Franchise Wins its First Title
A hard-fought, 2-1 victory on Monday night in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final for the Florida Panthers over the Edmonton Oilers brought redemption for the now-champions. Last year’s Cup runners-up, the Panthers avenged a 4-1 series defeat to the Las Vegas Knights. The Panthers won the first three games this year’s Cup Final before the Oilers came all the way back to force the winner-take-all Game 7.
During the second period in a tight battle, Edmonton came inches from breaking a 1-1 tie, but the puck broke the Panthers’ way. The speed of the rush confused Edmonton’s defense enough to allow Panthers forward Sam Reinhart to score what turned out to the Cup-winning goal.
“You knew it was going to be tight. We were an inch away from going ahead 2-1 right before they did,” Oilers’ superstar Connor McDavid said.
McDavid, the world’s best player, made history. He became just the second skater to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (awarded to the playoff MVP). McDavid was rewarded for one of the greatest postseasons of all-time. His 42 playoff points rank fourth best in league history. He finished this year’s postseason run with 34 assists, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 31. His back-to-back, four-point efforts in Games 4 and 5 dragged Edmonton back from the brink; however, it wasn’t enough.
Now, it’s McDavid and the Oilers that must seek redemption as the Canadian curse continues. It has been 21 years since the Cup was hoisted by a team north of the U.S. border.
