TURNING POINT: It’s overtime in Game 3 of the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena on May 9. The Panthers are down 2-0 in the series. They had a 4-3 lead in Game 3 until defenseman Morgan Rielly scored at 10:56 of the third period. But forward Brad Marchand delivered, scoring the overtime winner at 15:27 with a shot from the left face-off circle that went in off Rielly to give Florida a 5-4 win, cutting Toronto’s lead in the series to 2-1. It set the Panthers off on a hot streak with eight victories in 10 games heading into the Cup Final.

BEST MOVES MADE: Coach Paul Maurice had to do something after the first two games against the Maple Leafs. It wasn’t going to be a goalie change, though Sergei Bobrovsky clearly struggled in those games, allowing nine goals on 50 shots. Maurice instead swapped out Florida’s entire fourth line, removing Mackie Samoskevich, Nico Sturm and Jesper Boqvist to insert Tomas Nosek, A.J. Greer and Jonah Gadjovich for Game 3. The move paid off in a big way and stayed intact until Game 4 against Carolina, when Greer couldn’t play because of an injury. It was back together for Game 5 and likely will be at the start of the Cup Final, too.

BEST MOVES NOT MADE: Removing Bobrovsky likely wasn’t even part of Maurice’s thought process after Game 2 against Toronto, but the coach still deserves credit for not overthinking and sticking with Florida’s obvious No. 1 goalie. Bobrovsky had an .820 save percentage in those two games, but he’s a Stanley Cup champion goalie and going away from him at that point would have sent the absolute wrong message to the team. Maurice knew that and Bobrovsky clearly has delivered, once again, thanks to the coach’s faith in him; he’s 8-2 with a 1.57 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and two shutouts since.

SIGNATURE WIN (REGULAR SEASON): You have to go back to Oct. 8, opening night, when the Panthers raised their first Stanley Cup championship banner to the Amerant Bank Arena rafters. It was, shall we say, a banner night all around. The fans, as Maurice said after the game, “were wired and there was a great buzz in the building.” Florida used the energy to get off to a fast start in what became a 6-4 win against the Boston Bruins. They led 4-1 in the first period with Bennett scoring twice, with forwards Sam Reinhart and Eetu Luostarinen also getting on the board. Bobrovsky made 24 saves. Then, after the game, the Panthers announced the signing of Verhaeghe to an eight-year contract.

SIGNATURE WIN (PLAYOFFS): The Panthers left no doubt in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs on May 18, coming off a 2-0 loss at home in Game 6 and having to travel back to Toronto. The game was scoreless after the first period, but defenseman Seth Jones, center Anton Lundell and forward Jonah Gadjovich each scored in a span of 6:24 to give Florida a 3-0 lead before 10 minutes elapsed in the second period. Center Max Domi gave the Maple Leafs a short-lived spark by scoring 2:07 into the third period, but Luostarinen answered 47 seconds later to make it 4-1. Reinhart scored to make it 5-1 at 9:24 and Marchand capped the 6-1 win with an empty-net goal at 16:57. It was a textbook example of the dominating game the Panthers are capable of, with six different goal-scorers and nine players with at least a point, including three each for Marchand and Luostarinen. Bobrovsky made 19 saves.