The Florida Panthers are the first team to advance to the fourth round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, doing so by way of a 5-3, come-from-behind victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the third round on Wednesday evening.
Falling behind 2-0 through the first 20 minutes, the Panthers fought back with two goals in half a a minute, knotting the game at twos in the middle stanza. Their well-balanced, gritty attack wore down the Hurricanes as the game progressed, helping Florida to its third-straight Stanley Cup Final appearance.
The Panthers will face either the Edmonton Oilers or Dallas Stars in the best-of-seven series set to get underway in mid-June. The Oilers, which hold a 3-1 series lead, are hoping to close out their third round matchup on Thursday night in Dallas.
Should Edmonton take care of business against the Stars in any of the next three games, the last two clubs standing would face a rematch of the 2024 final, to which Florida beat Edmonton in seven games to win hockey's greatest prize.
Leading the charge on bench is head coach Paul Maurice and assistant Jamie Kompon, who served long stretches in Winnipeg with the Jets.
Having left Winnipeg abruptly in December of 2021, Maurice took the rest of the season off from coaching before agreeing to become the head honcho in Florida in June.
His time with the Panthers has been nothing short of spectacular. In his first season, Maurice guided the team to the Western Conference championship, ultimately losing the Stanley Cup to Vegas. He brought the team right back last season, beating Edmonton for his first taste out of the mug. And once again this year, Maurice is back in the fold, where he will look to repeat as the NHL's best following the final game of the year.
He's of course doing so beside longtime friend Kompon, as well as former Jets defenders Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Kulikov - the latter of which won the Cup last season.
Having spent nine years with the Jets, Maurice managed just one visit to the Western Conference Final (2018) before deciding to take his talents to South Beach in 2022. He currently ranks No. 2 all-time in games coached and career wins, while owning the NHL record for most losses recorded behind the bench.
Maurice has amassed a 998 career regulation and postseason wins, two shy of 1,000 - a number that just two individuals have ever hit (Scotty Bowman - 1,467 and Joel Quenneville, 1,090). The 58-year-old will look to hit the 1,000-win mark next week in the Stanley Cup Final.