'Told you we'd be back': Florida Panthers punch ticket to Stanley Cup Final

The accomplishment is the same. But the feeling is different.

The Florida Panthers are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final, and this time they are not the scrappy, battered underdog.

They belong. And they know it.

"Told you we'd be back," Matthew Tkachuk said Saturday, in those heady moments with Amerant Bank Arena on its feet and the New York Rangers knocked off theirs in six games.

Call it a twist on the ol' Mark Messier Game 6 guarantee.

Or simply call it unfinished business, as the same core that came three painful wins shy of glory last June earned themselves a mulligan with another hard and smart, disciplined and deserved victory Saturday, 2-1.

A loose, fun, nothing-to-lose vibe bubbled through the 2023 edition of the Panthers, who needed to claw their way into the dance, scramble from a 3-1 deficit to the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round, then embraced the role of surprise disruptors throughout their four-round rip.

But once they ran into the more experienced and deeper Vegas Golden Knights with both franchises' first title on the line, Florida finally fumbled. 

Disappointment? Of course. 

Underachievement? Not a chance.

How the Cats will fare in their high-stakes do-over — which begins next Saturday against either Edmonton or Dallas — we don't know. 

What we know for certain is that they are better prepared, mentally and physically and roster-wise, to reverse their June fortunes.

"A lot of us were hobbling around at this time of year," long-serving defenceman Aaron Ekblad said on the broadcast, and brand-new Eastern Conference Champs cap slapped on his head. "We're a lot healthier than we were back then. We've learned to keep our composure in the big moments. We let it slip away last year."

How is this for composure?

The well-conditioned Panthers are plus-13 in the third period, their favourite frame. 

Five of their past six wins have been one-goal victories, yet strangely most of those never felt frantic or in grave danger.

And, most impressive, they have carved this Cup Final path through three elite goaltenders all playing elite, content and patient to keep pounding pucks. To allow one less if they can't score one more.

"We're a better offensive team than people know, and better than we've shown. It's not for lack of effort. We've hit three big-time goaltending performances here," coach Paul Maurice said.

"I thought [Andrei] Vasilevskiy's kinda went under the radar, and I left it there. Didn't mention it much. Because I didn't think he needed to have a bigger persona in the room based on three years ago" — when Vasilevskiy and Tampa swept the Panthers in Round 2.

Yes, the past is informing the present. Most obviously when Maurice gave his skaters strict instruction to not touch the Prince of Wales Trophy, which they giddily pawed in 2023 after sweeping favoured Carolina in the semis.

"Last year I thought every series was an event and an achievement for how far we had traveled. It did matter that it was Boston with 135 points. It was a major deal," said Maurice, noting a more tempered enthusiasm when being crowned Beasts of the East.

"Even on the bench, it wasn't insanity when the buzzer went. It was excitement, and rightfully so," he said. "And I liked our third period. For me, I can walk away going, when the pressure got greatest, we played our best hockey. The third period was outstanding."

Why Florida's third periods have been so sharp has much to do the attitude the '23 Cup finalists carried over the short summer and into September for an unusually strenuous training camp. 

Second place leaves a taste. 

"They showed up to camp determined and focused, and that's what they've been all year," Maurice said. "They earned it. These guys have earned it."

That includes a first-time GM getting a second crack. 

Bill Zito weathered his early injury storm by acquiring established defencemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulikov, and Niko Mikkola. Then addressed his weak penalty kill by adding fourth-line centre Kevin Stenlund.

Zito stood pat at the '23 trade deadline. This year, he snatched sniper Vladimir Tarasenko, who scored Saturday's series-clincher, and inspired fourth-liner Kyle Okposo (happiest guy in the Prince of Wales Trophy photo) for this run.

"We got better. We added three NHL defencemen, and we added a penalty-killing, right-shot forward," Maurice said. "So, our hockey team is better this year."

Expectations have vaulted in Sunrise. And so has the resolve.

"I just the love the buy-in from everybody," Tkachuck said. 

"We're gonna rest up for a few days here and come back gunnin'."

Fox's Fast Five

• Tarasenko's first point in eight games could not have been timed any better.

The rental forward saved his two best efforts for the final two games of the series. He's onboard and en route to his second Cup Final.

• Exactly 28 years ago tonight, on June 1, 1996, the Panthers punched their first ticket to Stanley Cup Final.

• Sam Bennett has goals in three straight and set a new career high with his sixth of the post-season — a beautiful, one-timed, bar-down clapper with a minute left in the first period that allowed Florida to prioritize defence.

Injured by Brandon Montour's friendly fire in Game 3 of Round 1, a banged-up Bennett wasn't nearly as effective in Round 2 as he's been in this series, playing wing and centre and earning a top-six promotion.

Bennett in six games versus the Rangers: four goals, six points, 18 shots, and 27 hits.

Looks healthy now.

• Maurice offered insight into why friend Peter DeBoer bristled at a writer's post-game question and dropped an F-bomb following the Dallas Stars' Game 5 loss.

“It goes to the emotion of the connection that you have with your own players. There is a protection of it. He’s not gaming you. He’s not trying to find an advantage for the next game. That’s from the heart and soul, and you take that personally," Maurice said. 

"So, I understand it. You’re fighting with your brothers. You would stand up for them.”

• Superstars Nikita Kucherov, David Pastrnak, and Artemi Panarin combined for just two goals at even-strength when on the ice against Barkov in these playoffs.

"You see him kill so many plays," Okposo said. "You see the look on the other guys' faces over there, and they look defeated by the end of the night because he just keeps taking it from them and going the other way.

"It's not fun backchecking the big man."