How Panthers reached Stanley Cup Final

The Florida Panthers are in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season.

Florida earned its return trip to the Final with a 2-1 victory against the New York Rangers in Game 6 Eastern Conference Final on Saturday. The Panthers are the first team to get back to the Final after losing it the previous season since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, and just the second since the Edmonton Oilers in 1984.

The Panthers hope to follow in the footsteps of the Penguins and Oilers and win the Cup the season after losing the Final. Florida, which lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games last season, will play the Edmonton Oilers beginning Saturday.

The Panthers followed a different path to the Final this season. They were 42-32-8 last season and didn't clinch the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs until the final week of the regular season before upsetting the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes in the postseason.

Florida was 52-24-6 to finish first in the Atlantic Division this season and was the favorites in knocking off the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston in the first two rounds of the playoffs before eliminating New York, which won the Presidents' Trophy as the top team in the NHL during the regular season.

Unlike last season, when they overcame a 3-1 series deficit against the Bruins in the first round, the Panthers have yet to play a game when facing elimination.

Here are some of the highlights for the Panthers on the road to the Stanley Cup Final:

BEST MOMENT: Vladimir Tarasenko pressed to score in the conference final, but he finally came through with his first goal and point of the series when the Panthers needed it most in Game 6. After Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped him on a prime scoring chance earlier in the third period, Tarasenko went to the net to finish a centering feed from Anton Lundell at 9:08 to increase Florida's lead to 2-0. That goal became the game-winner when Artemi Panarin scored 6-on-5 for the Rangers at 18:20. It was the second time Tarasenko scored the winning goal to put his team in the Cup Final, following his goal for the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of the 2019 Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks.

TURNING POINT: After the Rangers won Games 2 and 3 in overtime to take a 2-1 lead in the conference final, the teams went to overtime again in Game 4. Staring down a potential 3-1 series deficit, Florida pulled out a 3-2 victory on Sam Reinhart's power-play goal at 1:12. Aleksander Barkov drew a hooking penalty on Blake Wheeler at 59 seconds, and the Panthers needed only 13 seconds to convert with a pinpoint passing play that ended with Barkov setting up Reinhart for a one-timer from the slot that went in over Shesterkin's catching glove. Instead of facing elimination in Game 5 in New York, Florida was tied 2-2 in the series and won the next two games to advance.

BEST MOVES MADE: Injuries stretched the Panthers' depth past its limit in the Cup Final last season, so general manager Bill Zito did his best to make sure that didn't happen again, at least partly out of necessity. With defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour each slated to miss the start of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery and Radko Gudas departing for the Anaheim Ducks as an unrestricted free agent, the Panthers bolstered their defense July 1 by signing Niko Mikkola to a three-year contract and Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitry Kulikov to one-year contracts. Florida also strengthened its forward depth by signing Evan Rodrigues to a four-year contract July 2, which helped when forward Sam Bennett missed 12 of the first 13 games with two lower-body injuries. By the time Ekblad and Montour made their season debut against the Ducks on Nov. 17 -- two games after Bennett returned -- the Panthers were 10-5-1 and well positioned to contend for first in the Atlantic.

BEST MOVES NOT MADE: This was a no-brainer, but the Panthers held onto Reinhart and Montour through the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline even though they might not be able re-sign either after this season. Reinhart and Montour are among 10 Panthers players who have skated in the playoffs eligible to become unrestricted free agents July 1.

SIGNATURE WIN (REGULAR SEASON): Sometimes teams can overlook the final game before the NHL holiday break, but there was no chance the Panthers would do that when they hosted the Golden Knights on Dec. 23 for a rematch of the 2023 Final. Florida rebounded from losing four of its previous five games with a 4-2 statement win. Carter Verhaeghe broke a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 6:10 of the third period, and Reinhart scored on the power play at 8:09 to complete a victory that began a season-long nine-game winning streak.

SIGNATURE WIN (PLAYOFFS): The Panthers' experience in tight playoff games paid off in their 3-2 victory against the Rangers in Game 5. Playing in a hostile visiting environment at Madison Square Garden, Florida was unfazed when New York took a 1-0 lead on Chris Kreider's short-handed goal 2:04 into the second period. After Gustav Forsling tied it on a backhand at 8:21 of the second, it appeared the teams might be headed to overtime for the fourth straight game before Lundell scored from the left circle at 10:22 of the third to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Bennett's empty-net goal with 1:52 remaining made it 3-1 before Alexis Lafreniere scored 6-on-5 for the Rangers to make it a 3-2 final. Florida is 17-5 in one-goal games the past two postseasons for an NHL-best .773 winning percentage in such situations.

MVP: Although Forsling has been outstanding, Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers with 19 playoff points and Verhaeghe has a team-high nine goals, the pick here is Barkov. The Panthers captain has done it all with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 17 games playing all situations, often being matched against an opponent's top lines. Barkov's clutch play is not only defined by his team-leading three game-winning goals but also his defensive brilliance. The best example of this was his block on David Pastrnak's one-timer to prevent a potential tying goal late in Florida's series-clinching 2-1 victory against Boston in Game 6 of the second round. The following day, Barkov was announced as the winner of the Selke Trophy voted as the top defensive forward in the NHL for the second time in his career.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Forsling ranking fourth in the playoffs among defensemen with 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 17 games despite limited time on the power play shouldn't be a surprise because he led Panthers defensemen with 39 points (10 goals, 29 assists) during the regular season in the same role. Still, Forsling is known more for his sterling defensive play, which makes it stand out a little more when he also makes timely offensive contributions, including his winning goal at 18:27 of the third period in Game 6 against Boston and tying goals in Games 3 and 5 against New York.