Florida Everblades trail Kansas City 2-0 as finals shift to Estero

ESTERO, Fla. (WINK) — The Florida Everblades are heading home with work to do in the Kelly Cup Finals.

The Everblades trail the Kansas City Mavericks 2-0 in the best-of-seven series after dropping the first two games on the road. Kansas City won game one 6-0 on Friday, then beat the Everblades 5-2 on Saturday to protect home ice.

The series now heads to Hertz Arena, where the Everblades will host game three on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and game four on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Game five, if necessary, would also be played at Hertz on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Florida reached the finals after beating the Wheeling Nailers in five games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Everblades are in the Kelly Cup Finals for the eighth time in franchise history and the fourth time in the last five years. Florida has won a league-record four Kelly Cups, with championships in 2012, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Kansas City is trying to win its first Kelly Cup. The Mavericks are back in the finals for the second time in three seasons after losing to Florida in five games in 2024.