Panthers Capture First Cup in Dramatic Game 7 Victory

 

Avoid being the second team to lose the championship series after leading 3-0.

 

 "So special," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "I don't think we comprehend what we've accomplished yet. "Every time I look at that trophy, it gets better."

Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist, Sam Reinhart scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves as the Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday night.

The Panthers, who joined the NHL for the 1993-94 season, won their first Stanley Cup championship on their fourth attempt in this series. They had lost the previous three games after taking a 3-0 lead and were on the verge of being the first team since 1942 to lose four consecutive potential clinching games in the Stanley Cup Final.

"To become a true champion you have to overcome adversity, and that was the moment you have to get together and get the job done," Bobrovsky recalled. "We were not afraid to make mistakes. We experimented with freedom. "We attacked."

Florida's Paul Maurice eventually earned a Stanley Cup championship after coaching the most games in NHL history (1,985) prior to his first title. He also moved to 5-0 in Game 7 of his NHL career.

Mattias Janmark scored, and Stuart Skinner recorded 19 saves for the Oilers. Connor McDavid, who led the NHL with 42 postseason points (eight goals, 34 assists), was held off the scoreboard. So was Leon Draisaitl, who was limited to three assists and no goals in the Final.

McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player. He is the sixth player to win it while playing for the losing club, and the first since goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003. Anaheim lost the Cup Final to the New Jersey Devils in seven games.

"It goes back to the character of the group that we showed all year long," said Edmonton captain McDavid. "We demonstrated all year that we could fight back even in the most severe circumstances. It's certainly difficult to be down three and then win four in a row against a squad like that, but we were right there."

It was the first Stanley Cup Final to go the distance since 1945, when one side seized a 3-0 lead. That season, the Detroit Red Wings won Games 4, 5, and 6 to tie the Final before falling 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7.

 

Edmonton was attempting to become the first club since the 1941-42 Maple Leafs to complete a reverse sweep, winning Games 4-7 after losing Games 1–3. It also aimed to become the first Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

However, the Panthers recovered after being outscored 18-5 in Games 4-6, preventing the Oilers from making history in Game 7.

 

"It's hard to put into words right now," Draisaitl admitted. "You're one period, one shot away from perhaps winning it, and now you have to go through 82 regular-season games and play well enough to get another shot at it. It's difficult right now."

 

Bobrovsky, who had allowed 12 goals on 58 shots in his previous three games (5.06 goals-against average,.793 save %), made five saves in the first period, nine in the second, and nine more in the third.

He stated getting away from the rink on Sunday and not skating in the Panthers' practice helped him reset and refocus for Game 7.

 

"I was trying to cut off everything outside of myself, to just settle down, relax and focus on one shot at a time," Bobrovsky told me. "I believe it was a terrific moment that I did not skate yesterday. The goalie coach came up with the suggestion to simply rest and walk away. I went home to play with my kid. She is my motivation. She is my inspiration. Just relax, refocus, and be ready to skate this morning."

The Panthers scored the opening goal for the first time since Game 3.

They Never Trailed

"They played with freedom and that's what I'm going to remember from this game," Maurice told the crowd. "If we don't win, the tale will be told differently, but even under the heaviest pressure, they had the courage to play freely, make moves, and move the puck.  "They get to say, 'In Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, I was at my best.'" Verhaeghe gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 4:27 in the first period, six seconds after their first power play of the game had expired.

He passed the puck from behind the net to Evan Rodrigues along the left wall, who whipped a shot into the net. It appeared to be heading wide right, but Verhaeghe got his stick on it in front, diverting it down and through Skinner's legs. Verhaeghe scored his first goal since Game 1 and the Panthers took their first lead since Game 3. "The last couple games they scored so many goals off the hop, and to play with the lead, it felt good," he remarked.

The Oilers promptly equalized, with Janmark scoring on a breakaway at 6:44.

 

"I thought they were the better team in the first period," Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch explained. "I think they played with a little more urgency and won a lot of puck races. I thought we did a good job defending. I believed we found our game in the second and third periods and played effectively, but we couldn't convert on our chances."

Instead, at 15:11 in the second period, Reinhart scored a low, short-side shot from inside the right face-off circle to give Florida a 2-1 lead.

Dmitry Kulikov, a Florida defenceman, removed the puck from the Panthers' crease before falling into the net. The puck went to Verhaeghe, who shifted it up to Reinhart.

Reinhart was seeking for a pass as he moved into the neutral zone and over the blue line, but he eventually decided to fire, and the ball slipped past Skinner to give Florida its second lead of the game.

"You're hoping that's it, right?" Reinhart stated. "I mean, there was a lot of work to do, a lot of game left, but absolutely I'm hoping that's the one."

Bobrovsky stated that from that point forward, he treated the game as if it were in overtime.

"I wasn't happy when they scored [on] a breakaway because we had a good lead," he told me, "but Sam scores the second goal and I was thinking it's better to not let that go."

McDavid and Zach Hyman both had a chance at an open net for the Oilers with little over seven minutes remaining in the third period, but neither could grab enough of the puck.

 

At 12:56, Sam Bennett and Brandon Montour dove into the crease to help Bobrovsky keep the puck out of the net on Hyman's effort, maintaining Florida's lead. Skinner went to the bench for an extra skater with 1:10 left, but the Oilers were unable to get another chance.

"We really believed we were going to get one," McDavid added. "I have that one in front of me, Zach has a whack at it, and 'Bouch' (Evan Bouchard) has all kinds of expressions. We had a number of looks, but it didn't work."

The Panthers won the Stanley Cup after freezing the puck in the corner for the last six seconds.
"The last three games before you're hoping," Reinhart explained. "You're hoping you're in it and have a chance at the end. That was a risky position to be in against that team, and it showed. That hope faded tonight, and we were able to find our game. "It showed."