Latest news with #PrinceofWalesTrophy
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Florida Panthers no longer satisfied just to play in Stanley Cup Final
Silly superstitions. In one arena, the Florida Panthers stayed as far away from the trophy signifying their Eastern Conference championship – the Prince of Wales – shunning the shiny 2-foot-tall piece of sterling silver as it was brought onto the ice after their Game 5 win over Carolina. Advertisement In another venue, nearly 2,000 miles away in Dallas, the Edmonton Oilers surrounded their trophy – the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl – after eliminating the Stars in the Western Conference Final in five games, each player making sure his fingerprints were all over the prize. May 28, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe (23) celebrates a goal during the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes in game five of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images While both teams will acknowledge the job is not done as they prepare for a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final starting June 4 in Edmonton, last year's result dictates this year's superstition. The Panthers, after touching the Prince of Wales Trophy two years ago and then being smoked by Las Vegas in the Stanley Cup Final, ignored it a year ago before winning their first title. Advertisement Aside from being a talented, connected, determined bunch, you can also describe this team has having long memories. Because even during the team photo after the Game 5 clincher, at least a 1-foot gap separated the trophy from the nearest players, including captain Aleksander Barkov. Florida Panthers' Bill Zito: GM who doesn't 'do anything' (but gets everything done) May 28, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida Panthers pose with the Prince of Wales Trophy as they advance to the finals after wining against the Carolina Hurricanes in game five of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images The Oilers avoided the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl a year ago and that did not work out very well. Edmonton dug too deep a hole, falling behind Florida 3-0, before a furious rally fell one game short, losing Game 7 in Sunrise. "The bigger picture has changed … for our team," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after the 5-3 win over the Hurricanes that closed out the conference final in five games. Advertisement "The first time, and 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 three-quarters of the way through (the playoffs), and there's lots more that has to happen." Like any franchise that tastes success the way the Panthers have the past three years, expectations are heightened. Matthew Tkachuk said just making the final two years ago "felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point." Rightfully so. The Panthers had won one playoff series the previous 27 years before losing that 2023 postseason that ended with losing the final round in five games. Florida Panthers headed to third straight Stanley Cup Final Then it happened. First, a Stanley Cup Final run that gives you that taste. Then, using that experience to complete the mission for the first time. And now, headed back for the third straight year. Advertisement "We didn't come here to win the Eastern Conference," Barkov said. The Panthers are acting, talking, playing like a group that will never be satisfied unless the ultimate is achieved. Florida not only has crossed that threshold of just being happy to be there, it has raised that bar so high that suggesting making the Stanley Cup Final should be cause for great celebration is an insult. "It's an odd feeling," said forward Brad Marchand, whose acquisition at the trade deadline, along with obtaining defenseman Seth Jones, should seal the GM of the Year Award for Florida's Bill Zito. "Excited to win the East, but our job isn't done." Advertisement What we have with the Panthers is a run bringing back memories of the Miami Heat's dominance from 2010-11 to 2013-14 that resulted in four trips to the NBA Finals and two titles. Dynasty? Not quite. A franchise needs to carry sustained success for more than three or four years and win more than one or two titles to join such an exclusive group of teams like the Canadiens, Yankees, Celtics and Patriots. But it has to start somewhere. And with the leadership of owner Vinnie Viola, and Zito, the Panthers at least now can initiate that conversation, just like it was a conversation 15 years ago when it came to the Heat with owner Micky Arison and Pat Riley. "They're the standard, obviously," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said about the Panthers after his team was eliminated. Advertisement The Panthers are the ninth franchise to play in three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, second in the past 40 years joining the 2020-22 Tampa Bay Lightning. Franchises not on that list include three of the league's Original Six – Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers. They are attempting to become the third team this century to win back-to-back titles: Pittsburgh Penguins (2016, '17) and Lightning (2020, '21). The beauty of this Stanley Cup Final is nobody is coming into it wide-eyed and overwhelmed. The moment should not be too big for either team. The fact that we have a rematch of a seven-game series evens out the experience and Wow! factor. Advertisement "It's not our first rodeo with this," Tkachuk said. "We are going to be very prepared." Expect the same from the Edmonton Oilers. Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@ Stanley Cup Final Game 1: Panthers at Oilers 8 p.m., Wednesday, June 4 TV: TRU, TNT This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Panthers seeking second Stanley Cup in third straight final
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Which NHL playoff assist was better: Barkov vs. Carolina or McDavid vs. Florida?
