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The Florida Panthers are one series away from returning to the Stanley Cup Finals.
After defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games and the Boston Bruins in six in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Panthers are in the Eastern Conference final, where they will face the Presidents Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the best-of-7 series. Game 1 is at 8 p.m. Wednesday at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
“They were the best team in the regular season,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “They have a lot of good offensive players and they have a deep lineup, so it’s going to be a big challenge for us, but I think we’re ready for that. We just need to concentrate on ourselves and play our game as good as possible.”
It’s just the second time the teams have faced each other in the playoffs, with the other matchup coming in the 1997 playoffs — New York won that series in five games.
Here are three keys for the Panthers in their series against the Rangers as they make a bid to return to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Limit the Rangers’ power play
The Rangers had one of the most lethal power-play units during the regular season, with their 26.4 percent success rate while playing with an extra skater ranking as the third best in the NHL during the regular season.
They have managed to up their production even more in the postseason, scoring on 31.4 percent of their power plays (11 goals in 35 opportunities) during their first two playoff series against the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes.
The Panthers, meanwhile, have posted an 86.1 percent success rate on the penalty kill, allowing opponents to score just five power-play goals in 36 opportunities this postseason. This included just one power-play goal in the Bruins series.
Win the goaltending battle
The Panthers have already had to face two stellar goaltenders in Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Boston’s Jeremy Swayman in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Now, in the Eastern Conference final, they get the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin.
Shesterkin has been stellar in net for New York throughout the playoffs, posting a .923 save percentage and being credited for 6.28 goals saved above average — both second to Boston’s Swayman.
And while his stats might not reflect it, Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky has been dominant in his own right through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Vezina Trophy finalist has a 2.37 goals against average and a .902 save percentage, but it’s worth noting that 12 of the 26 goals he has allowed have come in Florida’s three losses. In the eight wins, he has given up just 14 goals — an average of 1.75 per game — and has a .920 save percentage (162 saves on 176 shots on goal).
Continue strong production on the road
For the first time this playoffs, the Panthers are beginning a series on the road.
That isn’t fazing them, nor should it, considering their success away from home this season. Florida won a franchise-record 26 road games in the regular season, tying the Dallas Stars for the most in the NHL. That success has continued in the playoffs, with Florida going 4-1 so far away from Sunrise.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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