The Florida Panthers will be making a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final, hoping this time they'll get their hands on the holy grail.

Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko scored for the Panthers in their 2-1 win over the Rangers in Game 6. Bennett finished with four goals in the series, including goals in each of the last three games. Jacob Trouba was nothing more than a turnstile on this goal.

SAM BENNETT GIVES THE PANTHERS THE LEAD IN GAME 6! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/QHCZPD7KlN

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 2, 2024

Meanwhile, Tarasenko's goal was his first point of the series and first point in eight games. Tarasenko's lack of production might make this trade seem bad for the Panthers, but it won't really matter if they win the Stanley Cup.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves in Game 6, picking up his third consecutive win and eighth quality start over his last nine games. He enters the Stanley Cup Final with a solid 12-3-2 record with a 2.20 GAA and .908 SV%. The contract with the $10 million cap hit seemed like a bad idea initially, but it is sure paying dividends now.

The Panthers will now face either Edmonton or Dallas in the Stanley Cup Final. And they said hockey wouldn't work in the state of Florida. Superb roster construction helps, but so does having no state income tax.

East representative for the Stanley Cup Final the last five years by state.

2020: Florida
2021: Florida
2022: Florida
2023: Florida
2024: Florida

— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) June 2, 2024

Artemi Panarin scored the lone goal for the Rangers, which was his first goal since Game 3 of the previous round against Carolina. Panarin had gone eight games without a goal. Because of the Panthers' stifling defense for much of the series, the Rangers have plenty of players on the cold list. Most notably Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, who each finished with two points in the six-game series.

The Rangers' inability to advance in this series should be no fault of Igor Shesterkin, who registered quality starts in five of the six games in this series. The only exception was Game 4, when Shesterkin allowed four goals on 37 shots. Over the last four games, Shesterkin faced an average of 37 shots, which is a very high total considering some of the other shot totals throughout this season’s playoffs. There was only so much that he could do. Shesterkin finishes the playoffs with a 2.28 GAA and .927 SV%. He might be as outstanding a playoff goalie as there is, as he has a lifetime .928 SV% over 44 career playoff games. Signing him to a long-term extension should be a priority for the Rangers over the summer.

Overall, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers will probably run it back with the same core next season, even if they feel like they need to change the mix a bit. Jack Roslovic, Alexander Wennberg, Blake Wheeler, Erik Gustafsson, and Chad Ruhwedel are the only UFAs-to-be, and none have been with the Rangers longer than a season. Kaapo Kakko is an arbitration-eligible RFA, so the Rangers will need to figure out which direction they would like to go with the disappointing former second overall pick.

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The Prospects Guide is now available for download! Get yours at the Dobber Sports Store. Congratulations to Peter Harling and the DobberProspects team for releasing another fine product. It's a must-read if you have prospects on your keeper team, or just want to get a head start on who's coming. Buy it on its own or as part of a Fantasy Pack.

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Upside? Wait time? Odds?

It's all here!https://t.co/5HG6umuQlR#FantasyHockey#2024NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/jSaRpVmsh4

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) June 1, 2024

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At the end of every season, I like to reflect on my best and worst picks of the season. This season, I'll share them with you. This is not necessarily a review of the best sleepers and biggest busts of the season overall, as there can be argument on lists like these. For my own best picks, I'll focus on late-round picks that I kept on my roster all season, or waiver-wire picks that made a real impact.

I also won't list the elite players here because it's obvious what kind of impact they will have. For me, those were Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak, and Artemi Panarin. They were expected to put up big numbers and they delivered.

Wyatt Johnston

I selected Johnston as a sleeper pick in the 15^th round at 199^th overall, hoping he could expand on his 24-goal rookie campaign as a 19-year-old. He earned his spot on my roster to start the season, scoring nine goals and 16 points over his first 20 games. However, the sophomore slump really hit during the second quarter this season, when he scored just two goals and eight points over his next 22 games. He was also averaging fewer than two shots per game over that span. I have to admit that I was considering dropping him at that point. Thank goodness I didn't.

Johnston has garnered attention for his performance on the bigger stage that is the playoffs. However, he isn't just getting hot at the right time. Over the second half, Johnston was a point-per-game scorer, registering 41 points over his last 40 games. He managed to reach this pace in spite of second-unit power-play minutes, as only 10 of his 65 points on the season were with the man advantage. Johnston has since found his way onto the top power play during the playoffs. Depending on what moves Dallas makes this offseason, Johnston could be there to stay next season.

Mark Scheifele

Scheifele wasn't a super deep sleeper by any means, but he provided great value from where I picked him (12^th round, 135^th overall). Perhaps he fell a bit more than he should have because of a deep center position, or because some drafters thought that he wouldn't be able to repeat his 42-goal season in 2022-23. I didn't think he would either, but I also didn't think he wouldn't fall off his normal point pace either. Sure enough, Scheifele's goal total dipped down to 25 goals, but he also put up his best assist total (47) since 2016-17. That coincided with frequent linemate Kyle Connor scoring goals at a higher pace in 2023-24 than he did in 2022-23. Going forward, Connor is more likely to be the finisher here.

Overall, 40 players with center eligibility had an ADP higher than Scheifele in 2023-24. Granted, some of these players can also slot in on the wing, so their versatility might make them more appealing options than Scheifele, who is only C-eligible. Scheifele isn't necessarily a roto category killer either, with relatively modest power-play and shot totals. However, he's a low-risk, high-floor option as a scorer, as he has reached at least 60 points every season since 2015-16.

Mike Matheson

I didn't have Matheson ranked really high before the season, as he was a Band-Aid Boy and he didn't have a long history of extensive power-play time. However, Matheson proved that he could both remain healthy for an entire season and run a power play in 2023-24, playing in all 82 games and registering a career-high 62 points, including 28 power-play points. To compare to his other season, Matheson had never even reached 40 points or 10 power-play points in a season before, let alone the totals he reached this past season.

Matheson should again play a featured role on Montreal's inexperienced defense next season. However, he may not remain on that top power play. Lane Hutson, who seems to be tailor made to run an NHL power play, could receive a taste of that action as early as next season. Matheson should be able to provide value in other categories, though. For example, he was just outside of the top 10 with 186 blocked shots last season. As well, he stands to improve on his minus-24 as Montreal climbs its way out of the league basement.

Jordan Binnington

To ensure that I had a third goalie on my roster, I drafted Binnington with my second-last pick (17^th round, 227^th overall). He exceeded my expectations, as both his goals-against average and save percentage improved significantly from 2022-23, reversing a downward trend that had lasted four seasons. I haven't researched this, but the chances of retaining a pick that late all season seem fairly low. Binnington is one example of why Zero G works, which I discussed here.

Joey Daccord

Another example (which you can read about here) is Daccord, who I added off waivers. I've discussed Daccord at length in other Ramblings, so I won't get into detail here. He was drafted in 2 percent of Yahoo leagues but was rostered in nearly 50 percent once the season had finished.

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