work. So I think today, obviously we knew they’re going to come out hard, so we somehow kept the game 2-0 for them. And then we had a huge second period and took over.”

However, having gone through the battles over the last couple of seasons, there was a belief from the playoffs that they could fight back in any game. Just look at the previous series, down 2-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, before winning the series in seven games. That is the heart of a champion and the mindset needed.

Not to mention, Carolina ties the game at 3-3 on a goal by Seth Jarvis. But instead of playing for overtime, the Panthers showed what they are made up of. Aleksander Barkov has a shift for the ages getting it over to Mr. Playoff himself, Carter Verhaeghe, to make it 4-3, which turned out to be his third series-clinching goal. Sam Bennett put the final tally on the board with an empty-netter to make it 5-3.

The good teams know sometimes their best might not be good enough on a given night, but they find a way to win a hockey game. But the true champions know that no matter what the score is or the position they are in, they will always come back and prevail.

While the Panthers will enjoy winning the Eastern Conference crown for the third consecutive season, they will return to work as they prepare for their next opponent. Great teams are always scouting and preparing for the next challenge ahead.

That is what the Florida Panthers are showing during this run to the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. Their next goal is to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. That is a challenge that will not be easy, no matter who the opponent is.

Once again, there is a reason why the Panthers are the standard on how to play hockey in the NHL.