The Florida Panthers were on the cusp of suffering one of the worst defeats in sports history. They were up 3-0 in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. A sweep of the Edmonton Oilers seemed inevitable, but every player knows no matter what, it’s one game at a time in the playoffs. The Oilers embraced a ‘live to see another day’ mentality, which paid off: they forced a game seven. Overcoming a three-game deficit hasn’t been done in professional hockey since 1945. But the Panthers returned to their ferocious game in an epic game seven.
For Panthers fans, games four, five, and six genuinely saw this Florida squad go from sugar to s**t quickly. The elite goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky, who had to have been exhausted at this point—everyone is—vanished. The Panthers’ top six struggled. The Oilers made adjustments and used their speed to their advantage, which ratted the cats. It led to the Oilers punishing Florida in ways they’re not accustomed to, but it also made for a great series.
WHAT A DEFLECTION BY CARTER VERHAEGHE 😱
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 25, 2024
1-0 CATS IN GAME 7 pic.twitter.com/OSpgyYSSE2
MATHIAS JANMARK GETS IT RIGHT BACK 🤯
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 25, 2024
THE START OF GAME 7 IS ELECTRIC pic.twitter.com/NqzVgAPRYT
SAM REINHART PUTS THE CATS BACK ON TOP 🚨 pic.twitter.com/pQWBxrYSFa
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 25, 2024
There were seven times this season when the Oilers would go on four-game winning streaks after losing three in a row. Yet, that’s the regular season—it means nothing in the playoffs. And then there’s Florida head coach Paul Maurice, who remains undefeated in game seven showdowns. At the end of this exciting Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers returned to their former selves: nasty along the boards, winning puck battles, and brutish forecheck that exhausted teams this season. This was the team that suffocated my beloved New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final, though it’s not as if the Oilers didn’t have a chance to send this game into overtime.
BOBROVSKY. THAT'S THE TWEET 😱 pic.twitter.com/W4QoLGKInP
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 25, 2024
SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY THIS STAYED OUT OF THE NET 🤯 pic.twitter.com/L7J4wErrXv
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 25, 2024
Alas, Florida was able to hold off Edmonton in a 2-1 win, with the Panthers hoisting their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. And as the saying goes, defense wins championships (via ESPN):
Aleksander Barkov, Sergei Bobrovsky and the @FlaPanthers faced 5 players in the #StanleyCup Playoffs who had 100+ points in the 2023-24 regular season – they limited them to five goals in 24 games.#NHLStats: https://t.co/LO090DD4jo pic.twitter.com/Oe1avj9WuW
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 25, 2024
Connor McDavid in games 6 and 7:
— Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) June 25, 2024
— 0 goals
— 0 assists
— 0 points
Just didn't have enough gas. pic.twitter.com/JsYPziSsSd
Carter Verhaeghe had not scored since Game 1. Scored tonight.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) June 25, 2024
Sam Bennett had not scored since Game 3. Scored tonight.
Connor McDavie and Leon Draisaitl got shutout in Game 7.
This was the Panthers at their best. Guess they saved it for last.
SHUTDOWN. 🙅♂️
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 25, 2024
Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling put the clamps on some of the league's best during their Cup run pic.twitter.com/2OlCJ2vysG
MR. GAME 7 DOES IT AGAIN 👑
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 25, 2024
Paul Maurice is now 5-0 in Game 7s and officially a Stanley Cup champion 🙌 pic.twitter.com/EIDxpaQF15
This was the furthest Edmonton superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl had carried their team in the postseason. Neither player had a point in Game 7, with McDavid going scoreless in the last two games of the series. He finished as the playoffs' leading scorer with 42 points. Despite the loss, McDavid was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason's most valuable player.
Connor McDavid was named the 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy winner after breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record for assists in a playoff year and becoming the third player in NHL history with 40+ points in a postseason.#NHLStats: https://t.co/ZXfBjt4xnx #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/7JbR2Xptpu
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 25, 2024
The Stanley Cup remains in the United States, keeping the streak of no Canadian franchise taking back Lord Stanley since 1993 alive. As an aside, can we all agree that ESPN needs to stop broadcasting hockey? It was a god-awful mess this season. TNT does it better; that is a fact.
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The moment the @FlaPanthers became champions! 🥹 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/MarL92nLko
— NHL (@NHL) June 25, 2024
