Monday night the reign of the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights was officially over as everyone watched the same team who they beat raise up the Stanley Cup. After 32 years the Florida Panthers have won their first Stanley Cup Finals defeating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7.
When people say that there’s nothing better than playoff hockey, this series is exactly what they’re talking about. We almost witness one of the most epic choke jobs in hockey history if Florida gave up their 3-0 lead. Credit to the Edmonton Oilers for coming all the way back from a 0-3 deficit to force a winner take all Game 7. With Edmonton coming up short, this continues Canada’s Stanley Cup drought. No team from north of the border has won the Cup since the Montreal Canadians won it in 1993.
“I’ve been chasing that for a long time,” Maurice said after handing off the Stanley Cup to his coaching staff. “It’s got nothing to do with the coach; this group has been special since day one.”
Unusual occurrence
McDavid is the sixth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe from team that lost in the Stanley Cup Final. He’s only the second skater after Reggie Leach of the Philadelphia Flyers, who was named MVP in 1976. The other winners were all goaltenders who lost in the Final: Jean-Sebastien Giguere of Anaheim in 2003, Ron Hextall of Philadelphia in 1987, Glenn Hall of St. Louis in 1968 and Roger Crozier of Detroit in 1966.
“They say it’s the hardest trophy to win in sports, and you can’t imagine how hard it is, until you do it,” Rodrigues said. “Getting to Game 7, it took pressure off of us, and we did it the hard way. But it was a perfect outcome.”
Last year the Florida Panthers lost the Cup in 5 games to the Golden Knights. Florida became just the third team in the past 40 years to win the Stanley Cup after losing in the Final during the previous postseason.
“He deserves it. He’s been here for a long time and has been our best player for a long time,” Barkov said of Bobrovsky. “He played incredible.”
