INSIDER
Sam Bennett could have gone to free agency and picked his landing spot, plus probably could have signed for much more money than the Florida Panthers were able to offer.
Sam Bennett walked to the front of the stage at the Florida Panthers’ latest Stanley Cup championship parade, and before he could even speak the crowd began serenading him with their request.
Champagne was swilled and spilled, cigars were smoked and the Stanley Cup was hoisted a few more times, all with about 400,000 people watching.
The Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup championship festivities have included an all-night celebration at a popular beach bar; crowd surfing, pole climbing and impromptu karaoke at a Miami nightclub; a Brad Marchand appearance at Dairy Queen; a few team dinners and a boat ride.
The Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup celebration made a flavorful stop Friday morning as hundreds of fans gathered at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers in Tamarac to see forward Sam Reinhart.
Hockey is seeing a surge in popularity and buzz, fed by the 4 Nations tournament, Alex Ovechkin’s stirring run to the NHL career goals record and the Florida Panthers repeating as Stanley Cup champions.
Panthers fans are rejoicing after the Cats clinched their second straight Stanley Cup victory against the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night.
The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the final.
Connor McDavid scored his first goal of this Stanley Cup Final in Game 5, only after he and the Edmonton Oilers fell behind 3-0 on the way to getting pushed to the brink by the defending champion Florida Panthers.
Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime for the fourth time this playoffs, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final and tie the series, erasing a three-goal deficit and bouncing back from allowing the tying goal in waning seconds of regulation.
In a single shift, Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett showed why he’s been one of the most unstoppable players in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Frederik Andersen returned to the net and stopped 20 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, Logan Stankoven got the only goal Carolina needed and the Hurricanes won their first Eastern Conference finals game in nearly 20 years by beating the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Monday night to stave off elimination.
Niko Mikkola and Aleksander Barkov each scored twice, and the Florida Panthers scored five goals in a nine-minute span of the third period to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 on Saturday night and move one win from a third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
Sam Reinhart did not play for the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against Carolina on Saturday night because of a left knee injury, one that happened Thursday when he was skated into by the Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves, Florida scored three times in a 6:24 span in the second period and the Panthers routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 on Sunday night to advance to their third straight Eastern Conference Final.
Brad Marchand scored on a deflected shot at 15:27 of overtime and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Friday night to cut their deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinal series to 2-1.
Mitch Marner scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.
Nate Schmidt scored his third goal in two games, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Matthew Tkachuk had two power-play goals and an assist in his first game after a two-month absence and the Florida Panthers opened defense of their Stanley Cup title with a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opener of the teams’ first-round playoff series.
The Florida Panthers have been playing without injured top forward Matthew Tkachuk for a month.
The Florida Panthers welcomed the arrival of Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand in a Friday trade that adds even more grit and experience to the Stanley Cup champions’ roster.
Matthew Tkachuk scored his second goal of the game with 12 seconds left to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
Sam Reinhart got his 30th goal of the season and added two assists, Matthew Tkachuk scored for the third time in the last four games and the Florida Panthers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Saturday.
Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov will miss Friday night’s game at Dallas because of a lower body injury.
Sam Reinhart scored the go-ahead power-play goal with 1:59 left in the game to help the Florida Panthers overcome a blown three-goal lead and beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-5 on Thursday night.
Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe had power-play goals, Sam Reinhart had a short-handed score and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 on Wednesday night for only their second win in eight games.
Timo Meier scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period, Jacob Markstrom made 34 saves and the New Jersey Devils snapped Florida’s seven-game winning streak by beating the Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night.
Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist, Aleksander Barkov had three assists for the second time in less than a week and the Florida Panthers beat the Nashville Predators 6-2 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory.
AJ Greer scored his first goal for Florida early in the third period, Aleksander Barkov and Niko Mikkola each had assists in their homeland and the Panthers beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 on Saturday to finish a two-game sweep in Finland.
Florida captain Aleksander Barkov had a goal and three assists in his return to his hometown, Sam Reinhart scored twice and the Panthers beat the Dallas Stars 6-4 on Friday night.
Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists, Anton Lundell had a goal and an assist, Spencer Knight made 35 stops and the Florida Panthers beat Columbus 4-3, spoiling a Blue Jackets’ home opener steeped in tributes to Johnny Gaudreau.
Sam Reinhart scored on a power play and added a short-handed goal that gave the Florida Panthers the lead for good in the second period on Monday and the defending Stanley Cup champions beat the Boston Bruins 4-3.
Four of the past five Stanley Cup champions are based in a place with no state income tax, and the flood of talent to those locales continued in NHL free agency.
Sam Reinhart scored the game-clinching goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and now the Florida Panthers are keeping him home.
The Nashville Predators made a big splash on the opening day of NHL free agency by signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei.
Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch and his staff successfully challenged a goal by the Florida Panthers at a crucial juncture of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky led the way as the Florida Panthers moved within a victory of their first Stanley Cup title, holding on to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in Game 3 of the final Thursday night.
