Greg Wyshynski, ESPNJun 13, 2024, 04:04 PM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
EDMONTON — The Florida Panthers did in fact make it to Edmonton on Wednesday after travel delays, and they were rather amused with all the concern ahead of Thursday’s Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
“It’s just so funny how everything gets so magnified in the Cup finals,” Panthers forward Kyle Okposo said during Thursday morning’s skate. “This happens four times a year to every team in the regular season and nobody says anything. And now it’s like, ‘Oh my God, they’re not going to be able to play!'”
Torrential rain in South Florida on Wednesday caused massive flooding and significant travel delays, including the Panthers’ charter flight to Edmonton, which was delayed for a few hours. Fans and media were tracking the flight online to see when it could get to Edmonton. It landed in the 8 p.m. hour locally — about two hours after the team was scheduled to do interviews at the Edmonton Oilers’ arena.
“I think we always knew we would get out at some point, whether we got in at two in the morning or whatever. We were going to get here,” Okposo said. “Everybody was just kind of having fun with it, honestly.”
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Unbeknownst to players, even the Edmonton air traffic controllers were getting in on the fun. One jokingly told the pilots of the Panthers’ charter that there would be a “two hour hold or whatever it would take for you to be low enough in fuel to have to divert from Edmonton.”
Rather than immediately fly to Edmonton after Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, the Panthers opted to remain in South Florida — despite weather forecasts that predicted significant rain for Wednesday.
“We pay a bunch of really smart people to have better answers than we do,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “This is the way we do it, and there are reasons for it, and I’m 100% good with it. At no point when a guy gets a cold do they come to see me on how they should…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40344121/panthers-laugh-stanley-cup-travel-delays-set-game-3-vs-oilers
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-06-13 21:14:17
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