The Florida Panthers won their very first President’s Trophy last season as the National Hockey League’s best team, and even won their first postseason series since their magical run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996. It wasn’t long afterward that their season would end with a whimper with a sweep loss against their Sunshine State rival Tampa Bay Lightning.
Their regular season this year was anything but dominating, but they still managed to clinch a postseason berth for the 4th straight year. And their reward this year is facing the President’s Trophy winners of this season in the Boston Bruins, who re-wrote the NHL record books with an astound 65 victory campaign.
Needless to say, the oddsmakers aren’t exactly being kind right now to the Panthers. But don’t tell that to hard-nosed Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas, who knows that once you’re in the playoffs, anything can happen.
”This is the moment that we have been fighting for the whole year,” Gudas said. “It does not matter what happened in the first 82. This is a whole new season. Anything can happen.”
Fans may remember the 62 victory Tampa Bay Lightning being stunned in four games in Round 1 in 2019 by the upstart Columbus Blue Jackets, the four game sweep the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings suffered at the hands of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 20 years ago in 2003, and other similar 1st round upsets proving that a lower seed taking down the top dog isn’t a once in a generation fluke.
“Hey man, we’re in the playoffs,” Gudas continued. “Let’s F-ing go.”
The Panthers were one of the few teams this year to deal Boston a rare regulation loss, and Gudas knows that based on how his team matched up against the Bruins in their season series, it isn’t impossible.
“I think we are a confident group who believes we can play with anyone,” Gudas added. “The way we played Boston all season, it gave us confidence. They are the team they are for a reason, but we are in the playoffs for a reason as well. I am excited for the challenge. If you want to win it all, you have to get through the biggest hurdle and that’s right from the start for us.”