FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:
BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT
- F Patric Hornqvist | Games Missed: 16
Total Playoff Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 27
Total Regular Season Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 239
LAST GAME
Panthers 4, Hurricanes 3 – May 24 – FLA Live Arena
FLA Goals: Duclair (3), Tkachuk (8-PPG), Lomberg (1), Tkachuk (9-PPG)
CAR Goals: Stastny (4), Teravainen (1), Fast (6)
FLA Goalie: Bobrovsky (W) – 36 Saves
CAR Goalie: Andersen (L) – 20 Saves
FLA Shots: 24
CAR Shots: 39
Notes: Matthew Tkachuk became the first Panthers skater to score 2 PPGs in a playoff game since Stephen Weiss (ECQF G2, April 15, 2012 vs. NJD) including at 19:55 of the 3rd period (tying the NHL record for latest series-clinching regulation goal) to propel the Panthers to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1996…Florida swept an opponent for the first time in franchise history, and captured a series win at FLA Live Arena for the first time since the club relocated there from Miami Arena… The Panthers became the third team in NHL history to eliminate three of the NHL’s top four teams in the same postseason…The Cats extended their win streak to five games, all of which have been won by Sergei Bobrovsky…Bobrovsky owned a 4-0 record, .966 save percentage and 1.12 goals against average in the ECF against CAR…Tkachuk extended his point streak to four games (4-1-5)…Sam Reinhart notched an assist to extend his point streak to three games (1-2-3)…Ryan Lomberg scored his first goal of the postseason…The game marked Florida’s eighth consecutive contest decided by one goal…FLA PP: 2-4, FLA PK: 4-4
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
ROUND 1 – FLA (4) vs. BOS (3)
GAME 1 – FLA 1, BOS 3
GAME 2 – FLA 6, BOS 3
GAME 3 – BOS 4, FLA 2
GAME 4 – BOS 6, FLA 2
GAME 5 – FLA 4, BOS 3 [OT]
GAME 6 – BOS 5, FLA 7
GAME 7 – FLA 4, BOS 3 [OT]
ROUND 2 – FLA (4) vs. TOR (1)
GAME 1 – FLA 4, TOR 2
GAME 2 – FLA 3, TOR 2
GAME 3 – TOR 2, FLA 3 [OT]
GAME 4 – TOR 2, FLA 1
GAME 5 – FLA 3, TOR 2 [OT]
ECF – FLA (4) vs. CAR (0)
GAME 1 – FLA 3, CAR 2 [4OT]
GAME 2 – FLA 2, CAR 1 [OT]
GAME 3 – CAR 0, FLA 1
GAME 4 – CAR 3, FLA 4
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. Eric Staal is expected to skate in his 100th NHL playoff game tonight.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Panthers enter 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 have 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 has started and won each of Florida’s past seven road games. Matthew Tkachuk leads the team with 12 road points (4-8-12) over the club’s nine 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.
KEEP IT ROLLING
Florida owns an 11-1 record in its past 12 games, with wins in each of its past five contests since Game 5 of Round 2 at TOR. Over that span, the Panthers became the third team in NHL history to eliminate three of the NHL’s top four teams in the same postseason; Matthew Tkachuk has posted 16 points (7-9-16) including four game-winning goals; and Sergei Bobrovsky has registered an 11-1 record, .942 save percentage and 1.95 goals against average. The Cats have won 12 of their 16 contests in the 2023 postseason.
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 OPPONENT TIME (PT) TELEVISION RADIO SPANISH RADIO
June 3 vs. Florida Panthers 5 p.m. TNT Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
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 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 middle period and Vegas went into the third period trailing by a goal. The third 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 G
The Road to the Stanley Cup Final
Round 1: Winnipeg Jets (4-1)
The Vegas Golden Knights faced the Winnipeg Jets in the opening round of the 2023 postseason. This was the second time in franchise history the Golden Knights and Jets met in the playoffs and first since Vegas defeated Winnipeg in the Western Conference Final in 2018. After dropping Game 1, 5-1, the Golden Knights bounced back with four straight wins including a thrilling 5-4 double overtime victory on the road with Michael Amadio’s game-winning goal and an explosive 4-1 win in Game 5 to eliminate the Jets from the playoffs.
