Why the Panthers didn’t touch Prince of Wales Trophy this year. And more Game 6 notes

As the Florida Panthers left the bench to celebrate their Game 6 win in the Eastern Conference final over the New York Rangers on Saturday — a win that secured their place in the Stanley Cup Finals for the second consecutive year — coach Paul Maurice appeared to give Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov a message.

Don’t touch the Prince of Wales Trophy, which has been given every year to the Eastern Conference champion every year since the 1993-94 season.

The Panthers had no shame in hoisting the trophy last season as they celebrated their first trip to the Cup Finals since 1996 after a remarkable playoff run after barely sneaking into the playoffs.

But then that postseason ended when they lost to Vegas in five games in the finals.

This year, they weren’t taking any chances.

“He also told me last year [not to touch it],” Barkov said postgame. “Last year we had a different situation, but we’re not going to talk about last year. This year, I think we all agreed we were not going to touch it.”

Maurice’s response to Barkov’s comments: “I think Sasha has a pretty good sense of humor. Actually I don’t remember. All I know is there a picture somewhere here of him carrying it down the hallway, so at that point I had to say I told him to, right? It has nothing to do with anything, but we play our silly games.”

The Panthers don’t want to say they’re superstitious, but at this point, they’ll do anything to make sure they hoist the Stanley Cup once the playoffs come to an end.

“We touched it last year and it didn’t work for us,” forward Sam Bennett said. “So, we thought we’d try something different this year.”

Florida will play either the Edmonton Oilers or Dallas Stars for the Cup. The Oilers lead the Western Conference final 3-2 entering Game 6 on Sunday night.

This and that

▪ Vladimir Tarasenko became the sixth player in NHL history to score a series-clinching goal to send his team to the Stanley Cup Finals with multiple franchises (also 2019 with the St. Louis Blues). The others: Artturi Lehkonen (2022 with the Colorado Avalanche and 2021 with the Montreal Canadiens), Rod Brind’Amour (2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes and 1997 with the Philadelphia Flyers), Martin Gelinas (2004 with the Calgary Flames and 2002 with Carolina), Bobby Smith (1991 with the Minnesota North Stars and 1986 Montreal) and Hec Kilrea (1937 with the Detroit Red Wings and 1927 with the Ottawa Senators).

▪ Sergei Bobrovsky surrendered just one goal on Saturday and allowed two or fewer goals in five of six games against the Rangers. He finished the Eastern Conference final with a cumulative .921 save percentage and 1.89 goals against average, including a shutout in Game 1.

▪ The Panthers became the third team in NHL history to eliminate the Presidents’ Trophy winner in consecutive postseasons, knocking out the Rangers this season and the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round last season. The others to do so: the Penguins (2016 and 2017) and Red Wings (1997 and 1998).

▪ The 2024 Stanley Cup Final will mark the fifth consecutive championship series to feature a Florida-based team. In addition to the Panthers making it the past two season, Tampa Bay competed for three consecutive Stanley Cups from 2020-2022, winning it all in 2020 and 2021. The only other states or provinces that have seen a similar length are Quebec (10 from 1951-1960 and five from 1965-1969), Alberta (eight from 1983-1990) and New York (six from 1979-1984).