After three decades of team building, coaching and management changes, and a revolving door of talent, the Florida Panthers finally hoisted the Stanley Cup last night. Game 7 in any major sport is hallowed ground, reserved for the biggest moments from the biggest stars, and the physical Florida squad showed up in spades on Monday night.
THE CHAMPIONS. pic.twitter.com/hKkRFE1Arq
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 25, 2024
At the conclusion of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals, the Florida Panthers, who looked like they’d miss the playoffs completely just two months prior, had alot to be grateful for. Stanley Cup Finals are incredibly hard to reach, let alone win, but you couldn’t tell anyone in a Panthers jersey that the odds of them getting back were not particularly good.
The Panthers team coming into this years’ Stanley Cup series had a chip on their shoulder. There was a palpable sense of urgency to be physical with the Oilers early and often, reminding the Canadian team that in this decade, Florida holds the firepower on the ice. The Panthers manhandled the Oilers in Games 1 through 3 by a combined score of 11 to 4. It looked as if they would sweep the Oilers back across the continent on a sad plane ride, but the resilient Oilers came out in Game 4 and destroyed Florida, putting up eight goals in a Herculean effort.
After winning Games 5 and 6, both games producing five goals each for Edmonton, the whispers from the fans and media alike that the Panthers came out and gassed themselves in the first trio of games were growing louder. Losing the Finals to Las Vegas last year in their first Cup appearance in almost 30 years was one thing, but blowing a 3-0 lead in a seven game series gets people fired in pro sports.
Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice, one of the coolest customers under pressure you could ask for, gave his guys exactly the pep talk they needed. He encouraged his young players to regard the importance of setting a standard for their careers and reminded his veterans of the gut wrenching feeling they felt a year prior when they were so close.
There would be no miraculous comeback for the Oilers this year. The Panthers came out as the puck dropped and set a hard hitting tone as soon as they could. After allowing an eye-watering eighteen goals over the previous three games, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky turned in a performance for the ages, turning back 23 out of 24 shots on goal from a hungry Edmonton offense.
THIS TEAM pic.twitter.com/tDY2i7oshf
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 25, 2024
Fifteen minutes into the first period, coming off an unsuccessful power-play, the Panthers struck first with a put back goal by Carter Verhaeghe off of a Evan Rodrigues miss. This would mark the first lead Florida had held since Game 3 ended and the momentum shifted to Edmonton.
Just over two minutes later, after a Panthers turnover, Edmonton’s Mattias Janmark snuck through an outstanding shot to tie the game off an assist from Cody Ceci. You could feel the trepidation in the air as the Florida crowd started to feel the nagging feeling that Edmonton was on pace to quash any Panther momentum and rally to complete the historic comeback. However, the Janmark goal late in the first period would be the last the Oilers would score.
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was a total brick wall the remainder of the game. He confidently gloved and stick-swatted away shot after shot as the home crowd built up an imminent eruption to celebrate ANY score the Panthers could manage. A failed Oiler scoring attempt late in the second period resulted in a crafty Dmitry Kulikov steal that ended up in the possession of Panthers’ Center Sam Reinhart who unleashed a vicious slapshot from the right wing that found it’s mark to reclaim the lead 2-1 in Florida’s favor. The home crowd erupted in a deafening cheer as they sense the Stanley Cup would finally belong to the Panthers. Florida would never relinquish their stranglehold on Game 7.
Oilers superstar Center, Connor McDavid, who dominated at times in the Oilers’ victories leading up to Game 7, had a handful of chances to even the score in the 3rd period, but Sergei Bobrovsky held up in his defense, turning away everything Edmonton threw at him in the closing period. With just moments left in Game 7, the Oilers pulled their goalie to allow an extra attacker, but on this night, the Panthers becoming Stanley Cup Champions was but a formality, albeit after pushing their fanbase to the brink of panic attacks at times.
Keith Tkachuk taking a sip from the Stanley Cup courtesy of his son Matthew Tkachuk and captain Aleksander Barkov. What a moment.
#StanleyCupFinals #FloridaPanthers pic.twitter.com/3hR93VgeLu
— Ryan Nelson (@RyanNelson23) June 25, 2024
This marks the first Stanley Cup victory for the Panthers in three appearances in the championship. They made the Finals in just their third year in the League, losing the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals to the Colorado Avalanche and they lost last year to the Las Vegas Knights. The sounds of the elated Panthers faithful and the look on the face of Sergei Bobrovsky when he finally tore his goalie helmet off to celebrate with his teammates was something of fable. Something earned through blood, sweat, tears, and a nerve-wracking near blunder in the middle contests.
Ultimately, this Cup went to the team that persevered and saw obstacles and trials that most teams in pro sports would have folded to, but somehow, the men that skated, shot, and saved their way to the Stanley Cup never seemed to be shaken by the prospect of blowing a three game lead. They seemed dialed in. They seemed destined.
THE MOMENT WE BECAME STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS pic.twitter.com/MKxn62sJXx
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 25, 2024
Oilers veteran superstar Connor McDavid was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, the NHL equivalent of Finals MVP, which drew a loud swath of boos from the Sunshine State crowd, but when the dust settled on Game 7, the men that prided themselves on being one of the most physically teams in pro hockey were more than happy to watch the Conn Smythe go to Edmonton, so as long as Lord Stanley’s Cup stayed here in Florida. Hail the Champs!
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