VGK Series Point Leaders:
- Chandler Stephenson – 8 (4G, 4A)
- William Karlsson – 5 (4G, 1A)
Jack Eichel – 5 (3G, 2A)
Alex Pietrangelo – 5 (0G, 5A) - Brett Howden – 4 (2G, 2A)
Michael Amadio – 4 (1G, 3A)
Round 2: Edmonton Oilers (4-2)
For the first time in franchise history, the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers faced off in the postseason. In a back and forth series, Vegas was victorious in Game 1, seeing scoring from five different skaters to overpower Leon Draisaitl’s four-goal contest. Edmonton took Game 2 by limiting the Vegas to hit the road with the series tied 1-1. Adin Hill stepped in net 12 minutes into Game 3 in relief of Laurent Brossoit due to injury to earn his first career playoff victory. Both teams continued to battle in Edmonton as the
Golden Knights split the road trip, 1-1, and outscoring the Oilers 6-5. Vegas’ three goal period in Game 5 propelled the Golden Knights to a 4-3 victory. In Vegas’ 5-2 win over Edmonton in Game 6, all five goals were scored by original members of the Golden Knights.
Reilly Smith opened the scoring 24 seconds into regulation. In the second period, it was all Jonathan Marchessault as the forward netted three goals to send Vegas ahead, 4-2, into the final period. Then, William Karlsson was able to give the Golden Knights some insurance when he skated to puck to the empty net to make the final score, 5-2.
VGK Series Point Leaders:
- Jack Eichel – 9 (3G, 6A)
- Jonathan Marchessault – 8 (5G, 3A)
- Ivan Barbashev – 6 (3G, 3A)
- Reilly Smith – 5 (2G, 3A)
- Mark Stone – 4 (2G, 2A)
Nicolas Roy 4 (1G, 3A)
Western Conference Final: Dallas Stars (4-2)
Vegas burst out to a 3-0 series lead over Dallas have consecutive overtime victories in Games 1 and 2 thanks to the heroics of Brett Howden and Chandler Stephenson. The Golden Knights took over in Game 3 in Dallas as Vegas jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first period and Adin Hill shut the door with his first career playoff shutout to give Vegas the 4-0 victory. The Stars were able to force the Golden Knights to Game 6 with back-to-back wins but Vegas’ offense took over, defeating Dallas 6-0 to become Western Conference Champions for the second time in club history.
VGK Series Point Leaders:
- Jonathan Marchessault – 7 (4G, 3A)
- William Karlsson – 6 (5G, 1A)
Ivan Barbashev – 6 (2G, 4A) - Nicolas Roy – 5 (0G, 5A)
- Chandler Stephenson – 4 (2G, 2A)
Keegan Kolesar – 4 (1A, 3A)
Jack Eichel – 4 (0G, 4A)
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 Bady Lightning 3x).
Welcome to Las Vegas
For the first time in postseason history, the Golden Knights will meet the Panthers with Game 1 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. In the five all-time meetings at T-Mobile Arena, Vegas is a perfect 5-0-0 when welcoming Florida to The Fortress.
Magic Number
Vegas is 44-3 all-time when scoring at least three goals in the playoffs, including wins in each of the last 32 such instances. In all four losses this postseason, the Golden Knights have been held to one or two goals.
In the Winning Business
Vegas (50-33 in 83 GP) has a postseason winning percentage of .602, leading all NHL franchises. The Golden Knights’ 50 playoff wins are the second-most in the NHL since 2017-18, trailing only Tampa Bay’s 61 victories.
Comeback Season
The Golden Knights completed their eighth comeback win of the postseason on Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals and became the sixth team in NHL playoff history to do so in four straight games. Vegas has allowed the first goal in 10 of their 17 playoff games this year and holds a record of 7-3 after allowing the first goal in the game.