FORT LAUDERDALE — Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Florida's Aleksander Barkov are two of the best players in the NHL. While McDavid is roundly praised as the best player in the world, Barkov is not far behind. Advertisement So it should not be a surprise McDavid and Barkov have two of the more astonishing assists of the postseason, both drawing disbelief from not just the hockey world but even teammates. While both will be on highlight reels for a very long time, we want to know which one you think was better. Aleksander Barkov sets up Carter Verhaeghe game winner in Game 5 at Carolina The Panthers were one win away from their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final. Facing Carolina in the road in Game 5, the score was tied with less than eight minutes remaining. Barkov was fighting for the puck with Dmitry Orlov behind and to the right of Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen. Barkov gained control of the puck and held off Orlov with one arm before turning as if he were going to pass the puck to Verhaeghe, who was behind the net on the opposite side. Advertisement But Barkov then made a move on Hurricanes forward Eric Robinson at the side of the net and instead slid the puck across the crease to Verhaeghe, who had a wide open net to give the Panthers the lead. Verhaeghe was still mostly behind goal line when Barkov made the pass. 'Barky is so strong on the puck and (Sam Reinhart) made a good play at the blue line to get the puck to Barky there, and I kind of let him do his thing,' Verhaeghe said. 'He took on one guy and then two guys and then gave the puck to me with a pretty open net. An unbelievable play by Barky at a critical time.' The goal gave the Panthers a 4-3 lead and they went on to a 5-3 win and a third straight Prince of Wales Trophy. Connor McDavid a magician setting up Leon Draisaitl goal in Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final McDavid was being compared to an illustionist when replays of his assist on Leon Draisaitl's power play goal in the first period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Panthers. Advertisement The play, though, is what everyone has become used to from the man who has led the NHL in assists four times in his career. First, McDavid faked out Barkov, the best defensive forward in the game and three time winner of the Selke Trophy, with a move akin to a crossover dribble in basketball. Then, with Aaron Eckblad attempting to poke check the puck, McDavid drew the puck back behind his body and Eckblad's stick before sending it to Draisaitl, who had a wide open net to the left of Panther's goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Leon Draisaitl #29 celebrates with Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers during the first period against the Florida Panthers in Game Two of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on June 06, 2025 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Oilers' Evan Bouchard was so amazed with the play he put his left hand on top of his helmet as to say "I do not believe what I just saw" as he skated toward McDavid and Draisaitl. Advertisement The goal ended the scoring in a wild first period, giving gave the Oilers a 3-2 lead. Florida went on to win, 5-4, on a Brad Marchand goal in the second overtime, tying the series at one game each. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Connor McDavid, Aleksander Barkov's playoff assists compared
Vancouver Sun
04-06-2025
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
No friendly Stanley Cup Final wager with Florida's DeSantis this year, says Alberta's Smith
Whatever the outcome of this year's Stanley Cup Final rematch between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers , Florida Governor Ron DeSantis won't be wetting his whistle on whiskey courtesy Alberta Premier Danielle Smith again this summer. On Tuesday, Smith told National Post she would not renew the friendly wager with her U.S. counterpart, who would have been required to send a bottle of Florida rum north had the Oilers completed their series comeback to defeat the Panthers last June. 'We are following the lead of Captain Connor and are going to do things a bit differently this year,' she wrote in a statement. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Smith is referring to Oilers' captain Connor McDavid, who, after helping his team knock off the Dallas Stars 4-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference final, hoisted the Clarence Campbell Bowl presented to him by deputy commissioner Bill Daly. NHL players, not unlike most professional athletes, can be the superstitious sort, and one of the most enduring superstitions is that you don't touch the Campbell or the Prince of Wales Trophy, its Eastern Conference equivalent, should your team win and advance to compete for Lord Stanley's trophy. Fearing it will somehow bring bad luck, team captains won't touch it, and the team will only gather around it for an official photo. The fear is that celebrating with the trophy will jinx your chances in the final. It's not clear how far it dates back for either trophy, but it's only grown in prominence as the sport has grown in North America. Speaking to Sportsnet's Gene Principe on the ice as teammates celebrated around him, McDavid said he didn't 'know what was going to happen when we got up there' but decided to 'give it a go this year.' Congratulations to the @EdmontonOilers who qualify for the #StanleyCup final for the 9th time. Last year Connor McDavid didn't touch the Clarence Campbell Bowl, this year he did. #Oilers #LetsGoOilers In the post-game press conference, a No. 97 offered a similar and succinct reply. 