The Stanley Cup winner of the last two seasons, Florida, did not make the playoffs.

The Florida Panthers hockey Club, which won the last two Stanley Cup draws, lost its chances of reaching the playoffs of the current National Hockey League (NHL) season on April 5.

On the night of April 5, Florida lost to Pittsburgh 4-9 and dropped to last place in the Atlantic Division, scoring 77 points after 76 games. The team lost its mathematical chances of reaching the playoffs, despite the remaining six regular season matches.

Thus, for the first time since the 2014/15 season, the current Stanley Cup winner will not be able to compete for the title defense. Florida became the NHL champion in 2024 and 2025. The team consists of Russian hockey players Sergey Bobrovsky, Daniil Tarasov and Dmitry Kulikov.

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On the same day, it became known that HC Los Angeles defeated HC Toronto in a home match of the NHL regular season. The victory was brought to the team by doubles from forwards Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe, as well as goals from forwards Alex Laferrier, Samuel Helenius and Russian striker Artemy Panarin.

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