The Florida Panthers peppered Igor Shesterkin with shot after shot, and the New York Rangers goalie had an answer for almost all of them.
Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal 1:12 into overtime, and the Florida Panthers topped the New York Rangers 3-2 to even the Eastern Conference Final at two games apiece.
The Florida Panthers have tied up the series at two games apiece after defeating the New York Rangers 3-2 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final on Tuesday night.
Alex Wennberg deflected home a goal 5:35 into overtime, and the New York Rangers reclaimed home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference finals with a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 3 on Sunday.
Alex Wennberg deflected home a goal 5:35 into overtime, and the New York Rangers reclaimed home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference finals with a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 3 on Sunday.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots for his first shutout of the postseason, Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-0 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Carter Verhaeghe scored on the same Bruins double-minor, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 14 shots and the Florida Panthers beat Boston 6-2 on Friday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Aleksander Barkov had two goals and two assists, Sam Reinhart added four assists and the Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins 6-1 on Wednesday night to tie the second-round series at a game apiece.
Steven Stamkos scored his fourth and fifth goals of the series and the Tampa Bay Lightning avoided elimination with a 6-3 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the first-round playoff matchup Saturday night.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves, Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Carter Verhaeghe tapped in a pinpoint pass from Aleksander Barkov for the lead 58 seconds into the third period, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Game 1 of their NHL playoff series opener.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves to tie for the NHL lead with six shutouts, Sam Reinhart scored his 54th goal and the Florida Panthers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 on Thursday night.
Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 61st and 62nd goals of the season to go along with an assist as the Toronto Maple Leafs built a four-goal lead before hanging on late to down the Florida Panthers 6-4 in a potential first-round playoff preview Monday.
Sam Reinhart scored two goals to reach 50 on the season, Brandon Montour added three assists and the Florida Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night.
Aleksander Barkov scored the winning goal with 5:22 left as the Eastern Conference-leading Florida Panthers used a three-goal third period to beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Ryan Lomberg scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Sam Reinhart scored twice and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 4-2 on Monday night in a matchup of first-place teams.
Sam Reinhart scored twice and became the fourth player in Florida franchise history to reach 40 goals as the Panthers beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout on Thursday night.
Ryan Lomberg scored the game-winning goal with 6:52 to go, Matthew Tkachuk had three points and the Florida Panthers defeated the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Thursday night.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored 1:57 into overtime and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Saturday night for their fourth straight win.
Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and the Florida Panthers defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 on Wednesday night, in a game with two fights in the first seven seconds.
Dylan Larkin scored a power-play goal 1:09 into overtime and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Wednesday night, snapping a 10-game losing streak in the head-to-head series.
Alex Killorn got his second goal of the game 48 seconds into overtime, and the Anaheim Ducks fought back from a pair of two-goal deficits to beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Monday.
Sam Reinhart scored on a backhander with less than a second to play in overtime, Matthew Tkachuk scored late in regulation to tie the contest and the Florida Panthers rallied past the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Thursday night to push their winning streak to nine games.
Matthew Tkachuk scored his fifth career hat trick to help the Florida Panthers beat the St. Louis Blues 5-1 on Tuesday night for their eighth straight victory.
Sam Reinhart scored three times for his seventh career hat trick, and the surging Florida Panthers beat the Colorado Avalanche 8-4 on Saturday for their seventh straight win.
Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk scored 42 seconds apart in the third period and the Florida Panthers beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Tuesday night.
Sam Reinhart had two goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves, and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Mikael Backlund scored a tiebreaking short-handed goal early in the third period, Jacob Markstrom stopped 34 shots, and the Calgary Flames beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Monday night.
Gustav Forsling contributed a goal and assist and the Florida Panthers scored three times in the third period to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Sunday for their third straight win.
Ilya Sorokin stopped 42 shots, Julien Gauthier scored early in the third period and the New York Islanders beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Saturday.
Sam Reinhart had two goals and two assists, Carter Verhaeghe got the go-ahead goal early in the third and the Florida Panthers withstood two highlight-reel scores from rookie Connor Bedard to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3.
Andrei Kuzmenko scored the go-ahead goal with 4:57 left to help the Vancouver Canucks beat the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Saturday night.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice made the right moves before the game, the Florida Panthers did everything right for the first 41 minutes and then they held on just long enough to get their first win of the season.
Florida Panthers fans were flocking to FLA Live Arena Thursday morning to purchase brand-new Eastern Conference Championship merchandise.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 shots for his first career playoff shutout, Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and the Florida Panthers moved one win away from a most improbable trip to the Stanley Cup Final by blanking the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0.
Matthew Tkachuk finished a feed from Sam Reinhart at the 1:51 mark of overtime to help the Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 for a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference final.
Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots in his first playoff start, Mitch Marner and William Nylander had the goals and the Toronto Maple Leafs staved off elimination by beating the Florida Panthers 2-1 in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Wednesday night.
