NEW YORK – The Eastern Conference Finals are finally ready to begin.
The defending Eastern Conference Champion Florida Panthers will play at the President’s Trophy winner, the New York Rangers.
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The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was back in 1997.
Forward Matthew Tkachuk knows what is at stake in this series.
Tkachuk said, “On the nights we’re playing, there’s nobody else on so all eyes will be on us. That just adds on to the whole New York City, MSG, playing the number one team in the league. It all adds up right now. This is a very exciting time of year to begin with no matter who you’re playing. To be playing the New York Rangers, it just adds to much to it. This is a huge stage for us, for our team, it’s different than last year for sure so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad has been with the Panthers for years.
He’s seen the growth of the franchise.
Ekblad said, “It was a long time coming it wasn’t easy those first few years, there was a lot of learning and growing. The experiences of new GMs, new coaches, the fact that we’re at this point where the expectation is to make the playoffs, the expectation is to challenge for a championship it’s a really cool thing, it’s a cool feeling. I’m so happy to have been through it all with the franchise.”
It might be natural for the Panthers to have nerves heading into such a big series.
Head coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday, his team should embrace that.
Maurice said, “You want to bring a little of that pressure into this game tonight. Make sure you feel that that chance is real and also you gotta be able to enjoy this or there’s no point to the damn thing. Let’s have some fun while we’re doing it.”