Even After Cup Win, Panthers Still Want Revenge on Golden Knights
After losing to them in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers are not any less motivated to beat the Vegas Golden Knights. Even with a Cup of their own now secured.
FORT LAUDERDALE — Even after winning the Stanley Cup a year after losing to them in the Final last year, the Florida Panthers are still bringing the same energy against the Vegas Golden Knights.
“It’s nothing different,” Gustav Forsling said. “We don’t feel any different. We still want to beat those guys as bad as before.”
The Panthers played some of their most emotional games of the season against Vegas last year, including the Dec. 23 game where Ryan Lomberg knocked out Keegan Kolesar with one punch in front of a raucous Sunrise crowd to kick off one of their hottest stretches of the season with a 4-2 win.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice would not use the word “hate” to describe the energy his team went into that game with — citing that he doesn’t particularly hate anybody and that hate is a strong word — but it was something close to it.
“That’s energy and emotion,” Maurice said. “I like that part, because you can be passionate without being hateful.”
The win over Vegas was arguably the turning point of the season, coming after one of their worst efforts of the year (a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues) and set Matthew Tkachuk on fire after a slow start to his season.
Lomberg may be gone, Tkachuk may be out with an illness and the Cup may have arrived in Florida, but the Panthers are still looking for another shot at revenge over the Golden Knights.
“We were [laser focused on beating the Golden Knights,]” Forsling said. “I don’t think that’s changed to be honest.”
Whether you’d call it hate or not, the Panthers know any matchup against Vegas is going to mean a lot more than just any match-up with a Western Conference opponent.
“That happens when you play a team in the playoffs,” Maurice said. “Even from pre-scouting, the amount of video that you see on one team, it might as well be in your conference.
“So, Vegas and Edmonton, we wouldn’t have to be reminded too much of their style of game they play or they players they have. There’s a familiarity there. And if you have two teams that have been to the Final in the last two years, they’re probably pretty good teams, so you gotta come to the rink and be on your game.”
