2022–23 Florida Panthers season
The 2022–23 Florida Panthers season was the 29th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established in 1993. It is the Panthers' 24th season at FLA Live Arena. This is the Panthers' first season under new head coach Paul Maurice. The Panthers qualified for the playoffs after the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins each lost their games on April 11, 2023.
| 2022–23 Florida Panthers | |
|---|---|
Eastern Conference champions | |
| Division | 4th Atlantic |
| Conference | 8th Eastern |
| 2022–23 record | 42–32–8 |
| Home record | 23–13–5 |
| Road record | 19–19–3 |
| Goals for | 290 |
| Goals against | 273 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Bill Zito |
| Coach | Paul Maurice |
| Captain | Aleksander Barkov |
| Alternate captains | Aaron Ekblad Patric Hornqvist Matthew Tkachuk |
| Arena | FLA Live Arena |
| Average attendance | 16,682 |
| Minor league affiliate(s) | Charlotte Checkers (AHL) Florida Everblades (ECHL) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Carter Verhaeghe (42) |
| Assists | Matthew Tkachuk (69) |
| Points | Matthew Tkachuk (109) |
| Penalty minutes | Matthew Tkachuk (123) |
| Plus/minus | Matthew Tkachuk (+29) |
| Wins | Sergei Bobrovsky (24) |
| Goals against average | Alex Lyon (2.89) |
After barely clinching a wild card spot in the playoffs, the Panthers were set to face the Boston Bruins, who had set the NHL record for most wins and points in a season. After being down 3–1 in the series, the Panthers came back and won the series in overtime in Game 7 to pull off one of the biggest upsets in NHL history. The Panthers would then upset the Toronto Maple Leafs to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 27 years. Subsequently, the Panthers would sweep the Carolina Hurricanes to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1996. There, the Panthers were defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. Coupled with the Miami Heat's defeat one night earlier in the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets (which was also decided in five games), South Florida had two teams lose their respective sport's finals on consecutive days.