For the first time in their history, the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup.
Florida won a 2-1 thriller in game seven Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers to secure a 4-3 victory in the Stanley Cup final. The victory avoided a historic collapse after the Oilers rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to even the series at 3-3.
After allowing 18 goals in consecutive losses in Games 4-6, Florida’s defense returned to form Monday night thanks to an outstanding performance from goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 23 of 24 Edmonton shots, including a late Oilers burst that threatened to tie the game. .
Connor McDavid defeats Conn Smythe in losing effort
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the entire Stanley Cup playoffs, despite his team losing. He is the sixth player in NHL history to win the award against a losing team and the first since Jean-Sébastien Giguère of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003. He is the second skater to win on a losing team, joining Reggie Leach during the 1976 victory. Philadelphia Flyers.
McDavid led the playoffs with 42 points and set an NHL record previously held by Wayne Gretzky with 34 playoff assists. But the Panthers stifled McDavid and the rest of the Oilers offense in Monday’s decisive Game 7.
The home crowd in Florida rained boos upon Conn Smythe’s announcement, but found plenty of reason to cheer when Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time in 11 seasons with the franchise.
The first period starts in a torrid manner. The Panthers earned the game’s first power play on a Warren Foegele high-sticking penalty less than three minutes later. It didn’t directly convert into a power play goal, but Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe broke the scoreless tie a few seconds after the end.
Just as Edmonton was coming back at full strength, Florida’s Evan Rodrigues fired a slap shot from the left wall that missed the wide right net. But Verhaeghe hit the puck in the air with his stick and slipped it past Stuart Skinner to give Florida a 1-0 lead.
The goal with 15:33 left in the period gave Florida its first lead of the series since finishing Game 3 with a 4-3 victory. It was short-lived.
Response from tankers
Just 2:17 later, Edmonton’s Mattias Janmark tied the score with a breakaway goal off a sensational pass from Cody Ceci.
After a Florida turnover, Ceci gathered the puck behind the Edmonton goal line, then threw it up the ice through three Florida defenders. Janmark secured the pass in front of the Florida blue line and attacked the net with no defenders in his way. He beat 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 even the series from a 3-0 deficit. The goal was Edmonton’s fifth in a row in the series thanks to breakaway opportunities. It turned out to be the latter.
Florida defense takes over and sets up series winner
Edmonton’s chances dried up as the game entered the second period tied 1-1. The Oilers controlled the puck for much of the second half, but struggled to convert that control into scoring chances. Then, more than 15 minutes into the period, the Panthers turned an Oilers scoring opportunity into one of their own.
Foegele threatened to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead with a shot from the right goal line into a crowded net. But Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov knocked the puck away and the Panthers secured it to go on offense. Center Sam Reinhart converted the chance at the other end with a slap shot from the right wing that found the back of the net for a 2-1 Panthers lead, sending an enthusiastic Florida crowd into a frenzy.
The second period ended without another goal, and the Panthers began the third period with history on their side. Teams leading Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final after two periods had won 13 times on 14 previous occasions. The Panthers had won 25 straight games while leading after two.
Bobrovsky returns Oilers’ late onslaught
Bobrovsky and the Florida defense made sure the Panthers didn’t break the trend. The unit that defined the series en route to a 3-0 lead regained control. The Panthers limited their search for McDavid and continued to keep star player Leon Draisaitl (zero goals in the Stanley Cup Final) under control for much of the third period.
Then McDavid’s best scoring chance came with 7:05 left. 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 several 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 on home soil. The victory prevented the Oilers from winning Canada’s first title since the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1993.
Florida was the more physical team in Game 7 with 30 hits to Edmonton’s 19. The Panthers earned a 17-13 advantage in blocked shots and a 12-7 advantage in takeaways. It was a fitting finish for a Panthers team that allowed the fewest goals in the league during the regular season.
Panthers lose after 30 seasons
This is the Panthers’ first victory in three Stanley Cup Final appearances since their inception in 1993-94. They played for the Cup for the first time in 1996, their third year in the NHL, but were swept by the Colorado Avalanche. They came back last season, the first below head coach Paul Mauricebut fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. This championship is the first for Maurice in 26 seasons as an NHL head coach.
The Panthers haven’t had any sort of hangover this season after a deep 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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