SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers recorded their first-ever Stanley Cup Final win in franchise history Thursday night and players told Local 10 News Friday that the team is looking to build off that momentum.
Carter Verhaeghe snapped a wrister from the slot high into the back of the net 4:27 into overtime and the Panthers rallied to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Thursday night in Game 3.
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Panthers forward Nick Cousins said the goal breathed new life into the team’s championship hopes.
“The energy our fans bring us I thought was a huge boost for our group. Obviously, we got some real key saves at key times from Bob and now we have a chance Game 4 to tie this series up,” he said.
At a press conference Friday, Maurice said it’s something to build off of and something fans can hold onto as well.
“Last night was a real nice give back to the fans. Their first Stanley Cup Final in this building. The players feel the weight of that responsibility and they should also feel proud of themselves for a pretty nice gift to the fans,” he said.
Maurice was also asked about Defenseman Radko Gudas’ contribution to the team after coming back from injury.
Gudas is well known for his strong, physical style of play and his wild facial hair. Maurice joked Friday that there is a connection between them.
“Radko’s beard actually is part of him hitting. His weight is tied to the beard. His beard weighs 103 pounds,” he said.
Panthers forward Eric Staal said during a press conference that he feels his team are tough enough to handle the adversity after being down 2-1 in the series.
“We’ve got guys that have some game-breaking ability and when you have that in your lineup it takes one quick look,” he said. “We obviously saw that last night, but we saw it over the whole course of the playoffs, there’s guys in our room that are built for a moment like that.”
Vegas still leads the title series 2-1, but Florida has life and found a way to turn overtime into its favorite time once again.
Star forward Matthew Tkachuk told reporters on Friday that being in a 2-0 hole after losing their first two games in Vegas didn’t convince members of the national media that his team was built to win their first championship.
“They all counted us out before the final even started, so being in that position just probably added to it a bit,” he said.
Local 10 News spoke with hopeful fans outside of FLA Live Arena just hours after their historical win.
“Every time we’re down, every time there’s adversity all season long, we kept coming back. We weren’t even supposed to make the playoffs. In Boston, no one gave us a chance. We beat Boston and we just keep rolling and rolling and rolling,” said Panthers fan Rob Beglia.
Verhaghe, who scored the game-winning goal, said that he was glad to deliver a victory for fans that waited 26 years for the team to return to the Stanley Cup Final.
“To win in overtime in front of our home fans, it gives us a little bit of momentum and you saw it right from the start in the first period. We fed off our home crowd a little bit and we love playing at home,” he said.
Game 4 is Saturday night at 8 p.m. at FLA Live Arena.