Panthers secure a consecutive Stanley Cup victory by defeating the Oilers in a six-game series

The Florida Panthers successfully defended their Stanley Cup title by defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the final on Tuesday night. This achievement marked the first consecutive championship win in the NHL since the Tampa Bay Lightning accomplished it in 2020 and 2021, making the Panthers the third team to achieve this feat in the 21st century.

Sam Reinhart shined in the game by scoring four goals, a rare accomplishment that only three other players in league history have achieved in the final. The crowd erupted as he completed his hat trick with his third goal, leading to a flurry of rats and hats being thrown onto the ice in celebration. Matthew Tkachuk, a prominent player for the team, scored the decisive goal that secured the victory and the Stanley Cup.

On the defensive end, Sergei Bobrovsky delivered a stellar performance by stopping 28 of the 29 shots from the Oilers, ensuring their victory and preventing a comeback from the opposition. The lone goal for the Oilers was scored by Vasily Podkolzin in the final moments of the game when the outcome was already determined, a mere consolation in the face of the Panthers’ dominant display.

That was followed by chants of “We want the Cup!” as time ticked off the clock. The Panthers already had it. Now they get to keep it.

Not long after the Lightning made three trips to the final in a row, Florida has done the same and now has the makings of a modern-day dynasty. The Panthers have won 11 of 12 playoff series since Matthew Tkachuk arrived by trade and Paul Maurice took over as coach in the summer of 2022.

The only time they have been on the wrong side of a handshake line was the final in Vegas in 2023, only after several key players were dealing with banged up and gutting through significant injuries.

From the core of Tkachuk, Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett on down the roster, they were much healthier this time around and were boosted by key trade deadline additions Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. Bennett led all goal-scorers this postseason with 15, and Marchand had six in the final alone.

Getting depth contributions from throughout the lineup allowed them to overpower Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers, who struggled with Florida’s ferocious forecheck and switched goaltenders multiple times in the final. Stuart Skinner got the nod in Game 6 and was again done in by mistakes in front of him that ended with the puck in the net behind him and had his own blunder on Reinhart’s second goal.

McDavid tried to take over but was again stymied by Barkov, Jones and Bobrovsky. He finished with seven points in his second career trip to the final, again denied his first title.

Canada’s Stanley Cup drought reached 31 seasons and 32 years dating to Montreal in 1993. Teams in the U.S. Sun Belt have won it five of the past six times, four of them in Florida.

This run through Tampa Bay in five, Toronto in seven, Carolina in five and Edmonton in six showed how clinical the Panthers have become under Maurice, who has coached more NHL games than everyone except Scotty Bowman and is now a two-time champion.

So is Marchand, who last hoisted the Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. The 14-year gap is the third-longest in league history, just shy of 16 for Chris Chelios from 1986 to 2002 and 15 for Mark Recchi from ’91 to ’06.