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For the first time in history, the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions.
Florida won a 2-1 Game 7 thriller Monday night over the Edmonton Oilers to secure a 4-3 series victory in the Stanley Cup Final. The victory avoided a historic collapse after the Oilers rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to tie the series at 3-3.
After allowing 18 goals in consecutive losses in Games 4-6, Florida’s defense was back in form Monday night thanks to a stellar performance from goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who returned 23 of 24 Edmonton shots, including a late burst from the Oilers that threatened to tie the game. .
Connor McDavid beats Conn Smythe in a losing effort
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid clinched the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the entire Stanley Cup playoffs despite his team’s loss. He is the sixth player in NHL history to win the award for a losing team and the first since Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 2003. He is the second skater to win in a losing effort, joining Reggie Leach of Philadelphia 1976. Brochures.
McDavid led the playoffs with 42 points and set an NHL record previously held by Wayne Gretzky with 34 assists in the playoffs. But the Panthers stifled McDavid and the rest of the Oilers offense in Monday’s decisive Game 7.
Florida’s home crowd booed Conn Smythe’s announcement but found plenty of reason to celebrate as Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov lifted the Stanley Cup for the first time in his 11 seasons with the franchise.
The first half started intensely. The Panthers secured the first power play of the game with a high penalty by Warren Foegele less than three minutes in. It didn’t directly turn into a power-play goal, but Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe broke the scoreless tie seconds after it ended.
Just as Edmonton regained full strength, Florida’s Evan Rodrigues fired a shot off the left wall that missed the net on the right side. But Verhaeghe hit the puck out of the air with his stick and past Stuart Skinner for a 1-0 Florida lead.
The goal with 15:33 left in the period gave Florida its first lead of the series since ending Game 3 with a 4-3 victory. It was short-lived.
Oilers Response
Just 2:17 later, Edmonton’s Mattias Janmark tied the game with a breakaway goal off a sensational assist from Cody Ceci.
After a Florida turnover, Ceci corralled the puck behind the Edmonton goal line and then fired it across the ice through three Florida defenders. Janmark secured the pass in front of the Florida blue line and attacked the net without a defender in his way. He fired at Bobrovsky and sent a wrist shot into the left side of the net.
The goal tied the game at 1-1 and added to a trend that plagued the Panthers as the Oilers rallied to tie the series from a 3-0 deficit. The goal was the fifth in a row for Edmonton in the series of breakaway opportunities. It turned out to be the last one.
Florida defense takes control and sets up series winner
Edmonton’s chances ran out as the game entered the second period tied 1-1. The Oilers controlled the puck for much of the second, but struggled to convert that control into scoring opportunities. Then, more than 15 minutes into the period, the Panthers converted an Oilers scoring opportunity into one of their own.
Foegele threatened a 2-1 Oilers lead with a shot from the right goal line into a crowded net. But Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov put the puck away and the Panthers secured it to go on the attack. Center Sam Reinhart capitalized on the opportunity at the other end with a shot from the right wing that found the back of the net for a 2-1 Panthers lead, sending the eager Florida home crowd into a frenzy.
The second period ended without another goal, and the Panthers entered the third period with history on their side. The teams that led Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final after two periods had won 13 times in 14 previous opportunities. The Panthers had won 25 straight games when leading after two.
Bobrovsky returns Oilers’ late attack
Bobrovsky and the Florida defense made sure the Panthers didn’t break the trend. A unit that defined the series en route to a 3-0 lead was back in control. The Panthers limited their pursuit of McDavid and continued to keep All-Star Leon Draisaitl (zero goals in the Stanley Cup Final) in check for much of the third period.
Then came McDavid’s best scoring opportunity with 7:05 left in the game. But he lost control of the puck right in front of the net and the Oilers couldn’t get past Bobrovsky.
Edmonton increased the pressure on Bobrovsky in the final minutes of regulation, but was unable to break through despite multiple late chances.
The Oilers pulled Skinner in the final moments of the game to no avail. Florida held on to celebrate a Stanley Cup championship at home. The victory denied the Oilers the chance to claim Canada’s first title since the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1993.
Florida was the more physical team in Game 7, recording 30 hits to Edmonton’s 19. The Panthers secured a 17-13 advantage in blocked shots and a 12-7 advantage in takeaways. It was a fitting ending for a Panthers team that allowed the fewest goals in the league during the regular season.
The Panthers break through after 30 seasons
The victory is the first in three trips to the Stanley Cup Final for the Panthers since their inception in 1993-94. They first played in the Cup in 1996, their third year in the NHL, but were swept by the Colorado Avalanche. They returned last season, their first under head coach Paul Maurice, but fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. The championship is the first for Maurice in his 26 seasons as a head coach in the NHL.
The Panthers didn’t experience any hangover this season after a long playoff run in 2023. They improved by 10 wins and 18 points to win the Atlantic Division title and finish third in the Eastern Conference during the regular season.
In the playoffs, the Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games and the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers in six games to reach the Cup final against the Oilers. They are now Stanley Cup champions for the first time.
2024 Stanley Cup Final (Panthers win series 4-3)
Game 1: Panthers 3, Oilers 0
Game 2: Panthers 4, Oilers 1
Game 3: Panthers 4, Oilers 3
Game 4: Oilers 8, Panthers 1
Game 5: Oilers 5, Panthers 3
Game 6: Oilers 5, Panthers 1
Game 7: Panthers 2, Oilers 1
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