The Florida Panthers with the 17th best regular season record in the NHL and barely snuck in the postseason as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Now, just over a month later, they’ve locked up a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.
Not only did they get hot at the right time, but they beat the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup in each round. The Bruins, Maple Leafs, and Hurricanes were all favorites to win the Cup ahead of their series against the Panthers, and all four of them fell.
The Panthers are still not the betting favorites to win it all, but at least this time they’ll be only short underdogs to the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Golden Knights and Stars.