Stanley’s stay in South Florida is being prolonged, according to AP.
The NHL’s first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and 21 and the third team to do so this century, the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the final on Tuesday night to reclaim the Stanley Cup.
Sam Reinhart became the first player to score four goals in a final game since Maurice Richard in 1957 and only the sixth player in league history to do so. Rats and hats flew into the ice when he performed the hat trick on the third time. One of the team’s faces, Matthew Tkachuk, appropriately scored the game-winning goal.
When the clock struck zero, more rats joined in the celebration of triumph. The Oilers looked on in dismay as the Panthers players gathered in the corner.
Good night. South Florida Before giving captain Aleksander Barkov the trophy, Commissioner Gary Bettman made this statement. We seem to have just finished this.
Sergei Bobrovsky ended the possibility of a rematch with the same outcome by stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced. Long after the result was known and the NHL concluded an incredible season that featured Alex Ovechkin’s historic achievement as the all-time top goal scorer and Olympic-style excitement around the 4 Nations tournament in February, the lone goal was scored by fellow Russian Vasily Podkolzin in garbage time.
We want the Cup! cries were heard as the last seconds passed. It was already with the Panthers.
They can now keep it.
According to Reinhart, this is just as good as the first one. We gained some knowledge. We maintained our foot on the pedal and our gas pedal, and the outcome clearly spoke for itself.
Florida has the makings of a dynasty after making three consecutive trips to the final, shortly after the Lightning did. Since Paul Maurice became coach in the summer of 2022 and T. Kachuk joined by trade, the Panthers have won 11 of 12 postseason series.
Tkachuk stated that we must now operate like a dynasty. Two titles and three consecutive finals. This group is unique.
They have only been on the losing side of a handshake line once, during the 2023 Vegas final, when a number of important players were hurt and battling serious ailments.
They were significantly healthier this time around, starting with the core of Tkachuk, Reinhart, Barkov, and Sam Bennett and bolstered by important trade deadline signings Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. Marchand scored six goals in the final alone, while Bennett lead all goal scorers this postseason with 15.
As the MVP of the playoffs, Bennett was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy. Nate Schmidt, the first-time winner, received the Cup from Barkov shortly after, as did all the other first-time winners.
“It’s incredible to be here,” Schmidt remarked. I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry.
They were able to overwhelm Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers, who had trouble with Florida’s fierce forecheck and changed goaltenders several times during the final, thanks to depth contributions from everyone in the roster. In Game 6, Stuart Skinner received the nod but was once more defeated by errors made by others that resulted in the puck going into the net behind him and by his own mistake on Reinhart’s second goal.
Barkov, Jones, and Bobrovsky again blocked McDavid’s attempt to take control. In his second career trip to the final, he finished with seven points and was once more denied his maiden championship.
With a total of 255:49 minutes in the lead, the Panthers led this Stanley Cup Final longer than any other club in history.
McDavid stated, “We lost to a really good team.” They are an incredible team, but no one gave up or gave up. There’s a reason they won the Stanley Cup back-to-back.
Beginning in 1993 in Montreal, Canada’s Stanley Cup drought lasted for 31 seasons and 32 years. It has been won five times in the last six years by teams in the U.S. Sun Belt, including four in Florida.
The Panthers’ run through Tampa Bay in five games, Toronto in seven, Carolina in five, and Edmonton in six demonstrated how ruthless they have become under Maurice, who is now a two-time champion and has coached more NHL games than anyone save Scotty Bowman.
Marchand, who last lifted the Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, is also in this category. Just short of 16 years for Chris Chelios from 1986 to 2002 and 15 years for Mark Recchi from 91 to 2006, the 14-year gap is the third-longest in league history.
“It’s amazing,” Marchand remarked. You can’t fully explain the emotion. Words cannot express how wonderful it feels to see my family, everyone up there, and everyone who has helped and encouraged me to get here. What a fantastic group.
