SUNRISE, Fla. — Aleksander Barkov ended last season by hoisting the Stanley Cup, as the Florida Panthers fans got to roar in delight.
And this season started the same way.
Barkov, the Panthers’ captain, skated the Cup onto the ice Tuesday night moments before Florida hoisted its first championship banner to the rafters — with players all arm-in-arm as they gazed at the building’s newest memento. The Panthers posed with the Cup one more time after the banner made its two-minute trip skyward, and then, finally, it was time for a new season to begin with a season opener against the Boston Bruins.
“Now we get to try to chase it again,” Barkov said.
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Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final was replayed on the giant video screens over the ice before warmups, fans cheering again when Sam Reinhart scored the go-ahead goal and getting even louder when the final seconds where shown.
And then came the real ovation — when the final part of the Cup celebration came and the banner took its place in the rafters.
The pregame ceremony capped 3½ months of reveling in the franchise’s first title. Players, coaches and some staff got their championship rings Monday in a private ceremony, then gazed skyward Tuesday when the banner was raised. Getting replica rings were 158 season-ticket holders, called Panthers “legacy members,” who have had tickets with the franchise since its inaugural season.
“The fans will really enjoy the banner,” said Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe, who had the first goal of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to help Florida beat Edmonton 2-1 for the title June 24. “Looking up there, I guess if you need a little inspiration, you just look up there and see what we accomplished.”
For the championship banner, the Panthers decided on one with a white background, the words “Stanley Cup Champions” in red at the top, “2024” in red at the bottom, with the image of the Cup in the center just above the team’s logo. It was hoisted over the end of the ice where…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/41687966/panthers-lift-championship-banner-capping-stanley-cup-party
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Publish date : 2024-10-09 01:54:18
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