Dmitry Kulikov ‘Came Back’ to Florida Panthers for the Stanley Cup
In Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, with the score tied at 1, the puck dangerously hovered near the empty Florida Panthers goal crease, seemingly awaiting an Edmonton player to seize the lead for the Oilers.
Dmitry Kulikov intervened just in time.
Despite falling from a hit by Dylan Holloway, Kulikov managed to clear the puck into the corner, safely onto Carter Verhaeghe’s stick.
Moments later, Sam Reinhart fired a shot from the right circle, putting the Panthers ahead 2-1 — the decisive goal that secured the Stanley Cup for the team.
“It happened so fast,” Kulikov recalled. “The puck just appeared in front of me, I got pushed from behind, and I cleared it out. Our guy picked it up, and we scored.
“Honestly, I just blacked out.”
Kulikov’s heroics made for one of the most memorable moments in Panthers’ history.
After being the Panthers’ first-round pick in 2009, Kulikov spent seven seasons with the team, helping them climb from the NHL’s bottom to playoff appearances in 2012 and 2016 before being traded to Buffalo.
Kulikov was a mentor to core team members Aaron Ekblad and Sasha Barkov throughout their journey.
Following Florida’s loss in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, Kulikov returned as a free agent, eager to complete what he had started.
“It was always meant to be that he would make the saving play and win the Cup with the team that drafted him,” Barkov said.
“I was fortunate to play with him. He guided me when I first arrived in Florida. We spent a lot of time together, speaking the same language. He’s an incredible person, and now he’s here winning the Cup with us.”
When asked how he would have reacted if told this would happen during the team’s struggling years, Kulikov’s belief in the team was unwavering.
“I knew it would happen someday,” Kulikov said. “With the group of guys we have, the fanbase, and the organization’s efforts, it was all leading to this. I came back for this reason.”
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