Florida Panthers Win Back-to-Back Stanley Cups

 The Florida Panthers are your back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, overcoming the Edmonton Oilers for the second consecutive year, this time in one less game compared to last year. The Panthers accomplished their second Stanley Cup in six games compared to seven games last year. This year's Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP was awarded to the Panthers' Sam Bennett, who led all playoff skaters with 15 goals this year. 

This was an absolutely epic Stanley Cup Final rematch. Before diving further into my thoughts on this series, here are brief recaps on each game and how it all unfolded: 

Game 1: Oilers defeat the Panthers 4-3 in overtime. Leon Draisaitl scored the first goal of the Cup Final about a minute into the first period, followed by three consecutive goals by the Panthers, two from Sam Bennett and one from Brad Marchand. The Oilers added a goal from Viktor Arvidsson in the second period and a goal from Mattias Ekholm in the third period to force OT, where Leon Draisaitl would score his second goal of the game to win it for Edmonton. Kasperi Kapanen and Connor McDavid each recorded two assists for the Oilers, while Carter Verhaeghe and Nate Schmidt each recorded two assists for the Panthers. Stuart Skinner registered 29 saves on 32 shots against for the Oilers, while Sergei Bobrovsky registered 42 saves on 46 shots against for the Panthers. 

Game 2: Panthers defeat the Oilers 5-4 in double overtime. Sam Bennett opened the scoring for the Panthers about two minutes into the first period with his third goal of the series, while the Oilers followed that up with two goals from Evander Kane and Evan Bouchard early in the first period to take their first lead of the evening. The eventful opening period continued with Seth Jones scoring on a wide-open net to tie the game at two for Florida and Leon Draisaitl scoring a sweet power play goal to retake the lead. The Cats scored twice in the second period via Dmitry Kulikov and Brad Marchand to regain momentum, while Corey Perry tied the game at four with 18 seconds left in regulation to force extras. The Panthers get the job done in double overtime on Brad Marchand's second goal of the game to even the series at one a piece. In addition, Connor McDavid tallied three assists to bring his total to five assists on the series. Sergei Bobrovsky recorded 42 assists on 46 shots against for the Panthers, while Stuart Skinner recorded 37 assists on 42 shots against for the Oilers. 

Game 3: Panthers dominate the Oilers 6-1. Florida tallied two goals in each period: Brad Marchand and Carter Verhaeghe in the first, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett in the second, and Aaron Ekblad and Evan Rodrigues in the third. Corey Perry scored the lone goal for the Oilers early in the second period. Besides the Panthers onslaught, Game 3 featured plenty of scuffles between these two teams, including a line brawl in the third period. Sergei Bobrovsky was excellent in net for the Panthers once again, recording 32 saves on 33 shots against. 

Game 4: Oilers defeat the Panthers 5-4 in overtime. Florida scored the first three goals of this contest in the first period via Matthew Tkachuk twice and Anton Lundell. The Oilers would flip this game in the second period and score three goals via Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse, and Vasiliy Podkolzin to tie it at three. A marvelous slapshot goal by Jake Walman gave the Oilers the lead late in the third period, while Sam Reinhart scored to tie it at four for the Panthers with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Edmonton would officially complete its comeback in overtime on Leon Draisaitl's fourth overtime goal of this year's playoffs to win and even the Cup Final at two games a piece. Stuart Skinner made 14 saves on 17 shots against before getting pulled after the first period in favor of Calvin Pickard, who made 22 saves on 23 shots against for the rest of the contest in route to an Oilers comeback victory. On the other hand, Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves on 35 shots against on the losing end for the Panthers. 

Game 5: Panthers defeat the Oilers 5-2. Florida scored the first two goals in the opening period via Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett. The scoring resumed in the third period with Brad Marchand's second goal of the game, a goal from Sam Reinhart, and an empty-netter from Eetu Luostarinen, while the Oilers' only goals came from Connor McDavid and Corey Perry. Sergei Bobrovsky recorded 19 saves on 21 shots against for the Panthers, while Calvin Pickard recorded 14 saves on 18 shots against for the Oilers. 

Game 6: Panthers defeat the Oilers 5-1 win back-to-back Stanley Cups. The biggest factor in how the Cats clinched their second consecutive Cup was a four-goal performance by Sam Reinhart, in which he scored one goal in each of the first two periods along with two empty-net goals late in the third period. Matthew Tkachuk scored the second goal of the game late in the first period in what would end up as the Cup-clinching goal. Vasily Podkolzin scored the Oilers' lone goal late in the third period to help Edmonton avoid getting shut out. Sergei Bobrovsky recorded 28 saves on 29 shots against for the Panthers, while Stuart Skinner recorded 20 saves on 23 shots against for the Oilers. 

Although I am generally not a fan of repeat champions in sports, I am completely satisfied with the end result of this year's Stanley Cup Final. My Cup Final series prediction, gut, and heart were spot on with how this year's Cup Final went down. The Panthers have been a practically unstoppable force throughout this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, and they have fully earned the right to defend their Stanley Cup. Florida's recipe for success in going all the way this year has been in large part due to their high-powered offense, depth, physicality, and consistently solid goaltending. Sam Reinhart's four-goal performance in the Panthers' Cup-clinching Game 6 was simply unbelievable. I am happy for former Sharks Jonah Gadjovich, Nico Sturm, Vitek Vanecek, and Jaycob Megna who have become Stanley Cup Champions this year, with this being the second time for the former two and the first time for the latter two. It was also great seeing a few veteran defensemen in Nate Schmidt and Seth Jones along with a few other players lift the Stanley Cup for the first time. If the Panthers can re-sign most or all of their key free agents this offseason, they have the potential to form a modern-day dynasty in the coming years. 

Now that the Stanley Cup has been awarded, the NHL has entered into full offseason mode, with most notably the entry draft later this month and the start of free agency next month on the horizon. I plan to cover every significant Sharks headline and transaction this offseason as soon as I can once they occur, so stay tuned for those in the coming weeks. 

Sources: TNT Sports, NHL App 

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