Sam Reinhart’s four goals and Sergei Bobrovsky’s 28 saves helped the Florida Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup champions as they beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in game six.
The Panthers are the first team to win back-to-back Cups since their in-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, won two consecutive Cups in 2020 and 2021. The Panthers are the 11th team in Stanley Cup history to win back-to-back cups, and the third team to do it this century.
With four goals in the game, Reinhart became the fourth player in league history to score four goals in a final. You had a feeling as soon as Reinhart scored at 4:36 of the first period to put the Panthers up 1-0, it was going to be the Panthers’ night.
With less than one minute left in the first period, Matthew Tkachuk scored his eighth goal of the playoffs, and the Panthers had a 2-0 lead after one period. Reinhart would score his second goal of the night in the second period to give the Panthers an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Reinhart would add two empty net goals in the period to put the Panthers up 5-0, before the Oilers would get one by Bobrovsky to make the final 5-1.
“This is as good as the first one,” Reinhart said. “We learned some lessons. We stayed on the gas, foot on the pedal, and obviously the result speaks for itself.”
Tkachuk thinks the Panthers are a hockey dynasty now in South Florida. “We’ve got to be a dynasty now. Three years in a row finals, two championships. This is a special group.”
Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett led the league in scoring with 14 goals. Bennett will be a free agent this summer along with Brad Marchand, and you can bet that Paul Maurice and the Panthers front office will do everything they can to keep those two players in South Florida.
Bennett talked about how hard it is to win one Stanley Cup, let alone two. “It’s harder than I ever imagined to win the Stanley Cup once, and twice was even harder, so yeah, it’s a huge honor to be a part of this group. I’m not going to take it for granted. I love being here, and I love this team. It’s a remarkable team to be a part of.”
The Panthers beat Tampa 4-1 to win their first-round series, but faced some adversity in round two against Toronto. The Panthers trailed Toronto 2-0 in the second round and trailed in the third game before rallying to beat the Maple Leafs in the series four games to three.
The Panthers then made quick work of Carolina, winning that series 4-1 to earn a rematch with Edmonton, beating the Oilers 4-2.
The Panthers also became the first team to win the Stanley Cup on home ice in consecutive seasons since the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s.
The Panthers acquired two players mid-season who were instrumental in helping the Panthers win their second consecutive cup: Seth Jones and Brad Marchand.
Not to say the Panthers wouldn’t have won the cup without those two, but Marchand had so many critical goals for the Panthers in this playoff run. Marchand, who last won the cup with Boston in 2011, talked about how incredible this Florida Panthers team is.
“It’s incredible. It’s a feeling you can’t really describe. Seeing the family and everyone up there and everyone that supported me and helped me get to this point, words can’t put this into reality how great it feels. Such an incredible group.”
The Stanley Cup drought in Canada continues as it has now been 32 years since a Canadian team last won the Stanley Cup.
So now the question in Florida will be, who has had the better three-year run? The Tampa Bay Lightning from 2020-2022, or the Florida Panthers from 2023-2025.
That’s a topic for another day.