If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Just the way the defending Stanley Cup Champions have gone about their business. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals is at the Amerant Bank Arena, and the Florida Panthers look to be in a hurry. There’s Matthew Tkachuk saying in the presser that they “have to treat this like a Game 7.” And the latest move from the Panthers screams of a Game 6 ultimatum. So, what’s going on, you ask? Here’s the big scoop!

Guess who’s back! Roberto Luongo, that’s who! The Panthers’ very own is back for the big honors. Spittin’ Chiclets dropped the huge update on X on June 17: “Roberto Luongo returns to bang the drum tonight for Game 6… Luongo banged it last year for Game 7 when the Cats won the cup 👀.” Are the Florida Panthers having Deja Vu? They sure are hoping so.

The veteran former goalie, who is now a special advisor for the Panthers, will bang the ceremonial drum before the first puck drop. Roberto Luongo had played 11 seasons with the Panthers. So, last year, he arrived in his retro Florida Panthers sweater and blew the roof off the Amerant Bank Arena as he led the “Let’s Go Panthers!” chant. Everyone is hoping history repeats itself. And that extends to the game.

The Panthers won 2-1 against the Edmonton Oilers on June 25, 2024, to win the Stanley Cup. You get it? Everything’s in place for a repeat. Last year, Carter Verhaeghe gave the lead, and Sam Reinhart made it 2-1. They are all there. So is Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 23 saves with a save percentage of .958. If anything, this year, the Panthers also have Brad Marchand, who ditched Boston to come to Florida.

Let’s see if June 17 is the day the Panthers make history. For that, they have gone to extreme lengths.

The Florida Panthers taking the Stanley Cup omen very seriously

The Panthers want the stars to align when the puck drops at 8 pm ET. If they win, they become only the 3rd team in the salary cap era to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. It has been done by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016-17 and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020-21. Well, the Cats want it bad. So much so that they decided to bring Luongo back. They just don’t want to lose like they did in Game 3 when Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo banged the drum.

Seems the Panthers believe in the supernatural. It was quite an electric atmosphere as Adebayo set the vibe for Florida to groove to a thrilling hockey game. But we feel destiny intervened. Because it was the only game in which the Panthers outshot the Oilers and still lost! And believing in omens and superstitions is not just their thing, to be honest.

The NHL is riddled with superstitions and beliefs. Take the Conference Championship trophy superstition, for instance. Players don’t want to touch it, thinking they will lose. The Florida Panthers won the Prince of Wales Trophy this year and didn’t touch it, like they did last year. When they did touch in 2023, they lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the Vegas Golden Knights.

We don’t know how it works. At the end of the day, it’s about winning that justifies everything. The Panthers want their historic win.