The Florida Panthers could join this group of teams if they win Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Sometimes, you have to fall off a mountain to learn how to get to its peak.
Now, I don’t know if I just pulled that expression out of my behind or if it was stored in my subconscious from hearing it in a TV show, but there is truth to that expression as it relates to a few Stanley Cup-winning teams.
The Pittsburgh Penguins famously met the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Final, losing to Detroit and beating them in respective years. At the time, that group of Penguins, led by babyfaced, budding stars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, had not tasted the sour fruit of defeat on hockey’s biggest stage.
Some could argue their defeat in 2008 helped fuel their desire to win the Stanley Cup the following season. (I’m sure that now-famous midseason coaching change to Dan Bylsma didn’t hurt things either).
How does this relate to the Florida Panthers and their quest for glory?
The Panthers, who lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final last year, are looking to become just the third team in the post-1967 expansion era to hoist the silver chalice after losing the Final the previous year, joining the Edmonton Oilers (who lost to the New York Islanders in 1983 before winning it all in 1984) and the aforementioned Penguins teams of the late 2000s.
According to MoneyPuck, the Panthers have a 55% chance of exorcising their demons and defeating the Oilers in Game 5 on Tuesday night and an 88% overall chance of reaching the top of the NHL’s mountain and winning it all.
Can Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lead their team to victory in another do-or-die game, extending what could become a comeback for the ages? Will the Panthers capture their first-ever Stanley Cup?
We’ll find out Tuesday night.
