The Panthers are taking a page out of the playbook of the 2012 Kings, who won the Cup as a No. Remember, the Islanders made the conference finals in 2020 with a 35-23-10 record over the abbreviated regular season - far from world-beaters, they would have missed the playoffs under normal circumstances. So why not use Florida’s run as reason to believe they can do the same? A month ago, who would have guessed the Panthers would be celebrating in the Eastern Conference finals? Getty Images Hockey is a sport where just getting into the playoffs gives you a real shot at making a run because teams do get hot at the right time or ride a great goaltender in the playoffs.Īnd the Islanders did finish one point ahead of the Panthers in the standings over 82 games. … We’re confident as a group we can get the job done.” “So I think as a team, we’re right there. There’s momentum swings, there’s things that happen in games that change the outlook. I don’t think Boston’s a bad team or a failure because they lost. But the Florida Panthers are a good hockey team. … We’re sitting here today, I don’t think the Boston Bruins thought they would be out in the first round.

“I just think that the margin in this league is very small,” Matt Martin said on breakup day.

Three weeks later, with Florida stunningly sweeping its way to the Stanley Cup Final, you can bet that the Panthers will be brought up regularly next season by any team that will be fighting for a playoff spot. Already on breakup day, some Islanders were bringing up the Panthers as an example of how they could find lightning in a bottle, should they stay the course.

Renaine game