Aleksander Barkov placed his hands at each end of the Stanley Cup and began skating away to commence the celebration that the Florida Panthers have longed for.
As he lifted the hockey’s chalice for the first time, he remarked, “It’s heavy.”
A 37-pound trophy didn’t pose a challenge for him. A three-game slide didn’t deter the Panthers. There was no mishap with the Cup, no breakdown with the Cup on the line. The Panthers emerged as champions for the first time after navigating a tough path to the title.
Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves, and the Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. This marked Florida’s third appearance in the title round in its 30-year history; the team was swept in 1996 by Colorado and beaten 4-1 by Vegas last season. The defeat last year served as a learning experience for this year’s team.
“You have to go through it first,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, “to know what it takes to get it done.”
This time, they emerged victorious and avoided a historic collapse. The Panthers won the first three games of the series, then dropped the next three, requiring a win on Monday to prevent becoming the second team, after the 1942 Detroit Red Wings, to lose the final after leading 3-0 in the title round.
“It’s not what I thought it would be,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s so much better.”
The road to victory was challenging, but the Panthers achieved it.
Barkov passed the Cup to Bobrovsky, and the celebrations began. It took until the very end for the Panthers to deny Connor McDavid his first title and Edmonton its first Cup since 1990.
“You want to become a true champion and you want to win,” said Bobrovsky, a first-time champion at 35. “But at the end of the day, you don’t do it for the Cups. You do it for the love of the game.”
McDavid was named the Conn Smythe winner as the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. But the ultimate prize was the Cup, claimed by the Panthers.
The Panthers did everything right on Monday. And that made all the difference.
“It’s not a dream anymore. It’s not a dream. It’s reality,” Tkachuk, who joined Florida two summers ago with winning the Cup as his goal, expressed. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it…I can’t believe how good these two years have been. So thankful for this group of guys. It’s the best place, best guys. It’s something really special here with what we have.”
Mattias Janmark scored for Edmonton, and Stuart Skinner stopped 19 shots for the Oilers. The loss extended Canada’s title drought; it has been 1993 since a Canadian-based team won the Cup.
Florida now boasts titles from all four major pro sports leagues in the U.S. The Miami Dolphins achieved it twice, the then-Florida Marlins twice, the Miami Heat three times, and now the Panthers have joined the ranks.
Welcome, Stanley. The Panthers have been waiting. Maurice hoisted the Cup near the bench, closed his eyes tightly to control his emotions, and let out a yell. General manager Bill Zito didn’t hold back the yell either. Tkachuk’s family in the stands cherished the moment, knowing their last name will soon be engraved on Lord Stanley.
“This is for them,” Tkachuk stated.
Bobrovsky was composed even in the tensest moments. The Panthers barely held on to win after leading the series 3-0 but being outscored 18-5 in Games 4, 5, and 6. Edmonton came close to staging a historic comeback but fell short.
Florida sealed the victory and claimed the Cup as their well-deserved reward.
“This is the best moment of my life so far,” veteran Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad exclaimed. “Nothing tops it.”
