A First-Time Champion

Well, this certainly wasn't the Stanley Cup Final anyone was expecting!  The Golden Knights aren't much of a surprise.  They were the top seed in the West, after all.  But the Panthers?  To say their being here is "unexpected" would be an understatement.  Yet here they are.  Four wins away from their first Stanley Cup.  As are the Knights.  Which means we're guaranteed to have a first-time champion for the first time since 2018 (which was the last time Vegas was in the Final).

Last year, Florida won the President's Trophy, only to get swept in the second round by Tampa Bay.  This season, they barely made the playoffs!  Think about that for a second.  The Panthers only got in because Pittsburgh lost to Chicago in its second-to-last game of the season.  Had the Penguins beaten the Blackhawks, they get in and Florida doesn't.  Now the Panthers are playing for the Cup.

Their run is made even more remarkable when you consider who they've played.  In the first round, they played the record-setting Bruins and fell behind 3-1...only to win the next three straight, two of them in Boston, and both of those in overtime!  With the Bruins out, Toronto (who learned there is a second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season) became the favorites.  The Panthers beat them, too.  In five.  Then the favorites became Carolina, the team with the second-most points in the league behind only Boston.  Florida won the opener in quadruple overtime en route to a series sweep.  So, since going down 3-1 to the best team in the league, the Panthers are 11-1!

Has luck been on their side?  Absolutely!  Florida's 5-0 in overtime, with four of those overtime wins coming on the road!  Every game of the Eastern Conference Final was decided by one goal, and nine of the Panthers' 12 playoff wins have been by one goal.  However, they're also 8-1 on the road in the postseason, so it's certainly been more than just luck going their way.

There's that old saying about how a hot goalie is all you need to make a deep playoff run.  (We saw the Kings win a Stanley Cup in 2012 almost entirely because of Jonathan Quick.)  Sergei Bobrovsky is proving that.  He's been outstanding throughout the playoffs!  Along with Matthew "Mr. Overtime" Tkachuk, he's probably the Panthers' leading candidate for the Conn Smythe.  And they definitely would NOT be in this position without Bobrovsky (which is exactly why they got him as a free agent last year).

With Vegas, meanwhile, you saw it coming the second they finished off Edmonton.  As soon as they went up 3-0 in the Western Conference Final, I said, "they ain't losing four straight."  I still thought that even after Dallas won Games 4 & 5.  And the Knights showed early in Game 6 that they had no interest in having that series go back to Sin City.  They dominated the Stars to the tune of 6-0 and advanced to the Final for the second time in franchise history.

The Knights have proven throughout these playoffs that they're one of the most talented offensive teams in hockey.  Jack Eichel is making the most of his first career playoff experience, and he and Jonathan Marchessault are such a good tandem, you'd think they've been playing together for years!  Throw in Carrier, Karlsson, Smith and Stone (among others), and is there any question about their depth?  Their fourth line is just as capable of scoring as their top line!

It's a good thing that they have so much firepower.  Those guys will need to figure out how to get it past Bobrovsky, though.  Which might be easier said than done.  I can easily see him stealing at least one game, maybe more.

For the Golden Knights, though, this is the culmination of what they've been building ever since they joined the NHL six years ago.  The league wanted them to be good right away, but I don't think anybody expected this!  They aren't just the model all future expansion teams will strive to become, they've also been one of the best teams in the league throughout their existence.  Making the Final in their expansion season was unexpected.  This season, it was not.  Vegas not only expected to be here, they expect to win.

And I'd have to classify the Golden Knights as the favorites coming in.  But only a slight favorite.  Because the Panthers definitely have the advantage in goal, and if Bobrovsky continues playing the way he has in the first three rounds, he won't just steal a game or two.  He could end up stealing the Cup!

Florida is far more than just their goaltender, though.  They might've backed into the playoffs, but they've taken the opportunity and run with it.  Being the underdog hasn't fazed them.  Playing on the road hasn't fazed them.  And, let's not forget, this team had the best record in the league last season.  They've shown us why since Game 5 of the Boston series.  Whether they win the series or not, I feel fairly confident in saying they'll at least pick up the first Stanley Cup Final win in franchise history.

Winning the series isn't out of the question, but it does seem like a tall order.  Vegas is just better than Florida and has too much firepower.  I said the same thing about the Bruins, Maple Leafs and Hurricanes, though.  And the Panthers have that South Florida mojo on their side, too, so that can't be discounted.

Speaking of South Florida mojo, it's crazy that the basketball and hockey teams have never won the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals in the same season!  We've come close a few times (in 1994, the Rangers won the Cup and the Knicks lost the Finals in seven), but it still hasn't happened!  Unfortunately, I don't think it will this year either.  In fact, I think both the Panthers AND Heat will lose.

Vegas has taken us on a wild ride since the Golden Knights joined the NHL.  They've quickly become the gold standard.  Although, I'm sure they'd be perfectly fine with trading that gold for the silver of the Stanley Cup.  Before the Super Bowl comes to Las Vegas in February, the Stanley Cup will make a pit stop there first.  Golden Knights in six.