SUNRISE, FL – This was it, the very last game of the season, no matter what the outcome, the season would end Monday night.
Only 18 times has the Stanley Cup Final required seven games for the victor to be decided and just once did that Game Seven require overtime.
The last three times seven games were need in the Final, the away team came out on top, the last one being the St. Louis Blues when they dominated the Bruins in Boston to claim their first ever chalice.
Tonight, no such comeback in the series would be complete, the Cup would remain on American soil and the Florida Panthers would capture their first ever Stanley Cup in their 30th season.
On the strength of a Sam Reinhart goal early in the second period, the game’s opening goal and an assist on the game winner from Connor Verhaeghe and 23 saves on 24 shots from Sergei Bobrovsky, the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game Seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup.
Monday night made for a series that lacked tight play through a single game and the final battle made for the most consistently competitive play over three periods in the entire series.
The game began with both teams seeking to establish diverse game plans early, the home Panthers with physical play particularly along the boards while Edmonton sought to counter with speed and precision passing. Florida had dominated the third three games while Edmonton countered successfully the last three games. And so here we are with game seven
Just more than two minutes in the opening period.
Edmonton’s Warren Foegele was called for high-sticking Florida’s Brandon Montour. The Panthers sought to penetrate the Edmonton goal, something which had not been successful in the first six games of the series.
Just as the penalty expired, Florida gained what they needed by scoring the opening goal just 4:27 into the first period. Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk held the puck in on the right side and swung it behind the net to teammate Connor Verhaeghe.
He slipped a pass out to teammate Evan Rodrigues who then sent a drive on net, just as Verhaeghe slipped in front of Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner. Verhaeghe then redirected it past Skinner from mid-air for the goal, his 11th of the season and the first time the Panthers had taken the lead since Game 3.
Just a little more than two minutes later, though, Edmonton answered.
That’s when Edmonton’s Matthias Janmark accepted a stretch pass from Cody Ceci deep in the Oilers zone. Janmark broke in all alone on Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, popping the puck above goaltender’s blocker to the upper corner of the net to tie the game. It was Janmark’s fourth of the playoffs.
Both teams traded chances with none of them getting close enough to be called promising.
The first period ended with little dominance for sustained stretches and the score knotted up at 1-1.
The second frame began when Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov launched a blast from the left point, one that Skinner barely got a blocker on. Then Brandon Montour held it in on the right side, dishing it off to Tkachuk who accepted a pass with his back to the net, turned to face Skinner and lifted the puck up and over the net.
The late-period barrage failed to give Florida the lead.
Florida dominated in physical play with 18 hits to Edmonton’s 7 while barely edged in shots 8-6.
Florida continued with a lot of skip in their step. Montour fired a clearing attempt which made its way to the right point. He stepped into a drive which Tkachuk deflected on net, but Skinner made the save.
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid countered with a nifty move to the side of the net, danced two steps in toward the slot and snapped a high stick side shot which Bobrovsky turned aside with his blocker. It was that area where the Oilers believed they had found their weakness in the Russian backstopper.
Then while teams trade chances end to end, Florida was called for tripping when Matthew Tkachuk was dispatched to the sin bin for sliding into Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard, sending him to the ice. Edmonton would transition to the power play.
And the Oilers had several chances, but could not put any of them past Bobrovsky. The score remained tied.
Foegele nearly found twine just more than seven minutes into the period when he took a loose puck off the draw and snapped it toward Bobrovksy. He flashed a blocker toward the effort and deflected it into the corner.
Edmonton continued to pressure the Panthers in their own zone, drives by McDavid and Ekholm nearly eluded Bobrovsky.
With just under five minutes remaining Foegele sent a shot toward Bobrovsky which was saved, but trickled outside the other side of the crease. Kulikov batted it out of the way, but fell into the net as the scoring change dissipated.
Then Florida countered when Connor Verhaeghe took the loose puck and found Sam Reinhart streaking down the right side out of his own zone. Reinhart bared down on Skinner and as Verhaeghe spend in front of Skinner, let a drive go. The puck sailed past Skinner as Verhaeghe, a clear distraction, arrived. It was Reinhart’s 10th of the playoffs and Florida had their lead back.
Florida continued the build off taking the lead, sending waves of weaving forwards toward Skinner, even turning the Edmonton goaltender around and out of his crease leaving the frame open. Still, the Panthers could not capitalize.
The physical play had returned for the Panthers and the Oilers seemed to fall back a little on their heels, their speed slowed as Florida was giving them little room on the ice to move.
