Panthers game-by-game recap on way to Cup Final

The Florida Panthers will play for the Stanley Cup for the second straight season.

The Panthers entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the No. 1 seed from the Atlantic Division and defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the first round and the Boston Bruins in six games in the second round before defeating the New York Rangers in six games to advance to the Cup Final.

Florida was defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the 2023 Cup Final.

Here is a look at the Panthers' road to the Stanley Cup Final:

April 21: Game 1, Eastern Conference First Round, Amerant Bank Arena: Panthers 3, Lightning 2

Florida didn't waste much time before scoring their first goal of the playoffs when Sam Reinhart gave it a 1-0 lead at 6:17 of the first period. Brandon Hagel later tied it for Tampa Bay in the first but Carter Verhaeghe's power-play goal 58 seconds into the third gave the Panthers the lead for good. Matthew Tkachuk added an empty-netter, and Steven Stamkos scored with 10 seconds left. Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves to help the Panthers earn a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

April 23: Game 2, Eastern Conference First Round, Amerant Bank Arena: Panthers 3, Lightning 2, OT

The Panthers raced to a 2-0 lead in the first on goals from Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko, but the Lightning respond in the second with goals from Brayden Point and Stamkos to tie the game. Bobrovsky made perhaps the save of the playoffs in the second period to keep the game tied. He got over from the right post and, with his back to the play, made a diving save on Matt Dumba with the back of his arm from close range. Neither team scored in the third, but Verhaeghe put Florida up 2-0 in the series with his goal 2:59 into overtime.

April 25: Game 3, Eastern Conference First Round, Amalie Arena: Panthers 5, Lightning 3

Tkachuk scored two goals and Brandon Montour and Steven Lorentz each had a goal and an assist for Florida, which trailed 2-1 in the second period before scoring three straight goals. Though Nicholas Paul got Tampa Bay within 4-3 with 5:10 remaining in the third, Tkachuk's empty-net goal with 32 seconds left sealed the win and gave the Panthers a commanding 3-0 series lead.

April 27: Game 4, Eastern Conference First Round, Amalie Arena: Lightning 6, Panthers 3

Facing elimination, the Lightning came out hot, scoring three times in the first period, including a power-play goal by Stamkos and a short-handed goal by Hagel. The Panthers chipped away at the lead with second-period goals by Verhaeghe, Reinhart and Oliver Ekman-Larsson but trailed 4-3 entering the third. Stamkos and Paul scored in the third for the Lightning's first win of the series.

April 29: Game 5, Eastern Conference First Round, Amerant Bank Arena: Panthers 6, Lightning 1

With a chance to clinch the series at home, Florida took a 2-1 lead into the third period with goals from Verhaeghe and Aleksander Barkov (short-handed). The Panthers pulled away with four goals in the third. Barkov and Evan Rodrigues made it 4-1 before empty-net goals by Verhaeghe and Niko Mikkola sealed the series. Bobrovsky made 31 saves to help Florida advance to the second round.

May 6: Game 1, Eastern Conference Second Round, Amerant Bank Arena: Bruins 5, Panthers 1

The second round began for the Panthers with a rematch of the 2023 first round, when they defeated the Bruins in seven games. In this game, Tkachuk gave Florida a 1-0 lead 11:45 into the second period, but Boston stormed back with five unanswered goals, including three in the second by Morgan Geekie, Mason Lohrei and Brandon Carlo. Florida was unable to solve Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman (38 saves) and lost to trail a series for the first time in the playoffs.

May 8: Game 2, Eastern Conference Second Round, Amerant Bank Arena: Panthers 6, Bruins 1

Facing the possibly of going down 2-0 losing both games at home, the Panthers viewed this as a must-win. Charlie Coyle gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the first period, but Florida then scored six straight goals. Lorentz, Barkov and Gustav Forsling scored in the second, and Eetu Luostarinen, Barkov and Montour in the third. Barkov had two goals and two assists, and the Panthers limited the Bruins to 15 shots on goal to tie the series.

May 10: Game 3, Eastern Conference Second Round, TD Garden: Panthers 6, Bruins 2

After Rodrigues gave Florida a 1-0 lead 8:04 into the first, the Panthers cruised from there with four power-play goals. Tarasenko and Verhaeghe scored with the man-advantage in the second for a 3-0 lead and Montour's power-play goal made it 4-0 early in the third. Jakub Lauko and Jake DeBrusk got Boston within 4-2, but Reinhart's empty-net goal and Rodrigues' power-play goal into an empty net helped Florida take a 2-1 series lead.

