This series could’ve been a lot different if Game 1 had finished differently…..maybe. The top-seeded ’95-’96 Panthers took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission after the 8th-seeded ’14-’15 Panthers scored just 48 seconds into the game thanks to Jonathan Huberdeau. The ’14-’15 Panthers fought their way back until Jimmy Hayes scored at the 8:15 mark of the third to tie the game 4-4 and eventually forced overtime. Then, Rob Niedermayer won it eight plus minutes into overtime for the top seed. Then, in Game 2, a shorthanded goal from Brad Boyes in the final minute of the second period gave the ’14-’15 Panthers a 2-1 lead. However, the ’95-’96 Panthers would rally off six goals in the third period, including two from Niedermayer to comeback for a big 7-3 win. In Game 3, the ’95-’96 Panthers opened a 3-0 lead with Ray Sheppard scoring the third goal in the first minute of the second period. Goalie Roberto Luongo would shut the door from their for the ’14-’15 Panthers, but they could only beat John Vanbiesbrouck twice over the course of the rest of the game as the top seed took a 3-0 series lead. The ’14-’15 Panthers won their only game of the series in Game 4 by a score of 5-4 with 11 different players registering a point and four of them posting more than one point. Then, the top seed finished the series with a 5-3 win in Game 5 after scoring four in the first period alone.

GAME 1:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’14-’15 Panthers 1 1 2 0 4 ’95-’96 Panthers 3 0 1 1 5

GAME SUMMARY: ’95-’96 FLA – 5 ’14-’15 FLA – 4 (OT) (1-0 ’95-’96 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: LW – Johan Garpenlov (’95-’96 FLA) – 2 G 1 A 3 P +2 4 S

2nd Star: RW – Jimmy Hayes (’14-’15 FLA) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +3 3 S

3rd Star: C – Rob Niedermayer (’95-’96 FLA) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +2 1 S

GAME 2:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’14-’15 Panthers 0 2 1 — 3 ’95-’96 Panthers 0 1 6 — 7

GAME SUMMARY: ’95-’96 FLA – 7 ’14-’15 FLA – 3 (2-0 ’95-’96 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: RW – Scott Mellanby (’95-’96 FLA) – 2 G 1 A 3 P +4 7 S

2nd Star: C – Rob Niedermayer (’95-’96 FLA) – 2 G 1 A 3 P +3 5 S

3rd Star: C – Jesse Belanger (’95-’96 FLA) – 1 G 2 A 3 P +2 1 S

GAME 3:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’95-’96 Panthers 2 1 0 — 3 ’14-’15 Panthers 0 1 1 — 2

GAME SUMMARY: ’95-’96 FLA – 3 ’14-’15 FLA – 2 (3-0 ’95-’96 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: G – John Vanbiesbrouck (’95-’96 FLA) – W 2.00 GAA .959 SV% (47 SV’s)

2nd Star: G – Roberto Luongo (’14-’15 FLA) – L 3.00 GAA .927 SV% (38 SV’s)

3rd Star: D – Robert Svehla (’95-’96 FLA) – 0 G 2 A 2 P Even 4 S

GAME 4:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’95-’96 Panthers 1 2 1 — 4 ’14-’15 Panthers 1 3 1 — 5

GAME SUMMARY: ’14-’15 FLA – 5 ’95-’96 FLA – 4 (3-1 ’95-’96 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: D – Aaron Ekblad (’14-’15 FLA) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +2 2 S

2nd Star: C – Rob Niedermayer (’95-’96 FLA) – 1 G 1 A 2 P Even 2 S

3rd Star: D – Brian Campbell (’14-’15 FLA) – 0 G 2 A 2 P +2 0 S 2 PIM

GAME 5:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’14-’15 Panthers 1 2 0 — 3 ’95-’96 Panthers 4 1 0 — 5

GAME SUMMARY: ’95-’96 FLA – 5 ’14-’15 FLA – 3 (4-1 ’95-’96 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: RW – Jody Hull (’95-’96 FLA) – 2 G 0 A 2 P +2 6 S

2nd Star: G – Dan Ellis (’14-’15 FLA) – ND 0.00 GAA 1.000 SV% (36 SV’s); Replaced starter Roberto Luongo at the 3:55 mark of the second period

3rd Star: LW – Jonathan Huberdeau (’14-’15 FLA) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +2 6 S

Up next is the 4-5 matchup between the ’11-’12 Panthers and the ’93-’94 Panthers!