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Saturday marks Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights.
The Florida Panthers have gone 2-1 in Game 1's during these 2023 playoffs. Let's examine each one of those games individually.
Round 1, Game 1 vs Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins won the President's Trophy by a mile and were the hottest team coming into the playoffs.
In Game 1, the Florida Panthers quickly found out just how good the Bruins were. Florida outshot Boston 15-8 in the first period but still trailed 1-0 on the back of a David Pastrnak power-play goal.
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Boston added to their lead early in the second before Matthew Tkachuk got the Panthers on the board. The Bruins extended their lead at the end of the second and a scoreless third period left the Panthers two goals short, falling 3-1.
Linus Ullmark made 31 saves for the Bruins while Alex Lyon finished with a .969 save percentage.
Round 2, Game 1 vs Toronto Maple Leafs
After winning three straight to dispatch the Bruins, the Panthers met the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had just won their first playoff series in 19 years.
In Game 1, it was Sergei Bobrovsky in net for Florida Panthers, after the veteran had taken over for Lyon in round one. Bobrovsky was not tested much early, as Florida jumped out to a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
But in the second and third periods, Toronto fired 27 pucks at Bobrovsky, who turned away all but two. Matthew Tkachuk recorded three assists and Carter Verhaege's late second-period goal proved to be the game-winner in a 4-2 victory for Florida.
Round 3, Game 1 vs Carolina Hurricanes
The sixth-longest game in NHL history.
After the Florida Panthers overcame a 1-0 deficit and watched Stefan Noesen tie the game at two late in the third, the teams headed to overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. And then another overtime. And another. And another.
This game required four overtimes, and nearly every second of them. As the clock neared 1:30 am local time and the two teams had racked up 124 shots, Tkachuk finally put an end to the marathon.
With only 12 seconds remaining in the fourth overtime, Tkachuk whipped a wrister through a screen and over the left shoulder of Leafs goaltender Freddie Andersen. Tkachuk then proceeded to exit and run right down the tunnel.
Bobrovsky made 63 saves in the win, the most of his career.
