The Florida Panthers are now your Stanley Cup champions.
For the first time in franchise history, the Panthers won the biggest prize in the National Hockey League by besting the Edmonton Oilers in a thrilling Game 7, 2-1, on Tuesday.
Led by their star Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers capped a remarkable 2023-24 campaign with the biggest win in the history of hockey in sunny Florida.
Here are the five things you should know about the Panthers’ historic Stanley Cup win.
2023 Stanley Cup Runners Up
The Panthers came into the season determined to bounce back from losing to the Las Vegas Aces in the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. The Panthers grabbed the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by finishing with a 42-38-8 record during the regular season.
However, Florida went on a rampage in the playoffs, beating the top-seeded Boston Bruins 4-3, Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1, and the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 to arrange a best-of-seven series with the highly favoured Las Vegas Aces for the Stanley Cup crown.
In the finals, Florida would get their reality check as the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ sheer firepower and defensive prowess overwhelmed them throughout the series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyOTH1s8rz8
Revenge Tour Begins in the Regular Season
The Florida Panthers’ quest to claim the Stanley Cup title after falling short in the finals a year before started well as the club posted an impressive 52-24-6 record to top the Metropolitan Division and place second in the entire Eastern Conference.
Moreover, the Panthers took their defence a notch higher this year, allowing only 200 goals throughout their entire regular-season campaign and posting a goal difference of +68, the highest among the qualified teams in the playoffs.
Center Aleksander Barkov received the Frank J. Selke Trophy for being the best defensive forward in the regular season.
The Road to the Stanley Cup
After securing the No.2 seed in the East, the Panthers engaged in an intra-state battle with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round and came out on top 4-1.
They then proceeded to defeat the Boston Bruins 4-2 and the New York Rangers 4-2 to set up a Stanley Cup showdown with the Edmonton Oilers, who also downed Los Angeles, Vancouver and Dallas to reach the championship series.
Panthers Says No to Comeback!
Florida raced to a commanding 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals series after a commendable defensive performance in Game 1 (3-0) and Game 2 (4-1) and then a gutsy win in Game 3 (4-3) to move one game away to winning it all.
However, the Oilers won’t fall without giving a fight, and they sure gave a hell of a fight. Behind an awakened offense, Edmonton rallied from 0-3 down to force a Game 7.
Thankfully, Sam Reinhart slotted in the title-winning goal off an assist from Carter Verhaeghe in the 2nd period to finally shake the monkey off their back and win the crown. Matthew Tkachuk collected 22 points to lead Florida, while Connor McDavid delivered a dominant playoff run with 42 points.
Stanley Cup Returns to Florida
The Panthers’ victory means the Stanley Cup title returns to the state of Florida after the Tampa Bay Lightning reigned supreme for two consecutive years from 2020 to 2021.
THE CONVERSATION.