Stanley Cup Showdown: Panthers Take the Cup Again
- Mayline Ruiz
- Jun 30
- 5 min read
San Jose, CA. — With hockey season coming to an end, the Florida Panthers have gone back-to-back, clinching the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row! With an exact repeat of last year’s final against the Edmonton Oilers, this series was one of the most exhilarating matches yet. Here is a quick look at the series and how the Panthers became victorious.
Game One
Game One exceeded many people’s expectations and rightfully so, with back-and-forth goals and even some overtime action. Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring early against the Panthers at 1:06 from the right face-off circle. The Panthers answered immediately and took the lead with a goal from Sam Bennett at 10:49 and Brad Marchand at 12:30. Going into the second period, Bennett scored his second goal of the night at 2:00, assisted by Nate Schmidt. However, Viktor Arvidsson cut the deficit down to one nearly a minute later when he scored above the left circle. Heading into the third period, the Oilers needed to tie it in order to have a chance at winning Game One. With 6:33 on the clock, Mattias Ekholm tied the game from the left circle. Tensions were high as they headed to overtime, but ultimately, Draisaitl scored the winning goal on a power play with an assist from Connor McDavid. With the Oilers taking the first game, there was no doubt that the Stanley Cup Finals would shape up to be an interesting series.
Game Two
With the Oilers up 1-0 in the series, the Panthers needed to win at least one game before heading back to Sunrise. The scoring started once again with one of the more dominant players in the series, who was Bennett. Bennett gave the Panthers an early lead at 2:07 with a power-play goal. The Oilers tied it five minutes later when they scored from the left face-off circle. Evan Bouchard gave the Oilers a lead, scoring 2 minutes later on a 4-on-4 play; however, the lead didn’t last long, because Seth Jones scored from the left circle at 11:37. Not even one minute later, Draisaitl gave the Oilers their second lead with a goal from the right circle. While the second period wasn’t as high-scoring, we saw the Panthers regain the lead with a goal from Dmitry Kulikov at 8:23 and another from Marchand at 12:09, both of which were snap shots. In the third period, the Oilers were desperate to tie it, and Corey Perry scored his first goal of the Stanley Cup Final with just 18 seconds left off a rebound. It wasn’t until the second overtime that Marchand closed the game out with a backhand shot from the right side. With the series tied, emotions were high heading back to Sunrise.
Game Three
Compared to the first two games, Game Three wasn’t as close, but we did see the dominance that the Panthers have when it comes to scoring. Marchand opened up the scoring just 56 seconds into the first period with a goal from the left face-off circle. With the first period coming to a close, Carter Verhaeghe scored his first goal of the Stanley Cup Final from a power-play goal in the top left corner from the left circle. In the second period, Perry gave the Oilers hope by cutting the lead down by one, at 1:40. However, it was short-lived when Sam Reinhart answered back at 3:00. Bennett extended the lead on a breakaway at 7:26, making it a 4-1 game. The third period involved two goals from Aaron Ekblad at 3:27 and Evan Rodrigues at 16:10. With the game ending 6-1, the Panthers took the lead in the series 2-1.
Game Four
Game Four was a high-scoring game that once again headed into overtime. In the first period, Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals, one at 11:40 with a snap shot from the left face-off circle. The second goal was at 16:56 with a wrist shot from the right side of the net, landing the puck in the left side of the net. Anton Lundell extended the lead with less than a minute in the first period with an assist from Carter Verhaeghe. In the second period, the Oilers went to work and tied the game 3-3. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored early in the second period with a snap shot from the left face-off circle. Darnell Nurse scored nearly 10 minutes later again from the same left face-off circle, and 2 minutes later, we see Vasily Podkolzin score a backhand shot from the right side of the net. Going into the third period, Jake Walman gave the Oilers their first lead of the game at 13:36 from the right side of the face-off circle. With just 20 seconds left of the period, Reinhart tied the game on a 6-on-5 goal, making the game go into overtime. At 11:18, Draisaitl scored after the puck hit Niko Mikkola’s skate, tying the series once again 2-2.
Game Five
With the series tied 2-2, Game Five brought the Panthers one win away from winning the Stanley Cup championship. Marchand opened up the scoring with a forehand shot from the left circle at 9:12. At 18:06, Bennett extended the lead off a rebound from Tkachuk. With a scoreless second period, the third period was filled with goals from both teams. At 5:12, Marchand scored his second goal of the night from the left side of the net. The Oilers got their first goal on the scoreboard with a goal from Connor McDavid at 7:24. The Panthers immediately answered back, not even a minute later, with a goal from Reinhart from the left circle. Perry then scored near the blue line at 16:47 to cut the lead down to 4-2. At 18:41, Eetu Luostarinen put the nail in the coffin and extended the lead 5-2 on an empty-netter, with the Panthers leading the series 3-2.
Game Six
The last game of the Stanley Cup series named the Panthers champions once again. The Panthers took an early 2-0 lead in the first period with goals from Reinhart and Tkachuk. Reinhart scored an unassisted goal from the left side of the face-off circle, and Tkachuk scored between both face-off circles. Reinhart scored his second goal of the night in the second period at 17:31 from the left circle off a rebound from Verhaeghe’s shot. Reinhart scored his third goal, scoring a hat-trick in the third period at 13:26, but it didn’t stop there. He scored a fourth goal at 14:55 on an empty-netter. With less than five minutes left of the third period, Podkolzin scored one goal, making the game 5-1. It was one of the best series in a while, with unforgettable players, but one name stood out, and that’s Sam Bennett. Bennett was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the MVP of the playoffs right on the ice as they were celebrating their back-to-back Stanley Cup win.
Now that hockey season has officially ended, the NHL Draft and free agency are starting. Here’s to hoping for an exciting free agency. What do you think? Are the Panthers building a dynasty? Do the Oilers need to bring in some new faces? Let me know what you think!
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