Yahoo Sports Stanley Cup Final Game 7: Florida Panthers 2, Edmonton Oilers 1
From the outset, the Florida Panthers said this was going to happen. They made the declaration in training camp that they were going to finish the job they couldn’t finish last year. The 2023-24 season would not be a success without a Stanley Cup.
They proved themselves right.
The Florida Panthers have won the Stanley Cup for the first time in the franchise’s 30-season history, sealing the deal with a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday at Amerant Bank Arena.
Panthers retake the lead
What a sequence to give the Panthers the lead late in the second.
Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov cleared a puck away from the net before the Panthers got the puck down the ice for Sam Reinhart to score from the right circle.
Florida is up 2-1 with 4:49 left in the second period.
A big Panthers penalty kill
With Matthew Tkachuk in the box for tripping early in the second period, the Panthers pulled off a miraculous penalty kill that featured them hemmed in their zone for the majority of the two minutes — and with Kevin Stenlund playing without a stick for more than a minute at the start of the kill.
A lot of energy early
It’s a tie game after 20 minutes, with Florida having a 7-6 edge in shots on goal, but the Panthers have been the more aggressive team in terms of shot attempts after one period (28-16 advantage Florida, including 12-4 in scoring chances and 6-3 in high-danger changes).
The Panthers need to start converting those chances into shot on net as the game progresses.
And Edmonton quickly ties it
Just over two minutes after Florida opened scoring, Edmonton tied the game on a Mattias Janmark breakaway set up by a great pass from Cody Ceci.
It’s 1-1 with 13:16 left in the first period.
Panthers strike first
For the first time since Game 3, the Florida Panthers have a lead.
Carter Verhaeghe deflected in a shot from Evan Rodrigues 4:27 into regulation and right after a Florida power play ended to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
It was Verhaeghe’s 11th goal of the season.
And it’s worth noting: The team that scores first in Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final is 12-7 all-time.
Pregame vibes
As teams take the ice for pregame warmups, there are noticeable pockets of Oilers fans in the crowd, particularly in the lower bowl.
Even before players emerged, multiple “Let’s Go, Oilers!” chants broke out at Amerant Bank Arena.
Panthers fans since responded with “Bob-by” chants for goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who is probably going to need to have a big night in net if Florida wants to prevail.
Series recaps
▪ Game 1: Panthers star goaltender and Vezina Trophy finalist Sergei Bobrobsky put up arguably his best performance of the playoffs, stopped all 32 shots he faced in a 3-0 win for his second shutout of these Stanley Cup playoffs.
It’s the first shutout in Game 1 of a Stanley Cup Final since Roberto Luongo turned aside all 36 shots he faced in the 2011 Cup Final-opener for the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins.
Carter Verhaeghe, Evan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen scored for Florida to give Bobrovsky all the cushion he needed.
▪ Game 2: The Panthers rallied from an early deficit to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 and take a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
Niko Mikkola tied the game in the second period and Evan Rodrigues scored twice in the third to give Florida a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Aaron Ekblad capped scoring with an empty-net goal.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped the final 18 shots he faced.
▪ Game 3: Florida withstood a late Edmonton rally to win Game 3 4-3 on Thrusday at Edmonton’s Rogers Place to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart each had a goal and an assist. Vladimir Tarasenko and Sam Bennett also scored, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 of 35 shots he faced.
▪ Game 4:The Edmonton Oilers blew out the Panthers 8-1 on Saturday in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, dashing Florida’s first chance to wrap up the series.
Connor McDavid had four points (one goal, three assists), Dylan Holloway had two goals and an assist, and Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Mattias Janmark all had two points apiece.
▪ Game 5: For a second consecutive game, the Florida Panthers failed to close out the Stanley Cup Final.
A three-goal deficit was too much to overcome despite a furious rally as Florida fell 5-3 to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 on Tuesday.
Florida still leads the best-of-7 series 3-2 but the series now shifts back to Edmonton, with Game 6 set for 8 p.m. Friday.
Connor McDavid was involved in each of Edmonton’s final four goals, scoring twice and dishing out a pair of assists, to bring his point total for the playoffs to 42 (eight goals, 34 assists).
Matthew Tkachuk and Evan Rodrigues each had a goal and an assist for Florida. Oliver Ekman-Larsson also scored for the Panthers.
▪ Game 6: The Edmonton Oilers once again staved off elimination with a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday at Edmonton’s Rogers Place.
Warren Foegele, Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman scored for Edmonton to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead through two periods.
Aleksander Barkov scored early in the third period for Florida, but Edmonton sealed the game with a pair of empty-netters.
Pregame Panthers reading
Need to catch up ahead of Game 7? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days.
▪ ‘You think about these moments’: Stanley Cup Final Game 7 a childhood dream for Panthers
▪ How Vladimir Tarasenko’s experience in Cup Final Game 7 helps the Panthers
▪ The history of Stanley Cup Final Game 7s — and what it means for the Florida Panthers