After two periods, Florida led in shots 17-15 and continued the lead in hits 25-13. Florida was winning the battles along the boards and slowing the Edmonton speed, but it still remained close.
With one period of regulation to play, Edmonton sought to push early, but Florida kept them in check. Still winning the battles along the boards, the Panthers found ways to gain space.
Just when Edmonton found some room, defenseman Evan Bouchard was whistled for high-sticking Eetu Luostarinen and went on the man advantage. It took them just seven seconds to get a shot on goal, one from the left point which Aaron Ekblad laid into. Skinner smothered it.
Florida didn’t apply much more pressure during the power play, except toward the end of the session when Sam Bennet found himself in front of Skinner and the puck bouncing toward him. His shot in close was saved and Skinner pounced on it to kill the play. The Oilers survived and then mounted an attack.
Led by McDavid from his own zone, the Edmonton captain buzzed untouched before having the puck knocked off his stick. Foegele followed up and zinged a drive which Bobrovsky snared to stop play.
The Oilers sensed with the period nearly at the halfway mark, they needed to take changes. Defenseman joined the play with four players deep while one remained back as they forced play to one side of the ice looking for a weakness in the Florida defense. The rarely found it.
The Panthers continued their relentless hitting and Edmonton was left back on their heels often in the last half of the period.
Edmonton was far from done.
Bouchard faced Bobrovsky point blank, but was thwarted by a right pad save. Then a scramble in front as Edmonton’s Zach Hyman found himself staring down Bobrovsky steps from the crease. Players collapsed on the play before Bobrovsky finally found the loose puck and flopped his glove on it and got the whistle. The Oilers were close, but couldn’t find the tying goal.
It was during this time Edmonton surged ahead of Florida in shots as they sought the equalizer.
After spending some time playing prevent defense, Florida went on the attack with just under five minutes left in regulation. Shots by Verhaeghe and Barkov were stopped by Skinner. Edmonton needed a push.
With just more than four minutes remaining, they nearly had a goa. That’s when Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins nearly solved Bobrovsky from twenty feet out, but the left pad provided invincible on this chance.
Then Borovsky lost his stick in a scramble and was down on the ice stacking his pads, but Edmonton could not capitalize.
Edmonton flurries in front of the Florida cage nearly materialized twice with two minutes to play, one from Ekholm, the other from McDavid, but neither found a way across the line.
Edmonton called their timeout with just 1:35 to play and the ensuing face-off at neutral ice inside the Florida zone. Skinner remained in goal. Edmonton sent McDavid, Draisaitl and Hyman up front with Bouchard and Ekholm on the back end.
Skinner retreated to the bench with a little more than a minute to play in the game, but they could not get control of the puck after it ended up in a Florida corner of the ice and the game ended.
Edmonton overtook the lead in shots, ending with a 24 to 21 edge, but Florida continued to hammer the Oilers with hits leading in that category 30 to 19.
As for a historical perspective, not since 1942 has a team comeback from being down 0-3 in the Final and stormed back to win four straight games to claim the Cup. As with that Final 72 years ago, a Canadian team, then the Toronto Maple Leafs, would claim the league trophy and bring it back to their country. It had been in Boston since the Bruins won in Spring 1941.
Use CodePHN15 The #PHNChairOfTheNight goes to Connor McDavid for nearly carrying the Oilers over the line in Game 7
The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was in 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in the five-game series. That Spring, the Florida Panthers had not yet picked their first team, awaiting the expansion draft which would allow them to ice their first team in October. They then called Miami Arena their home rink. Three years later they would get swept by the Colorado Avalanche to lift their first Cup.
In closing his post-game press conference, Florida coach Paul Maurice made a profound statement. Those who heard it will always remember it.
Maurice said, “You don’t win the Stanley Cup. You get to share it.”
Dennis Morrell has developed a deeply rooted passion for our game over many decades as a goaltender, writer, photographer, goalie coach, and active Level 3 USA Hockey-certified, on-ice official with over 2,000 games with the whistle. His passion for the game began in the early 70s upon his first glance at players battling for the puck at Clayton’s Shaw Park.
And yes, the ice is perfect.
He has been fortunate to journalistically cover 2 NHL Entry Drafts, 5 NHL All-Star Games, 8 NHL Outdoor Games in two countries and 25 games played in the context of 10 Stanley Cup Final series, witnessing the oldest trophy in sports lifted by the champion 4 times, including when his beloved hometown team, the St. Louis Blues, won their first chalice in 2019.
He has witnessed over 1,000 major and minor professional games in over 250 different arenas. He can be reached at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com and you can follow him on Twitter at DMMORRELL.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bill.Kober@prohockeynews.com
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