One of the Panthers and Lightning have made to the past 6 Stanley Cup Finals!
The Florida Panthers have won the 2025 Stanley Cup Final after a Game 6 demolition over the Edmonton Oilers, which ended 5-1 in favor of the home team on Tuesday night. With that win, the Panthers became back-to-back Champions, having defeated the same opponent in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final as well.
Impressive as it may sound, this intrigue around Florida-based teams increases as this marks the second time in the past 6 years that a team has defended its crown. The last team to do it was the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won consecutive Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
Let us take a stroll down memory lane and revisit how the Panthers and Lightning have managed to bring 4 titles to the Sunshine State in a span of just 6 seasons.
The Florida Panthers were founded in 1993, and the team had struggled to put together an impressive run in the postseason for most of the seasons leading up to 2022. In the 2022-23 NHL season, the Panthers made their second trip to the Stanley Cup Final and thus began a dynastic run.
The recently concluded 2024 NHL season saw the defending Champions finish with a 47-31-4 record. Finishing 3rd in the Division and 5th in the Conference, the Panthers were the better team for most part of the playoffs.
Florida had a rather easy outing in rounds 1 and 3 of the playoffs with 4-1 wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes, but the Toronto Maple Leafs gave them a tough time in the second round, with the series going a full seven games. A win over the Oilers in 6 games gave them their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.
With a 52–24–6 record in the 2023-24 NHL season, the Panthers finished 1st in the Atlantic Division and 3rd in the Eastern Conference. In the postseason, Florida cruised past the Tampa Bay Lightning (4-1), Boston Bruins (4-2), and the New York Rangers (4-2) before meeting the Oilers in the Final.
Despite holding a 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers came back to force a Game 7, which the Panthers were able to win 2-1 to lift the first Cup in franchise history.
Also Read: Stanley Cup Winners Over the Years – List of the Teams Who Have Won the Stanley Cup!
The Tampa Bay Lightning were founded just one year prior in 1992, and since then, they have made 5 trips to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the period between 2019 and 2022 has been the most dominant in franchise history, with three Finals appearances and two wins.
During the 2020-21 season, Tampa Bay was the defending champion. Due to ongoing restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was cut short to just 56 games, and the Lightning finished with a 36-17-3 record, good for 3rd in the Central Division (Divisions were realigned due to COVID-19).
The Lightning didn’t have much difficulty in the first couple of rounds of the playoffs, easing past fellow state rivals, the Florida Panthers (4-2), and then following it up with a (4-1) series win over the Hurricanes. But the New York Islanders gave them a good fight in the third round as the series stretched to seven games.
Eventually, the Stanley Cup Final was a pretty one-sided affair. The Lightning raced ahead to a 3-0 lead in the series before securing their third title in franchise history in Game 5.
In the 2019-2020 NHL season, the Lightning made it back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time after their last appearance in 2015. The season was initially suspended and then cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tampa Bay finished second in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with a 43-21-6 record.
The Lightning were never under any real pressure or threat as they were able to close out the first three rounds of the playoffs with 4-1 series wins over the Columbus Blue Jackets, Boston Bruins, and a 4-2 series win over the New York Islanders. They faced the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final, where once again they jumped out to a comfortable 3-1 lead in the series before wrapping it up in Game 6.
Read More: Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Wins – History of Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup Wins Over the Years
In short, the Florida-based NHL teams have been a dominant force in the past six years. Not only have the Panthers and Lightning won 4 of the last 6 Championships, but at least one of the two franchises has been part of all 6 Stanley Cup Finals from 2020 to 2025.
nfl
NHL 
