Sorry, Canada, the Stanley Cup Is Staying in the USA

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 😱

1-0 CATS IN GAME 7 pic.twitter.com/OSpgyYSSE2
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 25, 2024

MATHIAS JANMARK GETS IT RIGHT BACK 🤯

THE START OF GAME 7 IS ELECTRIC pic.twitter.com/NqzVgAPRYT
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 25, 2024

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:

— 0 goals
— 0 assists
— 0 points

Just didn't have enough gas. pic.twitter.com/JsYPziSsSd
— Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) June 25, 2024

Carter Verhaeghe had not scored since Game 1. Scored tonight.

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.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) June 25, 2024

SHUTDOWN. 🙅‍♂️

Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling put the clamps on some of the league's best during their Cup run pic.twitter.com/2OlCJ2vysG
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 25, 2024

MR. GAME 7 DOES IT AGAIN 👑

Paul Maurice is now 5-0 in Game 7s and officially a Stanley Cup champion 🙌 pic.twitter.com/EIDxpaQF15
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 25, 2024

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.