Stanley Cup Final Preview: Panthers vs. Golden Knights

SUNRISE, Fla. -- During his introductory press conference after being acquired by the Florida Panthers in a blockbuster trade back in July, Matthew Tkachuk made his intentions very clear.
"I'm here to be the last team standing," he said confidently.
A little less than eleven months later, the Panthers are now one of just two teams left.
So, there's still work to be done.

Back in the big dance for the first time since 1996, the Panthers will kick off the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. This marks the second trip to the Cup Final for both Florida and Vegas, with both hunting for their first championship.
After sneaking into the playoffs by just one point, the Panthers, who've already pieced together one of the greatest underdog runs in Stanley Cup Playoffs history, know they aren't done yet.
"The people in this area support and believe in us, but to tell you the truth there's not many people out there that do," Tkachuk said after helping the Panthers complete their sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. "We know that we've played some really good teams so far. We know the next team is going to be unbelievable as well -- more points, more wins, more whatever than we have. It's the similar feeling of being the underdog and trying to prove people wrong again. We know what we have in [our locker room]."
To prepare for puck drop, continue below for quotes, notes and more on the Stanley Cup Final.
### PATH TO THE STANLEY CUP FINAL
Panthers: Defeated the Boston Bruins 4-3 in Round 1; Defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 in Round 2; Defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Final
Knights:Defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 in Round 1; Defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 in Round 2; Defeated the Dallas Stars 4-2 in the Western Conference Final
### HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD IN 2022-23
Florida:1-1-0
Vegas:1-1-0
### FLORIDA AT A GLANCE
Top Scorers:Matthew Tkachuk (9G, 12A, 21P), Carter Verhaeghe (6G, 9A, 15P), Aleksander Barkov (4G, 10A, 14P), Sam Reinhart (7G, 4A, 11P), Sam Bennett (4G, 7A, 11P)
Goaltenders:Sergei Bobrovsky (11-2, 2.21 GAA, .935 SV%), Alex Lyon (1-2, 3.26 GAA, .902 SV%)
### VEGAS AT A GLANCE
Top Scorers:Jack Eichel (6G, 12A, 18P), Jonathan Marchessault (9G, 8A, 17P), Ivan Barbashev (6G, 9A, 15P), Mark Stone (6G, 9A, 15P), William Karlsson (10G, 4A, 14P)
Goaltenders:Adin Hill (7-3, 2.07 GAA, .937 SV%), Laurent Brossoit (5-2, 3.18 GAA, .894 SV%)
### STANLEY CUP EXPERIENCE
The Panthers have a handful of players and staff that have either won the Stanley Cup or reached the Cup Final. Eric Staal won it all with Carolina in 2006, and then made a return trip to the Cup Final but lost with Montreal in 2021. Marc Staal reached the Cup Final in 2014 with the Rangers. In 2020, Carter Verhaeghe won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay. Patric Hornqvist helped bring back-to-back Stanley Cups to Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. Behind the bench, head coach Paul Maurice led the Hurricanes to the Cup Final in 2002, while assistant coach Jamie Kompon won the Stanley Cup as an assistant with Los Angeles in 2012. Prior to turning to coaching, assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre helped the Avalanche take down the Panthers and win the Stanley Cup back in 1996.
### ROAD-ICE ADVANTAGE
The Panthers have been feeding off the boos in tough buildings throughout their entire playoff run. Ever since their loss in Game 2 at Boston, they've yet to drop a game on the road. Entering the Stanley Cup Final on an eight-game road winning streak, the Panthers have outscored their opponents 29-18 during that stretch. Of those eight wins, five have come in overtime. Starting off on the right foot, they've headed home up 2-0 in each of their last two postseason series. Also strong on the road, Vegas has gone 6-2 outside of their own barn.
### IN IT TO WIN IT
It seems like a lifetime ago that the Panthers were mired in a 3-1 series hole against the Bruins. Flipping the switch starting with Game 5 in that series, the Panthers have won 11 of their last 12 games. Slaying plenty of giants along the way, they became just the third team in NHL history to eliminate three of the NHL's top-four teams from the regular season during the same playoff run. Boston (65), Carolina (52) and Toronto (50) had all piled up at least 50 victories in 2022-23. Even though they only won 42 games, it's the Cats that are left standing.
### CHUCK IT OUT
Matthew Tkachuk has become a household name in South Florida over the past few weeks. Factoring in on each of the game-winning goals against Carolina in the Eastern Conference Final -- including scoring three of the winners himself -- the 25-year-old superstar leads the Panthers with 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists), which stands as a franchise record for most points in a single postseason. In addition to being Mr. Clutch, he's also been Mr. Consistent. Looking back at all 16 of Florida's playoff games, Tkachuk has notched a point in 13 of them.

THE WAIT IS OVER
Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad have both waited a long time for this. This is Barkov's 10th season with the Panthers and the ninth for Ekblad. As you'd expect, both have played a big role in bringing Stanley Cup fever back to South Florida. Barkov has registered 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 16 games, while also leading the playoffs in faceoff wins (169). Averaging 24:37 minutes of ice time while going up against the opposing team's top forwards each and every game, Ekblad has logged six points (one goal, five assists) and 25 blocks in 15 games.
### EYES ON EICHEL
After waiting eight seasons to get a taste of the playoffs, Jack Eichel has been making the most out of hist first run with Vegas. Leading the team in scoring with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists), he dished out an assist in four of six games against the Stars in the Western Conference Final. That being said, he's been held without a goal in each of the last seven games. While the Knights certainly have a lot of scoring depth, Eichel, who notched 27 goals in 67 games during the regular season, has the biggest target on his back when it comes to players to contain for Florida.
### BLUE LINE BREAKOUTS
Brandon Montour and Gustav Forsling are no longer two of South Florida's best-kept secrets. Shining bright on the biggest stage there is in the NHL, Montour enters the Stanley Cup Final as the postseason's leader among defensemen in goals (6), while Forsling, who has scored two goals of his own, leads Florida's defensemen in blocks (30) and plus/minus (+9). Eating up a lot of big minutes, they also lead the Panthers in average ice time per game. Montour, who skated a franchise-record 57:56 during Florida's quadruple overtime thriller in Game 1 against Carolina, is averaging 27:35 per tilt in the playoffs, while Forsling is close behind with an average of 26:44.

