Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad talks following practice in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, April 20, 2024.
The Panthers open the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs on Sunday at 12:30 against the rival Tampa Bay Lightning.
Florida Panthers Win Atlantic, Thump Leafs: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-5-toronto-maple-leafs-2-april-16-2024-atlantic-division-champs/
This will be the third postseason meeting between the two all-time and since 2021. The Lightning are 2-0 against the Panthers.
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Tuesday, the Panthers were down 2-0 after the first but scored four in the second and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 to clinch the Atlantic Division and earn a date with the Lightning.
Sam Reinhart ended with two goals in the game; Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett and Brandon Montour also scored.
Anthony Stolarz made 24 saves in the win.
Sergei Bobrovsky will start Game 1 against the Lightning.
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feel great really excited I mean this is the the time of year where we get to have some fun and uh when things matter like this it’s uh it’s really easy to get out for games and and find a way to you know do something good out there it feel like there’s some some extra juice in it in that it’s the Battle of Florida the Sunshine State Showdown it’s just playoffs in general I mean whether you know the media wants to Hype it up um it is what it is it’s it’s a playoff series and it’s always going to be as uh as difficult and as uh intense and and all the uh the buzzers you want to use about it for that win it usually comes after several years of making it how much is kind of The Hunger built this is now your fifth straight year in the playoffs it’s built every single year I mean obviously you know there’s no looking forward through this regular season it’s it’s 82 games it’s grueling but uh when it comes down to it playing in the playoffs is what’s meaningful and what’s important and uh you know being out there uh the chills from the crowd and the excitement and uh the buildup you know four or 5 days wherever it is between games is uh is never uh easy she just want to get going so it’s uh yeah five years of of uh of work um and plenty more years of work ahead of us and um we’re just excited to get started is there any more excitement knowing that it’s Tampa I me you guys have played him now twice in the last three years times FL yeah it’s AAL there’s no doubt about it um but uh you know they’ve had the blueprint they’ve won they’ve had success uh they’re still a hungry team you can see it every time we play them so um there’s going to be no easy ice out there and it’s going to be a tough battle and the excitement is definitely there and every playoff series especially so with uh with the Tampa we know all the things you fought through going in the last playoffs now you’ve had couple weeks off how how do you feel are you as close to 100% as you’ve been going into a playoff yeah absolutely pretty healthy excited to get going Aon not just from a roster perspective but just you know structure-wise stylistically the type of hockey you guys play how different is maybe this team heading into this matchup this time around than in past years yeah I mean under this new system haven’t played these guys in the playoffs yet I mean you’ve seen a lot of regular season matchups so it’s tough there’s no easy ice for any team uh they play an in yourface style we do the same thing and and uh yeah it’s it’s uh it’s going to be a hell of the series what did you guys learn last year about what it takes to get to a final and also the fact you basically have most of the core from last year seen back how much does that help going into this playoffs this year yeah it takes uh it takes every single guy every single shift uh for the entire series um like I said there’s no easy ice it’s uh it’s damn near impossible to make it to that final and yet alone win so um it’s uh it takes everybody takes a an entire group effort and we saw it last year and came up short but uh you we’re going to try and find our way back you’ve seen this building in the playoffs you guys get to open here tomorrow how different is it stepping on of the ice with you know 20,000 fans out there going crazy for game one of the playoffs yeah our fans show out for playoffs so really excited to see uh what they’re going to bring tomorrow really hoping they hype hype us up PA said last year it seemed like when you guys got to the Carolina series it was all Panther fans like before some Toronto it was some probably be a lot of Panther fans in this series since it’s Tampa and should be pretty cool yeah for sure we hope so we we know our fans are going to show up so uh you know we’re asking for that support and and we know we’ll get it Aaron they have the top power play in the League this year what makes their unit so dangerous uh some of the best players in the world um they’ve been together for a really long time so that’s what makes them really lethal they know where they’re going to be without looking um so it’s it’s all about taking away time and space and and finding a way to make get those Big Blocks big saves big uh big moments uh are going to have to happen on our PK for us to win this series and and your PK has been so good right I mean you guys have to feel pretty confident going into this that you’re working pretty well together yep we’re we’re trying to find a Groove every night um it’s never easy especially against one of the number one power plays so uh it’s going to be tough no doubt about it and uh we’re going to try and find a way to rise the challenge since you’ve been here how have you seen the survival League kind of grow toward it is today I mean probably one of the best in NHL yeah yeah I like the way the Miss and here for you guys put it uh you know the sunshine Fest so it’s uh it’s fun we’re excited for it um it’s going to be a battle it always is and uh you know we’re going to try and rise to the occasion thanks thank you
1 Comment
Great to see you again Eky