For the second year in a row, theFlorida Panthershave conquered theEdmonton Oilersand lifted the Stanley Cup as kings of the NHL.
The Panthers’ back-to-back crowns have both come at the expense of the Oilers, this time in six games after last year’s seven-game classic series. With three consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final, Florida has officially achieved dynasty status.
With a 5-1 clinching win in Tuesday night’s Game 6, this year’s victory over the Oilers came 357 days after their last Cup-clinching win.
With a raucous home crowd chanting, “We want the Cup,” behind them and the prospect of a 2,500-mile trip back to Edmonton looming, the Panthers jumped at the opportunity to win the Cup on home ice.
The Panthers’ trio of veteran centers were the difference throughout the series.
After Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett took turns playing hero in the earlier games of the series, Tuesday was 11-year veteran Sam Reinhart’s night.
Reinhart got the scoring started in the first period with a sensational individual effort. The center took the puck away from an Oilers skater and swiftly cut behind defenseman Mattias Ekholm before going top shelf over the shoulder of Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner as Reinhart was falling down.
A long-range wrister from left winger Matthew Tkachuk with less than a minute remaining in the opening period doubled Florida’s lead to 2-0.
The second period was largely uneventful, but in the closing minutes, Reinhart struck again for the Panthers. The 29-year-old deftly used his skate to redirect the pass from Aleksander Barkov past Skinner for his second goal of the game.
But Reinhart was only halfway finished with his big night.
In the third period, with the game seemingly out of reach and in desperate need of a flurry of goals, Edmonton made a strategic decision to pull its goalie with seven minutes remaining in the game.
Reinhart took full advantage of the situation, scoring an empty-netter to complete his hat trick and adding a fourth goal for good measure to bring the Panthers’ lead to 5-0.
The offensive explosion brought Reinhart’s goal tally during the series to a team-high seven.
The three-headed monster of Reinhart (7), Marchand (6) and Bennett (5) became just the second trio of teammates to each score five or more goals in a Stanley Cup Finals series. The 1955 Detroit Red Wings, anchored by the legendary Gordie Howe, are the only other team to achieve that feat seven decades ago.
Meanwhile, between the Florida pipes, a man affectionately known as “Bob” by his teammates and fans alike was steady while denying any hope of a score by the Oilers. Sergei Bobrovsky, who backstopped the Cup win last season and started every game this postseason, made 28 saves in the win. Edmonton’s lone tally came late in the game with no chance for a comeback as Vasily Podkolzin poked home a rebound with under five minutes remaining in the game.
A second loss in as many years for Edmonton also extends another ignominious streak, as it has been 32 years since a team from Canada has won the championship in its own national winter sport. The Montreal Canadiens were the last franchise from north of the border to hoist the trophy named afterLord Stanley of Preston.