FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:
BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT
- F Patric Hornqvist | Games Missed: 17
- F Eetu Luostarinen | Games Missed: 2
Total Playoff Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 29
Total Regular Season Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 239
LAST GAME
Panthers 2, Golden Knights 5 – June 3 – T-Mobile Arena
FLA Goals: E. Staal (2-SHG), Duclair (4)
VGK Goals: Marchessault (10-PPG), Theodore (1), Whitecloud (2), Stone (7), Smith (3-PPG)
FLA Goalie: Bobrovsky (L) – 29 Saves
VGK Goalie: Hill (W) – 33 Saves
FLA Shots: 35
VGK Shots: 34
Notes: Eric Staal skated in his 100th NHL postseason game and scored the first road shorthanded goal in Panthers postseason history…Staal’s SHG marked the fourth in club postseason history and second in the 2023 Playoffs (Gustav Forsling, Game 3 vs. BOS)…Staal’s goal marked his second point in as many games (1-1-2), and his third career Stanley Cup Final goal…Per NHL stats, the goal was his first in the Stanley Cup Final in 17 years – the longest span between goals in the Final in NHL history, besting Mark Recchi (15 years from Game 5 in 1991 to Game 2 in 2006)…Anthony Duclair scored his first career Stanley Cup Final goal, his second tally in as many games (2-0-2)…Anton Lundell notched an assist on Staal’s goal…Aleksander Barkov led Florida with six hits…The Panthers are one of five teams this postseason with multiple SHGs…FLA PP: 0-3, FLA PK: 5-7
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- May 8: F Mackie Samoskevich agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract
PANTHERS vs. GOLDEN KNIGHTS
ALL-TIME vs. VGK: 4-5-1
ALL-TIME ROAD vs. VGK: 0-4-1
2022-23 vs. VGK: 1-1-0
BACK TO THE FINAL
The Florida Panthers return to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history and first since 1996. Four skaters on the Panthers roster have competed in a Stanley Cup Final previously – Eric Staal (2006 w/ CAR, 2021 w/ MTL), Marc Staal (2014 w/ NYR), Carter Verhaeghe (2020 w/ TBL) and Patric Hornqvist (2016 & 2017 w/ PIT). Eric Staal (’06), Verhaeghe and Hornqvist (’16 & ’17) captured the NHL’s championship. Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice coached the 2002 Carolina Hurricanes to the Cup Final. Panthers Assistant Coach Jamie Kompon won the Cup as an assistant coach with LAK in 2012, and Sylvain Lefebvre captured it with COL as a player in 1996.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Panthers entered the Stanley Cup Final on an eight-game road win streak dating back to Game 2 at BOS, the longest playoff road win streak in club history and the second-longest in NHL history, behind only the 2012 LAK’s 10-game streak. Over their eight-game road win streak, the Cats outscored their opponents 29-18, including overtime wins in Games 5 and 7 at Boston, Game 5 at Toronto, and Games 1 & 2 at Carolina. Sergei Bobrovsky won seven consecutive road games, tied for the third-longest in NHL postseason history. Matthew Tkachuk leads the team with 12 road points (4-8-12) over the club’s 10 away games this postseason, while both Brandon Montour (5-0-5) and Carter Verhaeghe (5-6-11) have each produced a team-high five road goals.
CLOCKING OVERTIME
The Panthers own a 6-0 record in overtime in the 2023 postseason, led by a franchise record (and tied for the most in one postseason by one player in NHL history) three overtime tallies from Matthew Tkachuk. Per NHL stats, the only teams in NHL history with as many victories are the 1993 Canadiens (6) and 1980 Islanders (5). The Cats are the second team in NHL history to win each of their first six games that required overtime in a single postseason, joining the 2003 Ducks (7 GP). The Panthers are also 9-0 in overtime contests dating to Round 1, Game 3 in 2021 at TBL, the second-longest multi-season OT win streak in NHL history behind only MTL from 1993-1998. Tkachuk scored overtime goals in both Game 1 and Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at PNC Arena, which represented Florida’s third straight OT victory (dating to Round 2, Game 5 at TOR). Four of Florida’s past six wins have come in overtime, and six of their 12 playoff wins in 2023 have come in sudden death. Sergei Bobrovsky has been in net for all nine of Florida’s prior OT wins.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES:
2023 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – STANLEY CUP FINAL – VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS
Golden Knights 2022-23 Regular Season Record: 51-22-9, 111 points (25-15-1 at Home, 26-7-8 on Road)
DATE RESULT VGK GOALS VGK GOALIE FLA GOALIE
June 3 Vegas 5, Florida 2 81, 27, 2, 61, 19 Hill Bobrovsky
DATE OPPONENT TIME (PT) TELEVISION RADIO SPANISH RADIO
June 5 vs. Florida Panthers 5 p.m. TNT Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
June 8 at Florida Panthers 5 p.m. TNT Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
June 10 at Florida Panthers 5 p.m. TNT Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
*June 13 vs. Florida Panthers 5 p.m. TNT Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
*June 16 at Florida Panthers 5 p.m. TNT Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
*June 19 vs. Florida Panthers 5 p.m. TNT Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
*If Necessary
VGK/FLA – Regular Season Recap
The Vegas Golden Knights split the regular season series with the Florida Panthers 1-1-0. Vegas and Florida first met in January at TMobile Arena where the Golden Knights erased a 2-1 deficit in the third period to claim a 4-2 win. Nick Cousins and Nicolas Roy each scored to keep the game level but Sam Reinhart scored in the second to give Florida a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. In the final frame, it was all Vegas as Jack Eichel, William Carrier and William Karlsson sealed the 4-2 victory for the Golden Knights. In their second meeting Florida came out on top and pounced out to a 1-0 lead on a Ryan Lomberg goal less than five minutes into the contest. Florida added to the lead four minutes into the middle frame as Aleksandr Barkov made it a 2-0 game. Shea Theodore got the Golden Knights on the board with a power-play goal at 13:23 of the period and Vegas went into the third period trailing by a goal. The third period passed without a goal as the Panthers captured the 2-1 win.
