FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers are ready.

They know the drill. They know the flight. They know the rink and the road hotel and the city.

The Panthers have been preparing all year for the Stanley Cup Final, for a chance to reach their third straight, for a chance to defend their title. Now, all that’s left is to hop on a plane to Edmonton to get set for Game 1 at Rogers Place on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).

“Ready to go, for sure,” captain Aleksander Barkov said Monday. “We’ve been waiting for a little bit here. Obviously, it was nice to get a couple days off, stay in Florida for a little bit, not to think about anything, but now it starts to feel like, alright, let’s get it going.”

So much of the Cup Final will be the same as it was last season, with the same two opponents facing off in what many expect to go the full seven games once again. But there is a difference, and it’s immediately apparent. Where last season the Panthers hosted the Oilers in Game 1, having earned home-ice advantage, this time they’re headed to Edmonton.

But that, too, is familiar. The Panthers — like the Oilers — have been the road team in each of the first three series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Panthers are 8-2 on the road in the postseason – including five straight wins – embracing, rather than being concerned about, having to win away from the friendly confines of Amerant Bank Arena.

That includes winning Game 7 in Toronto in the Eastern Conference Second Round, and it includes winning the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final — and the clincher in Game 5 — at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“We’re a super-confident team on the road this year,” forward Sam Bennett said. “I think we almost prefer it this year. It’s a little different, less time at home, but we’re up for the challenge.”

Prefer it?

“You have no distractions,” Bennett said. “You’re just with the team, you’re with your guys, and your whole focus is playing hockey. Sometimes that’s a little nice. Especially this time of year, it gets a little busy down here with all the excitement, all the family and friends want to come out. Sometimes that can be nice.”