stanley cup panthers.

The Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup championship festivities have included an all-night celebration at a popular beach bar; crowd surfing, pole climbing and impromptu karaoke at a Miami nightclub; a Brad Marchand appearance at Dairy Queen; a few team dinners and a boat ride. That’s just so far. Their chaotic celebratory escapades have been all over social media. The Panthers also partied hard after winning the franchise’s first title a year ago. But some players have described those days as a surreal whirlwind of first-time experiences. This time, the celebrations are different, as the reality of what they accomplished set in.

The Florida Panthers were up 3-0 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. But, they lost. Matthew Tkachuk and the stars of the defending champion Panthers smothered the Oilers in the first period. Edmonton’s veterans responded fiercely — scoring four straight to take a 4-3 lead. After the Panthers forced overtime, Oilers star Leon Draisaitl scored the winner. What initially looked like an easy victory that would put Florida one win away from clinching a second straight Stanley Cup Final turned into a huge collapse that has the series tied 2-2 heading back to Edmonton.