2022-23 Season FLA Series: 1-1-0 (Home: 1-0-0, Road: 0-1-0)
Date Location Result Goaltenders GWG
Jan. 12 Vegas Vegas 4, Florida 2 Adin Hill (VGK) // Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA) William Carrier (VGK)
March 7 Florida Vegas 1, Florida 2 Adin Hill (VGK) // Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA) Aleksander Barkov (FLA)
2022-23 VGK Regular Season Leaders Against FLA
Skater GP G A P +/-
Ivan Barbashev* 3 1 3 4 +1
Keegan Kolesar 2 0 2 2 +2
Jack Eichel 2 1 1 2 -1
William Carrier 1 1 0 1 +2
William Karlsson 2 1 0 1 0
Nicolas Roy 1 1 0 1 +2
Shea Theodore 1 1 0 1 -1
*Ivan Barbashev’s points include contests with St. Louis
Game 1 Recap
June 3 – Vegas Golden Knights 5, Florida Panthers 2
The Vegas Golden Knights skated to a 5-2 win in Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Eric Staal’s shorthanded goal was the first of the series as he gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. Late in the fame, Jonathan Marchessault buried a powerplay goal to tie the game at 1-1. Vegas took the lead in the second period as Shea Theodore danced into the slot and wired a shot past Sergei Bobrovsky to make it a 2-1 game. With just 10 seconds left in the middle frame, Anthony Duclair snuck a shot through traffic to send the teams into the final stanza level at 2-2. Vegas took over in the third period as Zach Whitecloud fired a shot past Bobrovsky to rebuild the lead for the home team. Mark Stone added an insurance goal with less than seven minutes to go before Reilly Smith’s empty-net tally sealed the 5-2 win in Game 1 for the Golden Knights.
Welcome to Las Vegas
The Golden Knights and Panthers met for the first time in the NHL’s postseason history on Saturday night in Las Vegas. In six all-time meetings at T-Mobile Arena, Vegas is a perfect 6-0-0 when welcoming Florida to The Fortress. The Panthers are the only team remaining in the NHL to have not won a game at T-Mobile Arena. After Game 1, Vegas improved to 7-3 (.700) at home during the 2023 postseason, the best home winning percentage in the NHL.
Comeback Season
On Saturday in Game 1, the Golden Knights earned their ninth comeback win this postseason, tying the second-highest total in a single playoff year in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vegas is now just one shy of the Avalanche (10 in 2022) and Penguins (10 in 2009) for the record. The Golden Knights have allowed the first goal in 11 of their 18 playoff games this year and hold a record of 8-3 after allowing the first goal in the game. In the regular season Vegas led the league with 11 third-period comeback wins.
Most Comeback Wins in a Postseason, NHL History
10 – Colorado Avalanche (2022), Pittsburgh Penguins (2009)
9 – Vegas Golden Knights (2023) and 5 others
Goals Galore
Jonathan Marchessault scored on Saturday to match William Karlsson’s team lead of 10 goals scored this postseason. Marchessault and Karlsson’s goals are the most by any Vegas skater in a single playoff run in franchise history.
Magic Number
Vegas is 45-3 all-time when scoring at least three goals in the playoffs, including wins in each of the last 33 such instances. In all four
losses this postseason, the Golden Knights have been held to one or two goals.
The Terrible Two
The Golden Knights limited their opponent to two goals or less for the ninth time this postseason on Saturday. Vegas is a perfect 9-0 in
the 2023 playoffs when allowing an opponent two goals or less.
In the Winning Business
Vegas (51-33 in 84 GP) has a postseason winning percentage of .607, leading all NHL franchises. The Golden Knights’ 51 playoff wins are the second-most in the NHL since 2017-18, trailing only Tampa Bay’s 61 victories.
Familiar Territory
The Golden Knights advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in their six seasons as a franchise. Vegas is the eighth club in NHL history to advance to the Stanley Cup Final four times in their first six seasons and the third in the past 90 years. The Golden Knights two trips to the Stanley Cup Final since 2017-18 is the second most in the league during that span (Tampa Bay Lightning, three).
