The Florida Panthers played hard in the first few rounds of the playoffs, making quick work taking down the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins in eleven total games. Now, they have taken down the President's Trophy earning team, the New York Rangers, in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals, winning the Prince of wales Trophy.
However, the NHL is no stranger to superstitions, with the most extreme coming out as we approach the Stanley Cup Finals. Among the most serious is the idea that touching any Conference Finals Trophy would ruin a team's shot in the final round.
The Florida Panthers have had their fair share of issues with this tradition, having lost in both of their appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals runs after someone laid their hands on the Prince of Wales Trophy. Last year, several players touched the trophy before Aleksander Barkov picked it up and paraded it around the rink.
The Florida Panthers avoided repeating their mistake and not only did not touch the trophy, but steered clear of the table it was on entirely. Provided their history with this tradition, many fans are getting more optimistic about their odds against the eventual winner of the Western Conference Finals.
Whether or not the Florida Panthers will win their first Stanley Cup this year will undoubtedly rely more on the team's ability to score goals and block shots than an ages-old superstition. However, based on their dominant play and the inconsistency of their potential opponents in the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers, they have a clear shot at a major franchise victory.
