The Stanley Cup Playoffs finished up last night. It was game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers won game six to force game seven. They were the first team in a long time to come back from down three games to zero to force a game seven. The last Stanley Cup Finals to go to a game seven was in 2019. The last time a team forced a game seven in the Stanley Cup Finals after losing the first three games was in 1945. The last team to win a Stanley Cup Final after losing the first three games did it in 1942. Both of those comebacks were between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Florida Panthers took on the Edmonton Oilers in game seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. This was the fourth game of the series in Florida. The Panthers won game one 3-0, game two 4-1, and game three 4-3. The Oilers won game four 8-1, game five 5-3, and game six 5-1 to force a game seven. Both teams had the chance to win the Stanley Cup with a win in this game. The series was tied. One team would become Stanley Cup Champions. The other team would be the final team eliminated from the Stanley Cup Finals. This was also the National Hockey League game to feature Adidas ice hockey jerseys.
Five minutes into the game #23 Carter Verhaeghe scored to give the Panthers the lead. His goal was assisted by #17 Evan Rodrigues and #15 Anton Lundell.
Two minutes later, #13 Mattias Janmark scored for the Oilers to tie the game. His goal was assisted by #5 Cody Ceci. The score was tied at 1-1 after the first period.
With under five minutes left in the second period, #13 Sam Reinhart scored to give the Panthers the lead. His goal was assisted by #23 Carter Verhaeghe and #7 Dmitry Kulikov. The score was 2-1 Panthers heading into the third period.
Neither team scored in the third period. The final score was 2-1 Panthers. The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup Finals 4-3 over the Edmonton Oilers.
Both teams had plenty of chances to score. Both goalies made some incredible saves. The Panthers were able to find a goal to get the win. The Panthers took away a lot of the Oilers time and space. The Oilers couldn’t get control of the puck for second and third chances late in the game. This game was so close. Connor McDavid played a lot. He also had a lot of ice time with Leon Draisaitl. Loading both of them on one shift was not what the Oilers needed to win. McDavid played too much. He was gassed and couldn’t do much late in the game. The Oilers went away rom what worked in the last couple of games. The Panthers kept the pressure and it worked out in their favor.
This was a crazy series. It was historic. It will be remembered for a long time. History is written by the victors. It will be remembered as the Florida Panthers being an unstoppable force. Sergei Bobrovsky will end up being remembered as an unstoppable force. I don’t think that was the case. In four for the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals games he let in three or more goals. He let in five goals in three straight games in this series. He was not the reason the Panthers won. The Panthers defense and ability to take away space was the reason they won. After the Panthers were up three games to zero, people thought the series was over. Even after game four it did not seem like people were confident in the Oilers. By game seven people believed that the Oilers were unstoppable. It was the first time since 1945 that a Stanley Cup Finals series has gone like this. This was probably the most hyped recent Stanley Cup Finals. This was crazy and is definitely something I will remember forever.
The Florida Panthers are the 2024 Stanley Cup Champions. This is their first time winning the Stanley Cup in their thirty year history. They were in the Stanley Cup Finals twice before. Last year they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and lost to the Vegas Golden Knights. They completed the redemption by winning this year. The Florida Panthers are now 1-2 all time for winning the Stanley Cup after making it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Their all time record in the Stanley Cup Finals is 5-11. The Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and Edmonton Oilers to become the Stanley Cup Champions. They came in third place in the Eastern Conference with a regular season record of 52-24-6. They scored 268 goals and allowed 200 goals with a goal differential of +68 during the regular season. They had a record of 16-6-2. They scored 73 goals. They allowed 63 goals. They finished the playoffs with a goal differential of +10.
Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers won the Conn Smythe Trophy. He is the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player. In twenty five games McDavid scored eight goals, had thirty four assists, and a total of forty two points. His thirty four assists was historic as it broke the record for most assists in a single NHL postseason. It broke the previous record set by Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers back in the 1988 playoffs. McDavid was close to beating the record for the most points in a single NHL postseason. He was five points away from that. Only Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers and Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins are above Connor McDavid for that record. His historic season made him a must watch and the stand out player this postseason. Connor McDavid is the sixth player to be on the losing side of the Stanley Cup Finals to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. The last player was Jean-Sébastien Giguère in 2003 with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
McDavid did not come out to accept his award. This is the only time I have seen that happen. It is also the only time I am aware that a player did not come out to accept the Conn Smythe Trophy. The Panthers fans did boo when the award was announced. No fanbase should ever boo a player getting an award like that. There was some talk that Sergei Bobrovsky would win the Conn Smythe Trophy. Florida Panthers fans just wanted the Conn Smythe Trophy. Bobrovsky was never going to get. McDavid was the clear choice not only for having a record breaking postseason but for elevating his entire team single handedly. The Oilers won several games this postseason because of him. Game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals happened because of him. No other this player this post season was carrying their team to victory like he did. Bobrovsky was not even the most deserving player on the Panthers. In the Stanley Cup Finals he was pulled in game four, he let in three or more goals in four games, and he let in five goals in three straight games. He finished the playoffs with 0.906 save percentage and 2.33 goals against average. Those stats put him in the middle of the pack for goalies this postseason. Those stats also put him and Stuart Skinner of the Oilers almost equal. The difference between those two was one goal allowed and twenty saves. Bobrovsky is a middle of the pack goalie who had a great defense in front of him. Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe were more deserving for the Conn Smythe Trophy on the Florida Panthers side. Aleksander Barkov lead the Florida Panthers in points this postseason. Carter Verhaeghe lead the Florida Panthers in goal scoring and was only point from tying Barkov for points. Connor McDavid was the most deserving player this postseason. There are talks of him carrying the emotion of this loss throughout next season to become an even more unstoppable player.
The 2023-24 National Hockey League season has concluded. The 2024-25 National Hockey League season will start in October.
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, Dallas Stars, and Edmonton Oilers 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 advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup Finals in seven games. The Florida Panthers are the 2024 Stanley Cup Champions.
Zac Electrifly 
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