2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals: Florida Panthers Paws Lift Lord Stanley For First Time

On Monday night, The Florida Panthers avoided the most disastrous collapse in sports history with a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 at the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals. In a wildly entertaining capstone to the annual seven-game series, the Panthers scored a second-period goal earning the Cats their first Stanley Cup trophy in franchise history.

For the Edmonton Oilers, disappointment crept across the face of a gassed group that was unable to find a tying tally in the dying moments of the Stanley Cup Final. The 2024 Oilers now join the 2006 Edmonton squad that reached Game 7 but suffered the same fate as McDavid’s crew.

Even First Frame Sets Stage For Thrilling Season Finale

The first period at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida was an even affair for both teams as they navigated the nerves that appear in a pressure-packed Game 7. With the arena rocking, Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe redirected a puck past Edmonton’s goalie, Stuart Skinner, just 4 minutes into the opening frame. Life was good near South Beach.

However, a defensive breakdown two minutes later allowed the Edmonton Oilers a breakaway opportunity against Florida Panthers netminder, Sergei Bobrovsky. Mattias Janmark buried the shot in the top left corner of the net tying the score at 1.

For the remaining thirteen minutes of the first period, both teams limited time and space to the opposition. Game 7 of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals entered the first intermission with a deadlocked scoreboard.

Reinhart’s Winner at 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals

The second period followed a similar script for Florida and Edmonton. Both teams battled for scoring opportunities. At one point, there were over four minutes of glorious, uninterrupted whistle-free hockey to delight hockey fans worldwide.

After Bobrovsky made just enough of a save to deny Edmonton’s offensive opportunity, the Florida Panthers zipped the puck up the ice to Sam Reinhart. The 28-year-old forward walked into the Edmonton zone and snapped a wrist shot from the top of the circle that was only stopped by the twine handing between the three painted red pipes. Amerant Bank Arena exploded as the Panthers recaptured a lead in Game 7 of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

Connor McDavid Named 2024 NHL Playoff MVP

The Edmonton Oilers captain, Connor McDavid, was selected as the Conn Smyth trophy winner. The award is presented to the individual who performed best throughout the entire 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff tournament. McDavid led the NHL postseason with 42 points which falls just shy of Wayne Gretzky’s 47 points from the mid-80s. Connor McDavid is the first skater since the Philadelphia Flyers’ Reggie Leach in 1976 to claim the Conn Smythe trophy for a losing side.

“The Great One” did not get away from this postseason with all of his records intact. McDavid established a new assists record in the NHL Playoffs with 34 helpers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Gretzky occupies the next three places on the leaderboard in front of Pittsburgh Penguins legend and fellow Stanley Cup Champion, Mario Lemieux.

Unfortunately for Edmonton, Connor McDavid could not produce any offense in Game 7 despite a staggering 25:42 of ice time. For context, there are 60 minutes in a regulation game meaning McDavid skated almost half of Game 7 for the losing side.