A peek inside the Florida Panthers' locker room proves why they have such a winning culture

FT.

LAUDERDALE, Fla.

From the outside, Vitek Vaneceks only impact on the Stanley Cup Final and the entire playoffs for that matter, considering he has yet to play a second is staring down and mimicking Stuart Skinners stretching routine just inside the red line during pregame warmups.

If you believe Vanecek, that just so happens to be his routine , too, something he says he started ...

just this series.

Advertisement But inside the walls of the often-victorious Panthers locker room, Florida players know the value of a backup goalie who understands fully that he likely wont see a sniff of game action when the guy in front of him is Sergei Bobrovsky.

Thats why it was touching Saturday night when Jonas Gadjovich was thoughtful enough to present the game puck to Vanny, a great teammate who shows up to work each day to place the 15th winning game puck of these playoffs and 44th over the past three postseasons on the Panthers traveling Stanley Cup board.

we love showing up to work every day pic.twitter.com/xWzERnvGwv x Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 15, 2025 But the fact that Gadjovich had the game puck presented to him in the first place by Brad Marchand after Floridas Game 3 victory shows what culture is like inside this winning organization.

Its not just Marchand, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart who have gotten the pucks after huge playoff wins over the years.

Its guys like Gadjovich and Eeto Luostarinen and Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist.

I think the guy who gave it to (Vanecek) was Jonah, who got the puck last year, having not played because he just had twin babies, coach Paul Maurice said Sunday.

Theres a great recognition, care in the room for all the hard work that goes on.

Some of those guys dont get to be on the ice for a celebration after a win, but theyre critical to the group, to the personality of the group and the closeness of it.

The Panthers are one win away from achieving dynasty status.

Thats hardly hyperbole.

Thats just a fact, if this franchise one that until 2022 went 25 years without advancing in the playoffs can complete back-to-back Stanley Cup titles Tuesday night in what is its third consecutive Stanley Cup Final.

This has been an exceptional series with three games going to overtime.

But through five games, two of Floridas three wins have been blowouts.

Game 3 wasnt close by any stretch of the imagination and Game 5 was a defensive clinic with the Panthers throwing a blanket over the Oilers offense, only allowing 21 shots and continuing a series-long first-period domination.

Advertisement But Florida is facing a proud, motivated opponent in the Oilers who last year forced a Game 7 after initially losing the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final.

So the Panthers insist theyve learned their lesson from last year, wont start thinking about Stanley Cup parades and rings just yet, and will look to put in a 60-minute effort so they can become the first team since the Oilers themselves 37 years ago to clinch back-to-back championships on home ice.

Only then will they start thinking about smoking cigars on the ice again and bringing the Stanley Cup to the famed Elbo Room by sunup.

The more times youre in situations like this, the more comfortable youre going to be, said veteran Sam Reinhart.

Weve been staying in the moment very well all postseason.

Its just about handling your day.

We did what we set out to do (Saturday night), and now its about recovering and getting back out in a couple days.

And those are the Panthers buzzwords.

Nobody talks about handling their day more and recovery after a win or loss more than the Panthers.

Its virtually a guarantee whenever you talk to any Panthers player after any game.

We stick together.

pic.twitter.com/00vir6pPYo x Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 10, 2025 The Panthers, after sticking with their norm and spending the night in Edmonton after Saturdays 5-2 victory, flew back to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday morning and will have two days to rest and recover to get ready for their latest opportunity to secure Lord Stanleys Cup.

They expect Edmonton to play its best game of the series.

Certainly, the context changes when you get this close, but having a bit of experience does matter; it does help in this, Maurice said.

We were all pretty wired after Game 3 last year, and I think we can handle that a bit better now.

Advertisement Maurice is referring to a calamitous 8-1 loss in Edmonton in Game 4.

But it sure feels like this is a deeper, more well-balanced Panthers team that defends impeccably, gets great goaltending and, as the Oilers have learned, can score with the best of them.

They have already set an NHL record with 61 goals on the road.

Their 89 goals overall are the eighth-most in one postseason and the most by any team in 31 years.

I think the early games were probably more wide open than we would prefer, but Im not sure we could stop a lot of that, Maurice said.

We tried to.

The additions, we put two offensive drivers in our lineup at the trade deadline (in Marchand and Seth Jones), and those two guys have impacted the players around them.

Its not just the pucks theyve put in the net, but theyve made the players around them more productive, and its been able to kind of flatten out the pressure, if you will, on the shooters.

So if a guy has a three- or four-game stretch where hes not scoring, he doesnt feel that, it doesnt affect his game.

Marchand is one player who has hardly slumped and, together with Bennett, has combined for 11 goals in this series, including three in Game 5.

Its Marchand who was courteous enough to think of Gadjovich after Marchand followed his double overtime winner in Game 2 with a goal to open the scoring inside the first minute of Game 3.

Seven of his 10 playoff goals have given the Panthers the lead.

So the big question Tuesday night: If the Panthers win their second straight Stanley Cup, which player gets the game puck presented to him by Vanecek to place as the final puck on the Panthers locker room wall? The way the Panthers take care of each other, itll probably be Nico Sturm, Uvis Balinskis or somebody of that ilk.

We know what we came for.

pic.twitter.com/16ZbRPID1V x Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 29, 2025 Youve got to be in the moment, Marchand said.

If you start looking behind or ahead, its a dangerous game to play.

I think with the amount of situations this team has been through, you look at last year being (up) 3-0 and battling back in Game 7, and then obviously you draw from that.

I think we realize how special of a group we have, and we just seem to be able to have fun.

Advertisement Obviously, we knew its not going to be an easy series against this team.

Theyre an incredible group, the best players in the world on that team and theyve been playing very well.

We didnt expect an easy series.

Were expecting it to be a grind and just got to embrace that.

Were just having fun every day.

Its a gift to be a part of a Stanley Cup Playoff final series, and I think we all know that and appreciate it.

(Photo of Eetu Luostarinen, Brad Marchand and Gustav Forsling: Jamie Squire / Getty Images).

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