The Florida Panthers have won the 2024 Stanley Cup, their first in franchise history. The Panthers lifted the trophy after a 2-1 win in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night.
The Panthers took the lead early in the first period thanks to a tip-in goal by Carter Verhaeghe at 4:27, but the Oilers responded just a couple of minutes later via Mattias Janmark. Verhaeghe then assisted Sam Reinhart in giving the Panthers the 2-1 lead in the second period, and they did enough to keep it until the end of the game.
The 2024 Stanley Cup Finals looked like a one-sided contest after the first three games. The Panthers held a 3-0 lead and needed just one win to finish the job. However, closing out the Oilers proved much harder than anyone believed. Edmonton went on to avoid a sweep with a win in Game 4 and then notched two more wins to set up a deciding Game 7.
Still, the Panthers regrouped in time not to allow the Oilers to complete an epic comeback. As a result, the Toronto Maple Leafs team from 1942 remains the only one to return from a 0-3 deficit in the Stanley Cup Finals and win it all.
“They say it’s the hardest trophy to win in sports, and you can’t imagine how hard it is, until you do it,” said Florida’s star Evan Rodrigues after the game. “Getting to Game 7, it took pressure off of us, and we did it the hard way. But it was a perfect outcome.”
Despite the losing effort of his team, Oilers’ Connor McDavid ended up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the best player in the Stanley Cup playoffs. McDavid finished the postseason with 42 points in 25 playoff games.