'Pretty obvious, I think. Don't touch it last year, we don't win. Touch it this year, hopefully we win.' The Panthers, meanwhile, also chose not to touch the Prince of Wales after finishing off the Carolina Hurricanes last week, marking the second straight year they've done so. When the Panthers swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2023 East final and touched the Prince of Wales, they went on to lose against the Las Vegas Knights in the final. While it's mostly hit and miss, plenty of teams who've touched their respective trophies have gone on to win the Cup, including some of the games' greats, according to the league. After not doing so before his first Cup final in 2008, Sidney Crosby and his assistant captains did touch the Clarence Campbell in 2009 and went on to win. He would do so again in 2016 and 17 when the Pittsburgh Penguins went on to win back-to-back cups. Alex Ovechkin also did it in 2018, and his Washington Capitals would win the organization's first-ever title. The all-star loaded Tampa Bay Lightning touched it ahead of three straight finals from 2020-21, winning the first two and dropping the third. The NHL said the last time another team chose to touch the Prince of Wales trophy and went on to win was the 2011 Boston Bruins. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Florida Panthers-Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Final by the numbers
during the third period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Florida Panthers' Aleksander Barkov (16) skates over to accept the Prince of Wales Trophy following Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker) Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (C) and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, right, pose with the Prince of Wales trophy at the end of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. They advance to the Stanley Cup finals. (AP Photo/Chris Seward) Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) speaks to media during a news conference, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, ahead of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final series against the Florida Panthers. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) Edmonton Oilers general Manager Stan Bowman and head coach Kris Knoblauch speak to media during a news conference, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, ahead of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final series against the Florida Panthers. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) Edmonton Oilers general Manager Stan Bowman and head coach Kris Knoblauch speak to media during a news conference, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, ahead of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final series against the Florida Panthers. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) during the third period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Florida Panthers' Aleksander Barkov (16) skates over to accept the Prince of Wales Trophy following Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker) Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (C) and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, right, pose with the Prince of Wales trophy at the end of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. They advance to the Stanley Cup finals. (AP Photo/Chris Seward) Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) speaks to media during a news conference, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, ahead of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final series against the Florida Panthers. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) Edmonton Oilers general Manager Stan Bowman and head coach Kris Knoblauch speak to media during a news conference, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, ahead of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final series against the Florida Panthers. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers meet again in the Stanley Cup Final, a cross-continental showdown of the NHL's last teams left standing. The Panthers are aiming to be back-to-back champions, while Oilers captain Connor McDavid is looking to hoist the Cup for the first time in his dominant career. Game 1 is Wednesday night at Edmonton. Advertisement Here's a look at the series by the numbers: 11 This is the 11th rematch in the final in league history and the first since Pittsburgh and Detroit in 2009. Edmonton and the New York Islanders also had one in 1984. Each of those series saw the result flip from the previous year. The other two rematches since the expansion era began in 1967 were Montreal sweeps of Boston in 1977 and '78 and St. Louis in '68 and '69. 3 The Panthers are in the final for a third consecutive season, matching cross-state rival Tampa Bay's trio of trips from 2020-22. The Lightning won back to back on their first two runs, then lost their third to Colorado. Advertisement Since Paul Maurice was hired as coach and Florida acquired Matthew Tkachuk in a trade in the summer of 2022, the team has won 10 of 11 playoff series. 51 McDavid and longtime running mate Leon Draisaitl lead all scorers in the playoffs with 26 and 25 points, respectively. This is their seventh playoff run together and the sixth year in a row. Since their postseason debuts in 2017, McDavid has 143 points and Draisaitl 133, first and second of all players in that time. All that is missing is the Stanley Cup. 2.11 Sergei Bobrovsky has again backstopped the Panthers to the final, going 12-5 with a 2.11 goals-against average and .912 save percentage through three rounds. Advertisement Counterpart Stuart Skinner lost his starting job after allowing 11 goals in Games 1 and 2 of the first round and only got it back in the second when Calvin Pickard was injured. Since returning to the net, Skinner is 6-2 with a 1.73 GAA and a .931 save percentage. 2,543 The 2,543 miles (4,092 kilometers) between Sunrise, Florida, and Edmonton, Alberta, is — for the second year in a row — the longest distance between finalists in NHL history. It's a roughly six-hour flight each way for the teams, which will be especially challenging going back to western Canada for Game 5 without an extra travel day after Game 4. ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Miami Herald
