Panthers Turn Back Oilers to Win Second Consecutive Stanley Cup

It looks like the Stanley Cup is going drinking at The Elbo Room and swimming in the waters of Fort Lauderdale Beach.

The Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 to win Game 6 and capture their second straight Stanley Cup championship. The Panthers won the series four games to two.

Florida's Sam Reinhart became the sixth player in NHL history to score four goals in a single Stanley Cup Final game. He is the first player to do it since Maurice Richard did it for the Montreal Canadiens. Tkachuk scored the other goal for the champions.

Last season, the day after they won the title, Matthew Tkachuk took the Cup to the beach and the fans drank beer out of it at the famous Fort Lauderdale drinking establishment. Tkachuk then took it swimming in the ocean.

There was no way the Panthers were going to be denied. They did not want to make the 2,500 mile trek back to Edmonton for Game 7. The Panthers handled their business early and wrapped up the title on home ice.

Reinhart scored two empty net goals, but he and the Panthers were not going to be turned away on this night. The Panthers chased Edmonton goalkeeper Stuart Skinner with 7:00 minutes left in the game and the Oilers down 3-0. The Oilers decided to go with an extra skater, but Sergei Bobrovsky had the net well protected.

For the Panthers, it is the second year in a row they won the title on home ice over the Oilers. Last season they won in seven games.

Credit Florida general manager Bill Zito for making all the right moves at the trade deadline. The Panthers traded for Brad Marchand and Seth Jones in March and they played instrumental roles in the Finals. Marchand had two game winners including one in double overtime to pace the Panthers.