The Florida Panthers don't play hockey every day. It only seems like that's the case. When the Panthers take the ice for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton on Wednesday night, it will be the team's 309th game over the past three seasons and one that ties the NHL record for most games in a three-year span.

Instead of following his NBA playing dad, Seth Jones chose another path and 12 seasons into an NHL career he is in position to win a Stanley Cup.

The Panthers erased an early 2-0 deficit to win Game 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 on Wednesday, closing out the Eastern Conference Finals series.

At the end of the regular season, exactly one staffer at The Athletic still picked Edmonton to win it all. And one staffer picked Florida. That’s it. We should have known better. The Oilers and Panthers did. The fact is, to a great team, home ice is nice. But it’s not a must.

The Panthers are -126 favorites (wager $126 to win $100) on the money line in the latest SportsLine consensus odds, with the Hurricanes coming in as +105 (wager $100 to win $105) underdogs. The total is 5.5. You can see the model's latest projections, along with expert picks for Panthers-Hurricanes Game 5, at SportsLine.

Outdoor game between Florida Panthers and New York Rangers set for Jan. 2, 2026 at loanDepot park in Miami

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida coach Paul Maurice keeps the day-to-day routine simple. Show up for work early and have copious amounts of coffee. Trust assistant coaches to do their jobs. Sit in on meetings when needed. Hammer home a consistent message with players. Swear a little bit sometimes, swear profusely at other times. Hey, it works.

Bruins legend Brad Marchand has been key to the Panthers' Stanley Cup Final run in 2025. How did the ex-captain end up here?