Panthers Celebrated Third Straight Stanley Cup Final Trip With Perfect Meme

An all-time legendary post from the Panthers' social media team.
Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers celebrates after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena on May 24, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida.
Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers celebrates after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena on May 24, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida. / Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
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The Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year, an occasion that calls for lots of celebration—as well as lots of laughs, thanks to their social media team.

The Panthers' social media admin rivaled their team's peerless dominance in recent history with an all-time hilarious post following the Panthers' Game 5 win to eliminate the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final series.

The Panthers, who boast a stacked lineup with grizzled vets like Brad Marchand and Aleksander Barkov, aren't exactly the youngest team in the NHL playoff field at the moment. Yet, on Wednesday night, their social media team showed its Gen Z colors with the perfect meme celebrating their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final berth:

Florida Panthers celebrate third straight Stanley Cup Final trip with perfect meme.
@FlaPanthers

Peep the rat emoji. Just too good.

The Panthers are set to defend their title against either the Edmonton Oilers or Dallas Stars on the road in Game 1 of the Cup Final. They'll play June 4 if the Oilers win their series on Thursday, or June 7 if the Stars extend the series. Florida has amassed a surprisingly favorable record away from home, as the team has gone 8-2 on the road (including their current five road game win streak) against the Canes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning on their playoff run so far.

Only two teams in NHL history, the Pittsburgh Penguins (2016 and '17) and Lightning (2020 and '21), have successfully defended their Stanley Cup title since the turn of the century.


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.