The Florida Panthers will get to defend their crown.
By virtue of the Toronto Maple Leafs beating the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, the Panthers officially punched their ticket to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This marks the sixth straight trip to the postseason for the Panthers.
Trying to become the ninth different team in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final in three straight seasons, the Panthers are also gunning for back-to-back championships.
Last season, they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games to win their first-ever Cup.
Sam Reinhart, who scored the series-winning goal against Edmonton, has picked up right where he left off this season, leading the Panthers in scoring with 78 points (37 goals, 41 assists). Second in scoring, captain Aleksander Barkov has tallied 67 points (19 goals, 48 assists).
Also hitting the 50-point mark are Matthew Tkachuk (57) and Sam Bennett (50).
Sergei Bobrovsky, who recently appeared in his 750th career NHL game, has handled most of the work in net for Florida, going 31-18-2 with a .906 save percentage and five shutouts.
At the time of this writing, the Panthers rank 12th in the NHL in goals per game (3.05) and ninth in fewest goals allowed per game (2.72). Looking at the underlying numbers at 5-on-5, they also rank second in both Corsi for (55.43) and expected goals (55.04) percentages.
While there’s still lots to be sorted in terms of seeding, it’s never too early to plan your trip to the rink.
To sign up for pre-sale access to playoff tickets, click HERE.
