Sam Reinhart scored four goals and Bennett scored 13 of his 15 goals this postseason on the road.
The Florida Panthers have done it again.
The Sunrise squad defeating the Edmonton Oilers in six games to claim their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship. The Panthers are the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 and the fourth team to repeat since 1998, joining the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sam Reinhart scored four goals in the series clincher, becoming just the fourth player in NHL history to score four goals in a Stanley Cup Finals game. He’s also the first player in 103 years to score four goals in a Stanley Cup-clinching victory. Babe Dye was the last to do it for the then-Toronto St. Patricks in 1922.
Sam Bennett, who led the NHL this postseason with 15 goals, including five in the Cup Final, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. 13 of his goals this postseason came on the road, which was also a record.
Sergei Bobrovsky was stellar with a 28-save performance. When asked about his teammates following the game, he responded with the following:
“They are amazing. It’s a privilege to be their goalie. It’s a dream come true, and to win that trophy twice, it’s amazing.”
The Oilers have now lost two straight Cup Finals, the first team to do so since 1978 when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins in consecutive seasons. Canada’s Stanley Cup drought has been extended for at least another year. A Canadian team has not hoisted the title since the Canadiens in 1993.
Vasily Podkolzin scored the lone goal for the Oilers during garbage time and Stuart Skinner played well for the most part, but it’s hard to win games when your team doesn’t score. He made 20 saves.
Aaron Ekblad, Florida’s top defenseman and an unrestricted free agent entering this offseason, hopes to remain with the Panthers, as one would imagine.
“Excited for the future,” Ekblad said. “I really hope it’s with this team.”
First Period
Reinhart scored 4:36 into the game for Florida after Evan Bouchard coughed up the puck at the blue line. Reinhart took control of the puck, deked around Mattias Ekholm, and snapped a shot over Skinner’s glove ashe was going down to the ice to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Then, with less than a minute left in the period, Matthew Tkachuk, playing through a torn adductor and a hernia, scored to give Florida a commanding 2-0 game when he fired a wrist shot through a screen that Skinner never saw coming
Second Period
The second period had various shifts in momentum with both teams trading blows on both ends of the puck. But it was Reinhart who broke the ice with 2:29 remaining in the frame to gain a three-goal lead after Skinner mishandled the puck. Instead of catching a shot, it bounced off his hands. In the meanwhile, the Oilers defense had completely fallen asleep and allowed Aleksander Barkov to sneak into the slot. The Panthers captain subsequently fired a shot that redirected off Reinhart for the goal.
Third Period
From that point, the game was pretty much over.
Desperate, Edmonton pulled Skinner with over six minutes to play in the third period while down three goals. Florida added insult to injury with two empty net goals from Reinhart to make it 5-0.
Edmonton spoiled the shutout after Bobrovsky made a lazy save before Podkolzin batted in the rebound, but there was no celebration to be had. Still down four goals, the writing was on the wall. The Florida Panthers made sure the Cup was staying in Florida. The Panthers rushed onto the ice prior to the final horn, and pandemonium ensued as they all dogpiled into Bobrovsky to celebrate their second straight championship with a 5-1 victory.
Takeaways
The turnover from Bouchard at the blue line set the tone for the rest of the game. The Panthers made the Oilers pay for every mistake this series and were just the deeper team. They were better defensively and offensively, and they were the more physical club. The Oilers definitely could have used Zach Hyman, but even he likely wouldn’t have been able to save this team single-handedly. Edmonton needs to fix their defense and their goaltending this offseason.
Next Up
We’ll see you next season.