Florida won a 2-1 Game 7 thriller over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night to take a 4-3 series lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. The win prevented a historic collapse by the Oilers after falling behind 3-0 to tie the series 3-3.
After allowing 18 goals in consecutive losses in Games 4-6, Florida’s defense returned to form on Monday night thanks to a stellar performance from goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who turned away 23 of 24 Edmonton shots. That included a late Oilers flurry that threatened to tie the game. ,
Connor McDavid defeated Conn Smith in a losing effort
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs, despite his team’s loss. He is the sixth player in NHL history to win the award on a losing team and the first since Jean-Sébastien Giguere of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 2003. He is the second skater to win in a losing effort, joining Reggie Leach of Philadelphia in 1976. Flying stools.
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.
Florida’s home crowd cheered Conn Smythe’s announcement, but they got plenty of reason to cheer when Panthers captain Alexander Barkov won the Stanley Cup for the first time in his 11 seasons with the franchise.
The first session had a very bad start. The Panthers got their first power play of the game on a high-sticking penalty by Warren Foegele with less than three minutes left. It didn’t directly convert into a power-play goal, but Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe broke the scoreless tie just seconds after it ended.
As Edmonton came back at full strength, Florida’s Ivan Rodriguez slapped a shot off the left wall that missed the net on the right side. But Verhaeghe knocked the puck out of the air with his stick and beat 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 as it finished Game 3 with a 4–3 victory. It was short lived.
oilers north
Just 2:17 later, Edmonton’s Mattias Janmark scored on a sensational assist from Cody Ceci to tie the game.
After a Florida turnover, Ceci turned the puck behind the Edmonton goal line and then drove it up the ice through three Florida defenders. Janmark secured the pass ahead of the Florida blue line and attacked the net without any defenders in his way. He decked Bobrovsky and sent a wrist shot into the left side of the net.
The goal tied the game at 1–1 and capped a trend that plagued the Panthers as the Oilers rallied to take the series 3–0. It was the fifth consecutive goal for Edmonton in the series on breakaway opportunities. This proved to be his last.
Florida’s defense takes over, becomes series champ
Edmonton’s chances ran out as the game went into the second period tied 1–1. The Oilers maintained control of the puck for most of the second, but struggled to convert that control into scoring opportunities. Then, more than 15 minutes into the period, the Panthers turned the Oilers’ scoring opportunity into one of their own.
Foegele threatened the Oilers’ 2–1 lead with a shot from the right goal line over the crowded net. But Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov pushed the puck away and the Panthers secured it on offense. Center Sam Reinhart converted the chance on the other end with a slapshot from the right wing that found the back of the net to give the Panthers a 2–1 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. The teams leading into Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals after two periods had won 13 times in the previous 14 opportunities. The Panthers had won 25 consecutive games when leading after two.
Bobrovsky turns back late Oilers attack
Bobrowski and the Florida defense ensured that the Panthers would not break this trend. A unit that had defined the series en route to a 3-0 lead was back in control. The Panthers limited McDavid’s scoring and kept All-Star Leon Draisaitl (zero goals in the Stanley Cup Finals) in check for most of the third period.
McDavid’s best scoring chance then came with 7:05 left in the game. But he lost control of the puck directly in front of the net, and the Oilers failed to get it past Bobrovsky.
Edmonton increased the pressure on Bobrovsky in the final minutes of regulation, but was unable to convert despite several late opportunities.
The Oilers pulled Skinner in the final minutes of the game but to no avail. Florida celebrated a Stanley Cup championship on home ice. The win gave the Oilers the first Canadian title since the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1993.
Florida was the more physical team in Game 7, having 30 hits to Edmonton’s 19. The Panthers held a 17–13 edge in blocked shots and a 12–7 edge in takeaways. It was a fitting end to a Panthers team that scored the fewest goals in the league during the regular season.
Panthers break up after 30 seasons
The win marked the first of three trips to the Stanley Cup Finals for the Panthers since their inception in 1993–94. They first played for the Cup in 1996, their third year in the NHL, but lost to the Colorado Avalanche. They made their first comeback last season under head coach Paul Morrissey, but lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
The Panthers did not experience any kind of hangover this season after a long 2023 playoff run. They improved to 10 wins and 18 points to win the Atlantic Division title and finish third in the Eastern Conference during the regular season.
This is the first championship for head coach Paul Maurice in his 26 seasons as a head coach in the NHL.
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 advance to the Cup Finals against the Oilers. Now they are Stanley Cup champions for the first time.
2024 Stanley Cup Finals (Panthers won 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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