Embarrassed might not be strong enough a word to describe how the Florida Panthers felt after Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals exactly one year ago when they lost in historic fashion, giving up 9 goals to the Vegas Golden Knights. They would go on to lose the series 4-1, but they were there. They knew, even after a gentlemen’s sweep in the Finals, that they were building towards a championship. The Panthers would come back this season as the team to beat, and proved everyone correct as they took Game 1 of the 2024 finals with a decisive performance of their own.
Florida came out in Game 1 firing, scoring early in the first period. Bobrovsky was impenetrable, making saves with his blocker, his pad and even his facemask. For 30 seconds at one point, Bobrovsky was without his stick but was still making saves. He stood on his head and secured a 32-save shut out.
An empty-netter from Eetu Luostarinen with five seconds left gave the Panthers a Game 1, 3-0 victory. Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues tallied the other two goals for the Panthers. Game 2 is set for tomorrow night (Monday, June 10th) at 7 PM CT.
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