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
With a chance at second Stanley Cup, Matthew Tkachuk's rise to stardom with Panthers continues
Matthew Tkachuk, at just 27 years old, is already well on his way to superstardom. He's a face of the Florida Panthers, who have made it to the Stanley Cup Final each of the three years he has been with the team since the blockbuster trade that moved him out of Calgary ahead of the 2022-23 season. He's a face of Team USA hockey after being a driving force for the team during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. A spot on the USA's Olympic roster next winter is essentially a lock barring injury. He's brash. He's personable. He's the type of player you love to have on your team but love to hate when you have to face him. He knows how to work an interview. And Tkachuk, just nine seasons into his NHL career and so much time still ahead of him, isn't taking any of it for granted. 'I'm just super lucky, I think,' Tkachuk said Sunday. 'I feel like I'm not even halfway through my career and I've been fortunate enough with so many great things that have happened and been blessed.' But while most see Tkachuk for who he is and what he does on the ice — the player that gets under opponents' skin, the player who can impact a game even when he's far from 100 percent , the player who, yes, can be an instigator — there's another layer of Tkachuk that isn't seen if only looking at his performance. There's the player who each of the past two years insisted the entire team — not just the players, not just the players and coaches, everyone — be involved in the group photo for the Prince of Wales Trophy after winning the Eastern Conference final. There's the player who, on short notice, rallied the whole team together to take part in a walk around Holiday Park just outside their practice facility in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday to honor the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau — Tkachuk was teammates with Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary. There's the player who knows how to talk up his teammates and help foster a community of success inside the dressing room. It's a key part of the identity Tkachuk has forged throughout his career. And it's a big reason the Panthers are once again four wins from hoisting the Stanley Cup when they begin their best-of-7 series with the Edmonton Oilers at 8 p.m. Wednesday. 'I think my life changed, obviously, when I got traded here,' said Tkachuk, who has 254 points (88 goals, 166 assists) in 211 games with the Panthers and another 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists) in 61 playoff games. 'Everything's just been — it was incredible before when I was playing in Calgary, and it's just been a whole different beast down here with things that have happened. Hoping to check another box here in a few weeks.' Tkachuk will be integral in the Panthers' success. After missing the final two-and-a-half months of the regular season with an apparent groin injury sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off in mid-February, Tkachuk has steadily found his groove again in the playoffs. He has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) through 17 postseason games, including two goals and five assists in the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes. But even when he wasn't scoring — he went a 10-game stretch, from Game 4 of Florida's first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning through Game 1 against Carolina in the conference final without a goal — he wasn't concerned about his individual performance. He was able to find other ways to impact the game. Plus, the team was winning. That takes priority. 'If it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I've never cared,' Tkachuk said about scoring goals. 'Sometimes it's nice to see it go in, but it is what it is. I'm not [Alex] Ovechkin. They are not always going to go in, but when they do, they feel nice.' Tkachuk's teammates understand his multi-faceted ways of contributing. 'He's able to be an agitator without taking penalties,' forward A.J. Greer said. 'That's huge for us. A skilled guy who can play in all different types of games.' Added Sam Bennett, who centers the second line with Tkachuk on his right wing and was also teammates with Tkachuk in Calgary: 'He's a guy that doesn't need to score to be effective. He's doing everything on the ice for this team, and when he scores, it's just an added bonus.' And perhaps just as important — or maybe even more important — is Tkachuk's emotional intelligence, which coach Paul Maurice said is 'elite.' 'He can feel what a game needs. Matthew has that ability,' Maurice said. 'It's not always the hits. It's what he'll say on the bench. Sometimes he'll bark. Sometimes he'll tap on the pads. But he has a great feel for who's playing very well on the other team, when we have to get physical, when we have to lay off that. Players are far more important than coaches. If the coach is saying it, it's 'Yeah, it might be right.' If the player's saying it, they hear it.' They hear Tkachuk loud and clear. He has been a spark for this team ever since he stepped foot in South Florida. He has embraced his role through and through. And now another chance at a Stanley Cup is on the horizon. 'He's a one-of-a-kind player and we're lucky to have him on our side,' Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. 'He does it all for us. He's huge for us.'
