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SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers’ road to repeat as Stanley Cup champions could take a major step forward Monday night.
But if they want to sweep the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals, they’ll have to do it shorthanded.
The Cats will be without Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer for Game 4 in Sunrise, but head coach Paul Maurice said it’s an opportunity for more guys to shine.
“We have players we’re excited for. I’m happy for Uvis (Balinskis) because he doesn’t deserve to be watching hockey games,” Maurice said. “He deserves to be playing. Now, one of those guys gets a piece of it.”
With the opportunity to complete the sweep, Florida said they’re just going to play their game and let things work out.
“We want to keep it the same, stay calm and composed, and treat it like any other playoff game,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said.
With a win Monday night, Florida will make their third consecutive Stanley Cup final.
The team’s depth, chemistry and defense have stood out in this year’s playoff run.
While the defense will be without Mikkola for Game Four, Forsling feels they’ll be ready for the challenge.
“We’ve done a good job of not letting them shoot and staying tight with them with the gaps,” Forsling said. “It starts with our forecheck.”
The Hurricanes have lost 14 straight conference finals games after sweeps in 2009, 2019 and 2023.
“We’ve been playing in some tight games, and you have to understand it’s going to be a tough game tonight, and one of the biggest things for us is having a good start,” defensemen Nate Schmidt said.
If Florida advances to the Stanley Cup finals, they will take on the winner of the Dallas and Edmonton. The Oilers currently lead that series 2-1.
