Going the Distance: Panthers ready for long travel vs. Oilers | Florida Panthers

FORT LAUDERDALE – Brandon Montour is looking for Netflix recommendations.

Sam Reinhart is planning to catch up on some sleep.

Carter Verhaeghe will likely spend a lot of time at the poker table.

Following the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena, the Florida Panthers will be packing their bags for the longest distance ever traveled by a team during the Stanley Cup Final, hopping a flight 2,541 miles to Edmonton, Alberta.

But after spending nine months to get to this moment, what’s a few more hours in the air?

“It’s all about recovery,” Verhaeghe said of the long flights.

The previous record for longest distance between two teams in the Stanley Cup Final was the 2,499 miles that separated the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins back in 2011.

By having home-ice advantage, the Panthers benefit from not being the first team to fly.

“Not having to do that extra flight at the start is nice,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk, who likes to play poker on flights. “It’s nice to be here for a week just preparing. We’re very comfortable home and on the road, but any time you can start at home, you’ll take it.”

Given the location of each team, both are used to racking up frequent-flyer miles.

In many ways, each are located in no man’s land compared to the rest of the NHL.

“Both teams have almost identical travel over the year,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “They have Calgary, and we have Tampa. That’s it. Two teams in one province; two teams in one state. Then everything else is a long flight. They’re used to it. It’s part of how they operate, and it’s the same with us. … We all know how to deal with it. I don’t know if there’s an advantage. Both teams have sort of identical time off, which is good. It’s fair.”

As you’d expect, Maurice plans to spend the long flights with his nose to the grindstone.

“It’s the best place to get work done,” Maurice said of setting up an office at 30,000 feet. “You can watch as much hockey as you can stand on an airplane and read a little bit, too.”

In order to accommodate the extended travel time during the Stanley Cup Final, extra off days have been added between games in the series that require a cross-continent flight.

When the time does come to head across the border for Games 3 and 4 in Canada, the Panthers hope they’ll be checking a coveted lead in the series as well as their luggage.

“Get the passports ready,” Tkachuk said.

The full schedule for the Stanley Cup Final is as follows:

• Saturday, June 8 | 8 p.m. ET | Panthers vs. Oilers | Amerant Bank Arena | ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
• Monday, June 10 | 8 p.m. ET | Panthers vs. Oilers | Amerant Bank Arena | ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
• Thursday, June 13 | 8 p.m. ET | Panthers at Oilers | Rogers Place | ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
• Saturday, June 15 | 8 p.m. ET | Panthers at Oilers | Rogers Place | ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
• Tuesday, June 18 | 8 p.m. ET | Panthers vs. Oilers | Amerant Bank Arena | ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
• Friday, June 21 | 8 p.m. ET | Panthers at Oilers | Rogers Place | ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
• Monday, June 24 | 8 p.m. ET | Panthers vs. Oilers | Amerant Bank Arena | ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS

For tickets, click HERE.