Stanley Cup Final: 3 reasons why the Panthers will win and 2 reasons they won’t

The Florida Panthers are seeking their first Stanley Cup in the franchise’s second appearance in the NHL Stanley Cup Final.

The Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights will face off in the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers are the representative from the Eastern Conference, while the Golden Knights are the representative from the Western Conference. The Golden Knights will have home ice advantage in the best-of-7 series.

It’s been an underdog show for Florida. They entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The motto of their playoff run has been “Why not us?” Now, they enter the Stanley Cup Final with the same can-do attitude.

Here are three reasons why the Panthers can win the Stanley Cup and two reasons why they might not. First, let’s look at their path to victory.

Reasons why the Panthers will win: 1. The Panthers are underdogs who knocked out higher-seeded teams by being hot at the right time

The Panthers have proven they’re not afraid of high-ranked teams. They’re hot at the right time. As a wild card team, they eliminated three of the four highest-seeded teams in the Eastern Conference: the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Carolina Hurricanes. The only top four Eastern Conference team they didn’t eliminate was the New Jersey Devils. They didn’t face each other. The Devils were eliminated by the Hurricanes in a five game Round 2 before the Panthers swept the Canes in the next round.

The Bruins had the best record in the NHL with a record-breaking 65-win season. They had 135 points in the regular season. The Panthers just managed to squeak into the playoffs with 93 points. It didn’t matter. Once the playoffs start, all that matters is how two teams in a series do at that moment. The underdogs seized the moment. After falling behind 3-1 in the series, the Panthers eliminated the Bruins in overtime in Game 7.

After gaining confidence in the first round, the Panthers haven’t looked back since. In Round 2, the Panthers beat the Maple Leafs in six games. In the Eastern Conference Final, they beat the Canes in four straight games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Throughout the playoffs, they’ve needed less and less games each round to take down their opponents. Facing the highest-seeded team in the Western Conference won’t scare the mighty Panthers. They’ve shown that the regular season record doesn’t matter in the playoffs. All that matters is the here and the now.