NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Greg Wyshynski, ESPNJun 24, 2024, 11:01 PM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers captured their first Stanley Cup in franchise history with a 2-1 Game 7 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night, in a thrilling conclusion to a classic playoff series.
Winger Sam Reinhart’s second-period goal proved to be the game-winner, as goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves to close out the series — and help his team avoid postseason infamy.
The Panthers’ win averted one of the most epic collapses in sports history. Florida had built a 3-0 series lead, but the Oilers roared back with three straight wins, just the third time in NHL history that a team forced a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a Stanley Cup Final.
But the legacy of the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs remains intact — they’re still the only team to rally from a 3-0 deficit in the Final to win the Cup, after the Oilers came up short.
Instead, Florida became just the third team in the past 40 years to win the Stanley Cup after losing in the Final in the previous postseason, as the Panthers fell in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.
The Oilers were making their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2006.
This was the furthest 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.
The energy in the building for Game 7 could be felt well before puck drop. A significant number of Oilers fans purchased tickets for the game, cheering Edmonton players during warmups and loudly singing “O Canada” over guest anthem singer Alanis Morissette. Panthers fans belted their own lively rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in response.
The Panthers opened the scoring moments after an early power play ended, following a high-sticking call on Edmonton’s Warren…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40426165/panthers-outlast-oilers-game-7-first-stanley-cup-title
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-06-25 04:07:36
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