May 12: Game 4, Eastern Conference Second Round, TD Garden: Panthers 3, Bruins 2

The Panthers trailed 2-0 after the first period on goals from David Pastrnak and Carlo. Anton Lundell's first of the playoffs got Florida within 2-1 at 14:48 of the second. Bennett's power-play goal tied it, and Barkov put Florida in front 3-2 at 7:31 of the third. Bobrovsky made 16 saves for Florida, which moved within one win of the Eastern Conference Final.

May 14: Game 5, Eastern Conference Second Round, Amerant Bank Arena: Bruins 2, Panthers 1

Florida again trailed early after Geekie scored at 4:49 of the first. Reinhart tied it 1-1 at 6:23 of the second but Charlie McAvoy scored four minutes later to put the Bruins ahead 2-1. The Panthers were 0-for-4 on the power play and were only able to score once on 25 shots after the first period. Boston hung on for the win and prevented Florida from winning the series on home ice.

May 17: Game 6, Eastern Conference Second Round, TD Garden: Panthers 2, Bruins 1

For the third game in a row, the Panthers trailed in the first period after Pavel Zacha scored at 19:07 for a 1-0 Bruins lead. Lundell tied it in the second, and the game appeared headed for overtime until Forsling scored with 1:33 remaining in the third for a 2-1 lead. Bobrovsky made 22 saves for Florida, which won the series and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight season.

May 22: Game 1, Eastern Conference Final, Madison Square Garden: Panthers 3, Rangers 0

Tkachuk gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 16:26 of the first period for the only goal they would need. Verhaeghe made it 2-0 when his centering pass was deflected by Rangers forward Alexis Lafrenière and past Igor Shesterkin. Bennett scored an empty-net goal with 1:19 left for the 3-0 final and Bobrovsky made 24 saves for his second NHL postseason shutout to give Florida a 1-0 series lead.

May 24: Game 2, Eastern Conference Final, Madison Square Garden: Rangers 2, Panthers 1, OT

Vincent Trocheck gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a tap-in goal at 4:12 of the first period before Verhaeghe tied it late in the first. Neither team would score again in regulation. Barclay Goodrow's shot from the slot at 14:01 of overtime gave the Rangers the win and they tied the series. Bobrovsky made 28 saves.

May 26: Game 3, Eastern Conference Final, Amerant Bank Arena: Rangers 5, Panthers 4, OT

A back-and-forth game saw the Panthers take a 1-0 lead on Reinhart's power-play goal early in the first period before the Rangers scored twice in 25 seconds to take a 2-1 lead on goals by Lafreniere and Goodrow. Reinhart's second power-play goal tied it 2-2 in the first before New York scored the next two. Lafreniere and Goodrow (short-handed) each scored twice to increase the lead to 4-2. Barkov and Forsling tied the game in the third for the Panthers before Alex Wennberg scored the winner at 5:35 of OT to give New York a 2-1 series lead. Bobrovsky allowed five goals and Florida lost despite outshooting New York 37-23 and having 65 more shot attempts (108-43).

May 28: Game 4, Eastern Conference Final, Amerant Bank Arena: Panthers 3, Rangers 2, OT

With New York seeking to take a 3-1 series lead, they got off to a fast start when Trocheck scored a power-play goal at 8:51 of the first period. Florida responded in the second with goals by Bennett and Verhaeghe and took the lead into the third, when Lafreniere tied it 3:28 into the period and the teams went to overtime for the third straight game. After Blake Wheeler took a hooking penalty on Barkov 59 seconds into OT, Reinhart scored on a one-timer at 1:12 to give the Panthers the win and even the series. Bobrovsky made 21 saves.

May 30: Game 5, Eastern Conference Final, Madison Square Garden: Panthers 3, Rangers 2

It didn't look good for the Panthers after Chris Kreider scored a short-handed goal 2:04 into the second period to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead, but Forsling slipped behind the defense to tie the game 1-1 at 8:21. Lundell broke the tie midway through the third, and Bennett added an empty-net goal for a 3-1 lead. Though Lafreniere made it interesting by scoring with 50 seconds remaining, Bobrovsky (25 saves) and Florida held on for a 3-2 win and 3-2 series lead to move within one win of returning to the Stanley Cup Final.

June 1: Game 6, Eastern Conference Final, Amerant Bank Arena: Panthers 2, Rangers 1

Bennett scored late in the first period for a 1-0 lead, the only goal of the first 50 minutes of the game. Tarasenko scored his first of the series at 9:08 of the third to make it 2-0. Artemi Panarin got the Rangers within 2-1 with 1:40 remaining and Igor Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker, but that's as close as New York would get. Bobrovsky made 23 saves and the Panthers eliminated the Rangers to return to the Cup Final.