Panthers defeat Oilers for second straight Stanley Cup title

[ad_1] The primary 25 years of the Florida Panthers’ existence was something however synonymous with hockey success. The Panthers made the NHL postseason solely 5 occasions and superior previous the second spherical simply as soon as, all whereas biking by 10 coaches.

Now, they're hockey’s most dominant franchise — once more.

On Tuesday, Florida gained its second consecutive Stanley Cup title by outlasting Edmonton in a repeat of final yr’s closing, successful 5-1 in Sport 6 to proceed its practically in a single day transformation into certainly one of hockey's most profitable franchises. It was the third straight season Florida had performed for a title, a run that coincides with the hiring of coach Paul Maurice.

Sam Reinhart #13 of the Florida Panthers celebrates with Carter Verhaeghe #23 and Gustav Forsling #42 after scoring his third purpose in opposition to the Edmonton Oilers through the third interval in Sport Six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Ultimate at Amerant Financial institution Area, in Dawn, Fla., on Tuesday. Bruce Bennett / Getty Photographs Edmonton gained the collection opener in additional time, just for Florida to rebound with wins in Sport 2, in double additional time, and Sport 3. When Edmonton evened the collection with an additional time win in Sport 4, Florida took a 3-2 collection lead by successful in Sport 5.

The Panthers then closed out a collection filled with tight video games with a blowout that started with Sam Reinhart's unassisted purpose within the first interval. A purpose by Matthew Tkachuk pushed the result in 2-0, and Reinhart scored the subsequent three targets to show the closeout alternative right into a 5-0 rout. Reinhart's 4 targets tied Maurice Richard in 1957 for a Stanley Cup Ultimate report. It was the second consecutive yr through which Reinhart performed hero for Florida, after he scored the game-winning purpose in final season's Sport 7 victory.

Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe completed with three assists. Panthers teammate Sam Bennett earned the Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoff's most precious participant after scoring a league-leading 15 postseason targets.

"It is unbelievable," Florida's Brad Marchand, who gained the second Stanley Cup of his profession, informed TNT moments after the win. "It is a feeling you'll be able to't actually describe.

"Such an unbelievable group. All people wrote us off from the beginning of playoffs. That they had everyone beating us in each spherical and we simply had that fireplace and we knew we had one thing particular."

Edmonton scored its solely purpose within the closing minutes, effectively after the Panthers had already put the sport away by scoring thrice on Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner, and two extra empty-net targets.

With Florida’s 4-2 collection win, it's the tenth franchise to win consecutive championships and the primary since Tampa Bay in 2020-21. The championship prolonged the Panthers’ run, continued the league’s southern shift, and continued Canada’s championship drought to 32 years, with Montreal the final Canadian champion, in 1993. Eight groups from Canada have made the Stanley Cup Finals since, solely to come back up quick.

Since 2004, when Tampa Bay gained the Stanley Cup, 10 of the previous 21 champions have come from the Solar Belt, extending from Los Angeles to Florida. The 4 Stanley Cup titles gained by the state of Florida alone within the final 5 years is as many Cups as Canada has produced within the final 37.

To win its second Stanley Cup, Florida needed to overcome a uneven common season through which it completed with solely the Jap Convention’s fifth-highest level complete and fifth-best purpose differential. A repeat assembly of final yr’s finalists was hardly a foregone conclusion, as Edmonton endured its personal inconsistency whereas ending with the sixth-most factors within the Western Convention.

As soon as they reached the postseason, each Florida and Edmonton pushed by behind offenses that ranked first and third in goal-scoring. Florida additionally owned the perfect goals-against common within the postseason, at simply 2.5.

Within the postseason, the Panthers then needed to overcome their weak point of squandering potential series-clinching alternatives. They had been simply 10-8 in such situations since 2023. And shutting out the collection additionally meant stopping maybe hockey’s greatest offensive weapon in Connor McDavid, the 28-year-old star whose lengthy checklist of particular person accolades throughout 10 years in Edmonton had not but translated right into a group championship.