DEPTH SCORING
While the Panthers aren't lacking star power with players like Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, the strength of the team's offense centers around incredible depth scoring. Sam Reinhart, maybe one of the most-underrated players in the NHL, ranks second on the Panthers with seven goals in the postseason. Fresh off scoring a career-high 42 goals during the regular season, Verhaeghe has lit the lamp six times, including scoring three game-winners. Overall, 15 different players have scored at least once for the Cats during their playoff run, with 10 players have netted multiple goals.
### LET'S GET PHYSICAL
To steal a line from "Breaking Bad," the Panthers are the ones who knock. One of the toughest teams to play against in the postseason, the far from cowardly Cats do not shy away from the dirty areas of the ice. In fact, they like it dirty. Fortifying their skill with an impressive amount of physicality, they rank second in the playoffs in hits (575) and third in blocks (278). Providing the Panthers with some punch at both ends of the ice, Sam Bennett and Radko Gudas have been the biggest purveyors of pain. Gudas leads the team's defensemen with 77 hits, while Bennett paces the forwards with 62 hits. Matthew Tkachuk has also posted 52 hits of his own.
### A HILL TO CLIMB
The Knights found a goaltender en route to the Stanley Cup Final. After replacing Lauren Brossoit, who suffered an injury in Game 3 of Round 2, Adin Hill has posted a 7-3 record with a 2.07 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. Heading into the Cup Final on a high note, he recorded a 23-save shutout in the series-clinching Game 6 against the Stars in the Western Conference Final. Finding success in short period of time against the Panthers, Hill has gone 2-1-0 with a .955 save percentage in three career appearances against Florida. But if the Panthers can find a way to shake Hill's newfound confidence in net, they'll be in a good spot.
### SPECIAL TEAMS SPIKING
The Panthers are finding their groove on special teams at the perfect time. Over the past two rounds, they've converted on 30.4% of their power plays and 84% of their penalty kills. Heading into the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers have scored at least one goal on the man advantage in six of their past seven games. By comparison, Vegas has operated at 18.4% on the power play and 64.7% on the penalty kill in that same span. If the Cats can stay hot on special teams, look out!

DECORATED TOP PAIR
After facing down the top pairing of Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns in their series against the Hurricanes, the Panthers will be tasked with solving another difficult duo in Vegas. With three Stanley Cups between them, the pairing of Alec Martinez and Alex Pietrangelo has been very effective for the Knights throughout the playoffs. In addition to combining for 14 points (one goal, 13 assists), that potent pairing has helped Vegas lead 16-7 in goals when they've been on the ice.
### SERGEI IN SIN CITY
For these notes, the best has been saved for last. Sergei Bobrovsky. Just reading that name likely brings a smile to the face of most Panthers fans these days. The backbone of Florida's run to the Stanley Cup Final, Bobrovsky posted a 1.12 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage during the team's sweep of the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. Overall, he's produced an 11-2 record with a .935 save percentage in the postseason, with those 11 wins leading all goaltenders. At even strength, he's looked nearly unbeatable while turning aside 387 of 406 shots for a .953 save percentage. At his best in the big moments, he's stopped 127 of the 147 high-danger shots that he's faced, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. You throw all of those aforementioned numbers together, and he's saved nearly 20 goals above expected. Already a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, Bobrovsky has more hardware on his mind now.

THEY SAID IT
"We've played in some really hostile environments. That's only going to benefit us when we get there. We know the Knights] are good at home. They have lots of energy in the building and it's a fun atmosphere to play in. We're going to be ready, for sure." ***- forward Nick Cousins***
"It's great for the organization and great for the city to be in this position. It's a lot of fun. We're enjoying it. We've talked about enjoying this run and enjoying every second of it because that's an important thing, too. We're living in the moment." ***- defenseman Josh Mahura***
"There's a tremendous number of similarities between [Vegas] and Boston. They also have the dynamic offensive players, much like Toronto does, and some of the things they can do in small areas, and they do play hard gap game like Carolina does, so in each of our three opponents we will find pieces of Vegas' game."***- head coach Paul Maurice***
"I want to be a guy that guys don't want to play against. I want to make it hard on their forwards and make it hard on their D especially. I'm going to do whatever I can to finish every check on the forecheck and make it as hard as possible for them. These series are all long. If you can make guys think that you're coming every shift, that works to your advantage." ***- forward Sam Bennett***
"I think with Vegas, it's always been a tough place to play. And they have [big defensemen] who are great at things like blocking shots and using their sticks to break up plays. And they have some high-end forwards with great speed and can beat you off the rush." ***- forward Matthew Tkachuk***
"It means a lot. It definitely does. To get to this point, you know how hard you need to work. You see how many great teams we've beat in the playoffs so far. It hasn't been easy, and no one said it was going to be easy."***- captain Aleksander Barkov***
### **STANLEY CUP FINAL SCHEDULE**
For information on watch parties at FLA Live Arena, click **[HERE.**