The 18th game seven in Stanley Cup History was a close one, fitting for one of the best series played in NHL history with its significance, epic comeback, and all-time collapse. The Florida Panthers are looking to win the Cup for the first time in their existence. The Edmonton Oilers have not won the Cup in 34 years, and Canada has not won it in 31 years. Connor McDavid, arguably the face of the NHL, is looking to win his first.
The Panthers were on the bright side of history.
Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves, and the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Monday night in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It was the third title-round appearance in Florida’s 30-year history; it was swept in 1996 by Colorado and routed 4-1 by Vegas last season.
“It is not a dream anymore; it is reality,” Panthers forward and alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk said. “I can’t believe it.”
The Panthers won the first three games of the series, then lost the next three and needed a win in Game 7 to avoid joining the 1942 Detroit Red Wings as the only teams to lose the final after taking a 3-0 lead in the title round.
“I got off the phone with this team in the summer I got the job, I kept telling my wife these guys are different,” Panther head coach Paul Maurice said. “It is the way they treat each other. They love each other. That room has been special since day one.
Maurice has a 5-0 career record in Game 7s.
“It’s not what I thought it would be,” Maurice added. “It’s so much better.”
The Cup was in the building and stayed in Sunrise, Florida. Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov touched it first, handing it to goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
The 18th game 7 in Stanley Cup Final history is Monday, with history at stake in Sunrise, Florida
Panthers are the 22nd active franchise to win the Cup that weighs 37 pounds.
“I had no idea how heavy it is,” Barkov said. “But it is an amazing feeling.”
Barkov is the first Finnish captain ever to lift the Cup.
“He was incredible, he has been unbelievable for us every single night,” Barkov added on goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. This whole year he is the big reason why we won.”
Bobrovsky is the fourth goalie ever to give up one goal or fewer in each of the four series of clinching games in a single playoff year.
“I’m really happy. I want to thank God for this opportunity for this experience,” Bobrovsky. I am nothing with out God. I am blessed.”
Florida led this title series 3-0, but it was outscored 18-5 in Games 4, 5, and 6 to waste three chances at winning the Cup.
“It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it,” Bobrovsky added. “Everything was worth it; every day, every minute of the work is worth it for this moment, and I want to enjoy it.”
Game 7 was the only 1 goal game of the entire series.
History has yet to be kind to teams who have lost the series’ first three games. There has been one comeback in Major League Baseball (39-1), but it never happened in the National Basketball Association (157- 0), four times in the National Hockey League, but only once in the Stanley Cup Final (206-4).
“We came up short to a very deserving team,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We didn’t deserve to be down 0-3. Seeing the players and the way they conducted themselves, I saw that they weren’t down. They weren’t out. They believed. It was easy for me to say as head coach to say we have an opportunity.”
Edmonton was one win away from becoming the second team in NHL history to win the Cup after dropping the first three games; Toronto did it to Detroit in 1942, and no team has pulled off such a comeback since.
“It sucks, it sucks,” forward and captain Conner McDavid said.
McDavid won the Conn Smythe as MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He didn’t come out for the trophy. McDavid is the sixth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe from the team that lost the Stanley Cup Final (2nd non-goalie).
“It was going to be tight Game 7 for the cup,” McDavid added. “It was going to come down to one thing here or there. They do a good job of shutting things down. We had our looks, just did not find it.”
McDavid played half of the third period and three and a half minutes of the last four minutes of the game.
“Greatest player to ever play in my book,” forward and alternate captain Leon Draisaitl said. “So many things that people don’t see that he does, he work ethic, and he single handedly turn the franchise around. I love sharing the ice with him, a very special person.”
You cannot put into perspective how great McDavid was this postseason so that people will understand. He was unbelievable. He has qualities you want to see in a leader; he has developed those quickly and has learned quickly to apply them to his team.
For a series that appeared to be a four-game sweep, we ended up getting a seven-game classic. It was incredible to see the Panthers play the style that they did all year long: pressure play in forecheck, unrelenting throughout the whole playoffs. They stumbled in the final series against the Oilers, and they lost their way a little. In Game 7, they trusted their coach, and they trusted their game, and it all turned into a victory.
“Matthew gave a game puck to our team services guy,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “I wont tell you why but that doesn’t happen. That is leadership, that is kindness and that is how all these guys treat each other.”
The Panthers are the third team in the NHL to win the Stanley Cup after losing in the previous season (They lost to the Vegas Golden Knights last season).
Each player will get a day with the Stanley Cup. The organization can identify 55 people who can have their name on the Cup. All the players who played in at least half the regular season or in one Stanley Cup Final game are eligible.
Evan Rodrigues is the first Evan with his name on the Cup.
“This group of guys, just how hard we fought,” Rodrigues said. “They say it is the hardest trophy in sports to win. It is harder than you can ever imagine.”
The Panthers won the third Stanley Cup in the state of Florida in the last five years, Tampa Bay Lighting twice, and now the Panthers have their first.
“We wanted to win so badly that we were pressing in games four through six,” Rodrigues added. “Not cheating the offense but not playing the defense first game that is our DNA. Getting to seven took the pressure off of us. We don’t like it easy. We did it the hard way.”
Every team in the National Hockey League is built a certain way. You have to understand how you will have success with your team’s build. The Panthers’ play in Game 7 has brought them immense success. The Panthers are defense first, and they showed it.
“For all the kids out there that are playing mini sticks in their basement, playing road hockey, just keep dreaming about this moment,” Rodrigues added. “It is even better than you can imagine.”
South Florida now has one of everything when it comes to titles from the four major pro sports leagues in the U.S. The Miami Dolphins were champions twice, the then-Florida Marlins were champions twice, the Miami Heat have three titles, and now the Panthers added the icing on the cake, moreover not have to carry around with them that they collapsed and blew a 3-0 series lead.
No matter how well you play, you have to make it through the taxing on your body emotionally and physically. That’s what makes the Stanley Cup the hardest trophy to win. In a league built for offense and scoring goals, defense still matters.
Photos/FloridaPanthers/X