Stolie’s Standpoint: Getting ready for the Stanley Cup Final

Hey Panthers fans,

Even before I joined this team, I heard the stories about the guys here.

How close they were and how bad they wanted to get back to the Stanley Cup Final.

Now that we’re here, everyone is feeling good, vibes are up and we’re excited to get going.

The last minute of Game 6 against the New York Rangers was obviously a little stressful, but at the end of the of the day we had the utmost confidence that the guys going out there were going to shut the door.

Sitting there looking at the clock winding down, you started to hear the crowd get louder and louder. When you hear that final buzzer, it’s just a sigh of relief and you realize that we did it and we won the series and advanced. It’s such a surreal feeling.

I always get stuck behind leaving the bench from where I’m sitting. I always let the other guys go first, so I was kind of one of the last guys off the bench. But it was fun watching the guys hop over and go right to Bobby (Sergei Bobrovsky) for some goalie hugs.

It’s such a great feeling to share a moment like this with the guys. You’ve been doing this for eight months now and going to battle with these guys ever since training camp. This is exactly why we work so hard and why we do what we do.

As you’re standing there waiting for the handshake line, it’s just pure jubilation with everyone. The guys are super excited. We ended up getting the “Eastern Conference Champions” hat right at the end of the line.

You just shake the last guy’s hand, grab the hat and then get excited for the trophy presentation.

Standing there for the photo with the trophy, it’s just a great moment to enjoy with all the guys you’ve seen every day for the last year. You’ve battled with them day in, day out. Everyone knows how hard it is and how hard we work, so sharing that moment was sweet.

When we got back to the locker room, we just went through the whole putting the puck on the board and then Mo (Paul Maurice) gave a little speech. The feeling around the room was that we know how close we are now, and the guys from last year know how hard this was to get back.

It was honestly great seeing guys like Okie (Kyle Okposo) and Lars (Oliver Ekman-Larsson), guys who’ve been around the league a while but never made the Stanley Cup Final, celebrate. It was great to chat with them for a bit after the game and pick their brains and see how they felt.

I mean, it took a guy like Okie about 17 years to get here, so it’s a special moment to just talk to a guy like that about what this all means. I’ve been in the league a few years now, but to see the reactions from guys like Okie and Lars, it was just really, really great.

We’ll be back on the ice tomorrow, which means back to business.

I think the mantra from our group is just to keep having fun and keep it light. We obviously have a great group for that. We’re going to work hard and get prepared for the Edmonton Oilers. Everyone is eager to get this going, and I know there's more than a couple guys wishing we started now.

We’ll do what we need to do over these next few days and prepare.

Come Game 1 on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena, we’ll be ready.

In the lead up to puck drop, I think I’m just going to take it all in. With my position, I kind of have a different perspective from everyone else. Just being able to look around, see the crowd, hear the crowd and talk to the guys on the bench, I’m going to enjoy the moment.

There’s no better group of guys I’d want to share this with.

See you at Game 1,

Anthony Stolarz

*As told to FloridaPanthers.com's Jameson Olive