Why are Panthers fans chanting, ‘We want Florida’? They’re trolling Maple Leafs fans

On its face, the chant scene made no sense: The Florida Panthers had just beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, in overtime Sunday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their second-round series and their fans celebrated as they streamed out of FLA Live Arena by chanting, “We want Florida!”

The cheer popped up a few times throughout the Panthers’ latest win in Sunrise, but really picked up steam as the 19,911 headed for the exits. After the way Florida has flipped around its postseason, its fans were happy to do some taunting.

It was only a little more than a week ago when Toronto fans really, really wanted to see the Maple Leafs play the Panthers in Round 2. Florida was the last team into the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs and the Bruins, the Panthers’ first-round opponent, set regular-season records for wins and points. As Toronto fans celebrated their first-round victory against the Lightning last month, video captured some of them outside Scotiabank Arena chanting, “We want Florida!”

They didn’t see this coming. The Panthers finished off their historic upset by winning Game 7 the next day, then beat the Maple Leafs twice in Toronto on Tuesday and Thursday, and now are one win away from the Eastern Conference finals after beating them again in Game 3 on Sunday.

Florida has embraced an underdog mentality from the very start of the Stanley Cup playoffs — the Panthers’ first-round upset was the largest ever by point differential in a best-of-7 series — and still aren’t losing it now.

“We’re just relishing the opportunity,” star defenseman Aaron Ekblad said Sunday.

At the start of the second round, Toronto was the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, according to DraftKings. Now, Florida is the co-favorite along with the Oilers, according to FanDuel, and can be the first team to advance to the NHL Conference Finals with one more win Wednesday.

The Panthers’ 3-0 lead doesn’t entirely guarantee they’re moving on, though: Comebacks from down 3-0 happen more frequently in the NHL than they do in the NBA or MLB with four such instances, including one as recently as 2014.