The Wraparound: Panthers looking to advance for first time in 26 years

The Wraparound is your daily look at the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. We’ll break down the NHL playoff games today with the all-important television information.

• Check in with all of Thursday’s NHL Stanley Cup playoff action with the NHL Rink Wrap right here. 

• The Lightning are not going away, forcing a Game 7 against the Maple Leafs with an OT win on Thursday. 

• We know of at least one Second Round matchup as the Blues beat the Wild on Thursday, advancing to play the Avalanche. 

The Florida Panthers are in uncharted territory. At least for them.

They enter Game 6 (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, SN360, TVA Sports) against the Capitals with a 3-2 series lead and are looking to advance to the Second Round for the first time since their improbably Stanley Cup Final run in 1996. That is a span of 26 years without playing a game outside of the First Round.

Even more incredible than that, is that in those 26 years they have only had one series where they even had a chance to play in a game with a chance to advance. They had a 3-2 series lead against the New Jersey Devils in 2012 before losing Games 6 and 7 (both in overtime) to lose the series. In every other year dating back to 1996 the Panthers have either missed the playoffs entirely (the most common result) or lost their First Round series in five or six games, never even getting to a third win.

Now they have that chance, and it has been a journey in getting here.

They entered the playoffs as heavy favorites, got badly outplayed in the first three games, and faced a 2-1 series deficit in Game 4 on the road. In that Game 4 they were a matter of inches from facing a 3-1 series deficit until Garnet Hathaway‘s empty-net bid just missed, giving them a chance to tie the game with two