By Zane Miller
The Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights will face each other in the 109th Stanley Cup Finals, as both teams look to be the NHL champions for the 2022-23 season. The two teams have never played against each other previously in the Finals.
The Panthers left empty-handed in their lone Finals appearance in 1996, as they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche and are still seeking their first win in a Cup matchup.
The Golden Knights were also defeated in their only Finals appearance in 2018, falling in five games to the Washington Capitals despite taking the first game of the series.
Out of the 256 potential Stanley Cup matchups that would be possible under the current playoff format, 35 of them have occurred so far.
The most common matchup out of the ones that could still be possible to re-occur is the Montreal Canadiens v. Chicago Blackhawks, as the franchises have faced each other five times, coming in 1931, 1944, 1965, 1971, and 1973.
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