The Stanley Cup Final will feature the Florida Panthers for a third straight year.
The defending champion Panthers on Wednesday secured their third consecutive Eastern Conference title, booking yet another trip to the NHL’s championship round in the process.
Florida, the Atlantic Division’s No. 3 seed, needed five games to take down the Metro’s No. 2 Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. It was the second time in three years that the Panthers defeated the Hurricanes in the conference final, previously sweeping them in 2023.
The Panthers, who also eliminated the Atlantic’s No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning and No. 1 Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2025 playoffs, are just the seventh team since the start of the expansion era (1967-68 season) to reach at least three straight Cup Finals.
They now will battle for Lord Stanley against the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Central’s No. 2 Dallas Stars and Pacific’s No. 3 Edmonton Oilers. And a second straight Cup Final triumph would put Florida in an exclusive group of repeat winners.
So, before the championship round gets underway, here’s what to know about the Panthers’ history in the Cup Final:
How many Stanley Cup Finals have the Florida Panthers made?
Florida is making its fourth appearance in the Cup Final since the franchise’s 1993-94 debut season.
How many Stanley Cup championships do the Florida Panthers have?
The Panthers won their first-ever championship last year in historic fashion, becoming just the third team since the start of the expansion era to go from Stanley Cup runners-up to winners. After losing the 2023 Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida outlasted the Oilers in a roller-coaster 2024 Cup Final to capture the franchise’s first title.
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 series lead before the Oilers won three straight elimination games. But Florida took the decisive Game 7 at home by a score of 2-1, with a second-period goal from Sam Reinhart being the difference.
For the first time in franchise history the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions.
How many NHL teams have made three straight Stanley Cups?
As previously mentioned, the Panthers are just the seventh team since the start of the expansion era to appear in at least three straight Cup Finals. The last team to do so was the Lightning from the 2020-22 postseasons. Tampa Bay won it all in 2020 and 2021 before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the 2022 Cup Final.
The record for consecutive Cup Final appearances since the start of the expansion era is five, achieved by the New York Islanders from 1980-84. The Isles won four straight titles before falling to the Oilers in the 1984 Cup Final.
Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup Final appearances
Here’s a look at the Panthers’ three previous Cup Final results:
Where is the Florida Panthers’ stadium?
The Panthers’ home stadium, Amerant Bank Arena, is in Sunrise, Florida, roughly 35 miles north of Miami.
Who is the Florida Panthers’ captain?
This is the seventh season that center Aleksander Barkov has donned the “C” on his sweater for Florida. Barkov, the second overall pick of the Panthers in 2013, is the franchise leader in games played, goals, assists and points.
Who is the Florida Panthers’ head coach?
Paul Maurice has overseen the entirety of Florida’s current three-year Cup Final streak, taking over behind the bench starting in the 2022-23 campaign. The Panthers sport a .610 regular-season winning percentage over Maurice’s tenure.
The 58-year-old has 29 years of NHL head coaching experience, with previous stops in Hartford, Carolina, Toronto and Winnipeg. Maurice coached the Hurricanes to the 2022 Cup Final.
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