The Florida Panthers won the first Stanley Cup in their history with a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday in Game 7 of the final.
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The Panthers thus put an end to the hopes of the Oilers, who had begun an improbable comeback after losing the first three games of the final to force a final meeting.
“It’s not what I thought,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. It’s so much better. »
“It’s heavy,” said Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov after his victory lap on the ice with the trophy.
Connor McDavid received the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player of the playoffs.
The Alberta team was trying to lift the trophy for the first time since 1990. It would have put an end to the drought of Canadian teams, while the Montreal Canadiens remain the last team north of the border to have was crowned champion. It was in 1993.
PHOTO REBECCA BLACKWELL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sam Reinhart scored the decisive goal
The Panthers scored the first goal in this game, courtesy of Carter Verhaeghe. Sam Reinhart also threaded the needle.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 pucks in front of the Panthers cage, who also participated in the 1996 and 2023 finals, won respectively by the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights.
PHOTO JIM RASSOL, USA TODAY SPORTS
Sergei Bobrovsky does the splits to stop a shot from Connor McDavid
“It’s no longer a dream. It is not a dream. That’s the reality, said Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who was traded to the Panthers two years ago. I can not believe it. I can not believe it.
“I can’t believe how good these two years have been. I’m so grateful to be with this group. It’s the best place, the best guys. It’s really special here, what we have. »
Maurice also won a fifth match number 7 on as many occasions. He won his first title after working behind the bench of an NHL team in 1,848 season games. Only Scotty Bowman has led more games.
Mattias Janmark scored for the Oilers, who had previously won all five games in which they faced elimination this year. Stuart Skinner stopped 19 pucks.
Used for 25 minutes 42 seconds, Connor McDavid was cleared from the scoresheet. His 42 points nevertheless constitute the fourth best performance for a year in the playoffs, behind Wayne Gretzky (47 points in 1985 and 43 points in 1988) and Mario Lemieux (44 points in 1991).
A crucial first goal
It was the Panthers who opened the scoring even before five minutes had elapsed in the match. Verhaeghe skillfully deflected a shot from Evan Rodrigues at 4:27. It was his 11e net in the series and a first since the first game of the final.
In front of a crowd including several Oilers fans, the Alberta team was quick to respond. Janmark scored his fourth of the playoffs when he escaped at 6:44. Cody Ceci served him a long pass on the sequence.
PHOTO JIM RASSOL, USA TODAY SPORTS
Carter Verhaeghe scored the first goal of the match
It was a fourth career goal in a seventh game for Janmark. Only teammate Corey Perry has scored as many among active NHL players.
Perry lost a fourth final in five years with four different teams, after defeats with the Dallas Stars (2020), the Canadiens (2021) and the Lightning (2022).
Reinhart restored the lead to the local favorites at 15:11 of the second period. The forward was patient with the puck to the left of Skinner, who he thwarted with a wrist shot. Dmitry Kulikov started the sequence by clearing the puck in front of Bobrovsky’s net.
It was a 10e playoff goal and a 67e adding the season for Reinhart, who could become an unrestricted free agent next week.
With the Associated Press