Niko Mikkola

Opinion: How Superstition Helped Fuel Florida’s Back-to-Back Championships

There are plenty of storylines that can come out of the playoffs, but by far the most unexpected one this year was the Dairy Queen Saga that followed the Panthers for the final two series. Born from a viral photo and some coaxing by Brad Marchand, there wasn’t a game day that went by where […]

Florida Panthers & Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Final 2025 Preview

Tkachuk called it a year ago that Florida would see Edmonton in the final this season. Both teams are a year older, a year wiser, and contain fresh blood that’s eager to earn their name on the Cup. This series is going to be a hard test of wills. Florida aims to go back-to-back, while […]

NHL Playoff Preview: Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes with Line Combinations 5/28/2025

Jesper Boqvist celebrates his goal with his teammates.

3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Carolina Hurricanes Game 3 | 05/24/2025

The Florida Panthers took a 3-0 stranglehold on the series against Carolina on Saturday after a monstrous third-period performance broke the game wide open. The depth of the Panthers’ squad was on full display as they dominated the final twenty minutes, even when down several players. The game was tight for the first forty minutes, […]

3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Toronto Maple Leafs Game 5 | 05/14/2025

The mission was to go into Toronto and get the win to take a 3-2 series lead. The Panthers accomplished this mission well on Wednesday night. The Cats put up a statement win after four extremely tight games, taking Game 5 in a 6-1 victory. They were a minute and six seconds away from a […]

Big celebration from Lundell, Schmidt, and Marchand on the first goal of the game.

3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Tampa Bay Game 4 | 04/28/2025

The match was so over until it wasn’t. After a scoreless first period, the next two periods had three goals each. The Cardiac Cats were out in full force as they spent much of the game trailing by one goal until the defense came back in full force offensively to give the Panthers the lead […]

Tkachuk celebrates his goal with his teammates at the bench.

3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Tampa Bay Lightning Game 1 | 04/22/2025

There were plenty of questions and doubts surrounding the Florida Panthers coming into Game 1 of the playoffs after ending their season with a rough couple of weeks. That season-ending needs to be taken with a grain of salt, given how many players the Cats were resting on any given night, especially the final game […]

NHL Playoff Series Preview: Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Different year, same first-round matchup, welcome back to the Battle of Florida. The in-state rivalry is back for the fourth time in five years, but slightly different than last year’s. Tampa holds home ice advantage this time around, as they finished second in the division while Florida finished third. The Cats were in the division […]

Florida Panthers Brad Marchand celebrating a goal

3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Tampa Bay Game 04/15/2025

82 games are now done and dusted. All eyes can turn to the playoffs and title defense. The Florida Panthers closed out their regular season on the road against Tampa Bay, and while some called it a round 1 preview, I disagree to a certain extent. The Cats were resting Barkov, Reinhart, Forsling, Lundell, Greer, […]

3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Ottawa Senators Game 04/05/2025

I know Panther fans online are frustrated and worried about the team at the moment. It feels like the Cats are stumbling their way into the playoffs. There are certainly things to be frustrated about, but Florida’s ability to play in the playoffs shouldn’t be part of it. It’s been discussed to death about the […]