There will be a new Cup champion. Florida's injury-plagued season won't include the playoffs
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Maybe the end for the Florida Panthers came when Brad Marchand was shut down for the season last month. Or maybe it was when Seth Jones broke his collarbone and wound up missing 26 games.
Or, maybe it was 20 minutes into training camp, when captain Aleksander Barkov blew out his knee. Nobody knows when the season was officially doomed. Doesn't matter now.
The Panthers are out. Games remain, but the Panthers were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday with a 9-4 loss to Pittsburgh. For the first time since 2022, a team other than Florida will represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final and for the first time since 2023, a team other than the Panthers will be the one hoisting the greatest chalice in sports.
They've known this was coming for a while. It's just official now. “Obviously, no one’s happy about the situation," Panthers forward Sam Bennett said.
"But it’s about really just sticking together as a team and going through this as a team. We're all sticking together. It's not fun sometimes.
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