How rest became a priority for the Panthers as they prepare for another playoff run
The Florida Panthers know full well the grind that lies ahead of them. Two trips to the Stanley Cup Final over the past two years has left this team battle tested.
It also has the Panthers understanding the importance of rest and health as they embark on what they can only hope will be another deep playoff run.
Florida opens the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a rematch of last year’s opening-round matchup. Game 1 is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. start on Tuesday.
And when the series begins, the Panthers anticipate being as close to full strength as possible, with the only exceptions being defenseman Aaron Ekblad (suspended until Game 3) and possibly star winger Matthew Tkachuk.
“There isn’t anybody that I would say that I know is not ready for game one,” Maurice said. “Everybody is possible for Game 1.”
With Tkachuk, who finished the season on long-term injured reserve with an apparent groin injury sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in mid-February, Maurice said a decision will be made Monday ahead of Game 1.
But beyond that, Maurice and Panthers have done their part to make sure the team is as fresh as possible heading into the playoffs. That was a needed commitment, considering the team has played 291 games over the past three seasons, including 45 playoff games.
Maurice wanted to make sure the players on the team who have been through all of the extended playoff runs got time off, so he baked it into the schedule down the stretch once it was known they would make the playoffs.
“You’ve got to take advantage of all the rest you can this time of year,” said forward Sam Reinhart, who didn’t play in three of the final six regular-season games after playing in all of Florida’s previous 285 games over the past three years plus four games for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament this February. “The playoffs are a crazy time. No matter how you’ve been doing, you’re always four games from being out. So I mean, you can prepare for Game 1, but once you’re in it, you’re in it and you’re in an absolute battle trying to get out of that series on top.”
It wasn’t just Reinhart. Defenseman Gustav Forsling had played in 282 of 285 Panthers games before getting to rest two of the final six. Forwards Carter Verhaeghe, Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell each got one or two days off down the stretch as well. So did captain Aleksander Barkov.
Beyond them, the Panthers allowed injured players in defensman Dmitry Kulikov and forward Sam Bennett to ease back into game action, holding them out until the final two games of the regular season to make sure their bodies were as close to 100 percent as possible for the playoffs, when the meaning of every game gets amplified.
“Everything is faster. Every stride is harder,” Maurice said. “That leads to heavier, more frequent contact on the ice. Every check is finished. Every shot is blocked. It can be all of the very, very hard things and in some ways, there’s some risk to that, to the player’s healthy. They’re all hard things, but in the playoffs, everybody’s waiting and that’s both teams. The potential for victory, what they’re willing to do for that drives all of it.”
The Panthers know what type of matchup they’re going to get with the Lightning. Games between Florida and Tampa Bay are always intense, whether it’s the preseason, regular season or playoffs. The in-state rivalry saw an uptick in flair and fervor over the past few years once they finally met up in the playoffs.
Tampa Bay beat Florida in six games to open the 2021 postseason on its way to a second consecutive Stanley Cup win and then swept the Panthers in Round 2 in 2022 en route to making the Cup Final once again albeit losing to the Colorado Avalanche. Florida finally got its vengeance last season, beating the Lightning in five games to open the run to their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
“We know them really well, they know us really well, and obviously we’re in the same state,” Barkov said. “It’s a big rivalry between us and every year it’s getting bigger and bigger. It’s good for hockey and good for state of Florida.”
.JPG)