Panthers Focused on Postseason, Not Home-Ice Advantage

As the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers have fared well. They are at the top of their division through 55 games, sporting a 32-20-3 record. Fighting through roster turnover, inconsistent play, and a massive target on their back, the Panthers are in line for a top seed in the upcoming 2025 postseason.

But for the Panthers, where they finish in the standings doesn't matter one bit. Forward Matthew Tkachuk recently spoke with DJ Siddiqi of RG about the upcoming playoffs. During their chat, Tkachuk spoke about the experience the team's gained over the past few seasons. One of his main takeaways from that experience is that your seed and home-ice advantage can be a huge help, but ultimately it doesn't matter. Whoever is playing the best at that time will win.

"If we can finish as the first seed, that would be great," he said. "We're honestly the type of team, it doesn't matter if we finish first or eighth, we just want to get in."

That's the focus for the team down the final stretch of the regular season. The team has 27 games remaining, which is plenty of time to hopefully build on their lead. If that changes, however, Tkachuk and his teammates are confident in their ability to win a series. They are just focused on playing their best possible team game by the time the playoffs begin.

“I don't think it really matters to us what seed we finish," he said. "We just want to play well going into it."

Tkachuk is certainly playing well lately. Through 50 games, he has 19 goals and 32 assists for 51 points. He's the team's second leading scorer and he's the heartbeat of the team. A tone-setting forward, Tkachuk's words hold weight in the Florida locker room, making it clear that the Panthers are just focused on getting into the dance. Once they're there, all bets are off as the Cats try to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!