With chance to reach Stanley Cup Final, Panthers preparing to host Game 4 of ECF

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers have a chance to do something on Wednesday night the franchise has not done since 1996, and that’s clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.

Ahead of the game, Panthers players were on the ice for their morning skate at FLA Live Arena.

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped all 32 shots he faced in Game 3, will be back in net once again.

The best news of the morning was that Florida captain Aleksander Barkov was out there with them the entire time and was ruled

Barkov was hurt during the 1st period of Monday’s game with what the team called a lower-body injury.

Head Coach Paul Maurice said after the skate that Barkov was “ready to roll” and that he would be in the lineup for Game 4.

Barkov’s linemate Carter Verhaeghe was happy to see his center back on the ice.

“He’s our leader, he’s our best player,” said Verhaeghe. “It’s so nice getting him back, and he’s feeling good. It’s huge for our team.”

For those hoping to score a ticket to Game 4, according to SeatGeek, upper deck center ice will run you $200 each, lower bowl center ice are $1,500 apiece and if you want to sit right on the glass, that’ll cost nearly $3,000 a ticket.

This Panthers have exceeded expectations during this entire playoff run, but they say they aren’t listening to any of the television or internet chatter, they’re just playing their game.

And it’s certainly working so far.

“You can say underdog, I don’t know if we see it as any of that,” said Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour. “Outside noise, it is what it is. We’re just playing our way, playing to our strengths and seeing what we can do with that.”