The Florida Panthers are off to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in 27 years, thanks to an overtime winner off the stick of Nick Cousins in Game 5 on Friday night. Florida will now face their old Southeast Division rivals, the Carolina Hurricanes.
After the big win, Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who was nominated earlier on Friday for the Hart Trophy, decided to take a shot at Toronto Maple Leafs fans in an interview with NHL on TNT's Darren Pang.
For those who don't remember, Tkachuk is referring to a moment following Toronto's first round series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. In Maple Leafs Square outside Scotiabank Arena, fans were seen and heard chanting 'We Want Florida' because they didn't want to have to face the Boston Bruins. Well, it didn't work out too great for them as the team they wanted to face eliminated them from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It's unclear when the 2023 Eastern Conference Final will begin, although it'll be sometime next week, but it'll be interesting to watch the Hurricanes and Panthers, one of whom is going to break a long drought of not playing in the Stanley Cup Final. The last time Carolina was in the Stanley Cup Final was 17 years ago, when they faced Edmonton in 2006. As for the Panthers, they haven't played in the Stanley Cup Final since 1996, where they were swept by a very strong Colorado Avalanche team.
