After five days of waiting the Stanley Cup Playoffs continued last night. It was game one of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers. The Panthers are the Eastern Conference Champions. The Oilers are the Western conference Champions. There is now seven games to decide a Stanley Cup Champion. The Panthers are looking for redemption after their loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. The Oilers are looking for their first championship in over thirty years.
This is the Florida Panthers third Stanley Cup appearance. They were in the Stanley Cup Finals last year. This is the Edmonton Oilers seventh appearance. Their last appearance was in 2006 where they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes sparking a riot in Edmonton. Corey Perry made history before the series started by playing on five different teams that have all reached the Stanley Cup Finals. This is the furthest Stanley Cup Final in NHL history with the teams being 2,541 miles away from each other. All four of the first four overall draft picks from the 2015 draft are in this years Stanley Cup Final. Those players are Aaron Ekbald, Sam Reinhart, Leon Draisaitl, and Sam Bennett. This is the first Stanley Cup appearance of Oilers star Connor McDavid. The Oilers are currently tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins at five Stanley Cups. A winning this series would give the Oilers six cups tying them with the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Florida Panthers are out for redemption. They had one goal on their mind all season. Now they are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Oilers fired their coach after a rough start to the season. They turned their season around and are now competing for the top prize in all of hockey. Game one was their first meeting of 2024. The regular season record will have an impact on this series since the last game was in December. The Florida Panthers are a better team than least season. They know what it takes to win. They find ways to win. They are a hungry and talented team. The Oilers are an offensive powerhouse. They make mistakes on defense. They are inconsistent in net. They have found ways to win. The Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, and Dallas Stars to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Game one was in Florida.
Four Minutes into the game, #23 Carter Verhaeghe scored to give the Panthers the lead. His goal was assisted by #16 Aleksander Barkov and #13 Sam Reinhart. His goal was the first goal of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. The score was 1-0 Panthers after the first period.
Three minutes into the second period, #17 Evan Rodrigues scored to give the Panthers a two goal lead. His goal was assisted by #9 Sam Bennett and #62 Brandon Montour. The Panthers had a 2-0 lead going into the third period.
With five seconds left in the game #27 Eeti Luostatinen scored an empty net goal to give the Panthers a three goal lead. His goal was assisted by #16 Alekander Barkov. The final score was 3-0 Panthers. The Florida Panthers have a 1-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Edmonton Oilers could not find the back of the net. They dominated all game and just could not bury their chances. The Oilers dominated this game getting majority of the chances. Both teams had amazing penalty kills. The Oilers outshot Florida almost two to one. Both teams were hitting hard. It was a chippy game right from the start. I do expect this series to continue to get more aggressive. I would like to see a fight in this series. The Panthers had more hits than the Oilers at almost two to one. Both teams had their fair share of blocked shots and giveaways. The Oilers were not taking the pucks away as much as the Panthers were. The first goal comes down to the Oilers goaltending not saving a shot that should have been saved. The second goal comes down to the Panthers exposing the Oilers defense. No one was covering the front of the net. Both of the Oilers defenders were looking at the puck. These are mistakes that the Oilers can’t make in the Stanley Cup Finals. Esspecially when they can not find the back of the net. Game two should be just as thrilling to watch. The Oilers need to continue to keep the same energy they had in this game and the goals will come. The Panthers did a great job shutting down the Oilers in game one. #72 Sergei Bobrovsky got the shutout. It was his third career playoff shutout and second shutout of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The last shutout in the Stanley Cup Finals was in game two of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals.
Game two of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals will be on Monday, June 10th, 2024. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:00 PM. That game will be in Florida.
The Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and Dallas Stars have been eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and Dallas Stars advanced to the second round.
The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Zac Electrifly 
Leave a reply to 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Recap – Zac Electrifly Cancel reply