Los Angeles Station Misidentifies Florida Panthers as Carolina Panthers on Newscast

Patrick Andres | Jun 9, 2024

Jun 8, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers celebrate their win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL's Florida Panthers and NFL's Carolina Panthers came into existence around the same time—the teams began play in 1993 and 1995, respectively—but they sit at opposite ends of the success spectrum in 2024.

The hockey Panthers, after Saturday’s Game 1 victory, are three wins away from their first Stanley Cup title. The football Panthers are licking their wounds after a 2–15 season, their worst since going 1–15 in 2001.

However, differences in fortunes have never stopped some sports fans from mistaking the two teams for each other. It happened again Saturday in Los Angeles, when KABC-TV put up a graphic depicting the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Panthers meeting in the Stanley Cup finals.

KABC in Los Angeles was getting viewers ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and -- Carolina Panthers? pic.twitter.com/asevhg8ZmC

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2024

Credit to the anchor here for proceeding as if nothing was amiss—gamely avoiding the urge to throw whoever handled the graphic under the bus.

Interestingly, the Oilers' last trip to the Stanley Cup finals saw them meet the Carolina Hurricanes, to whom they lost the 2006 championship series four games to three.