The 2024-25 NHL season ended just like the previous season. The Florida Panthers are your Stanley Cup Champions! They defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 to take the Cup in six games. They beat them in seven games in last year’s finals. How did the Panthers get to this point to become the 11th franchise to win back-to-back Cups? Let’s dive straight into it.
Recap of Closeout Game
Game 6 last night was a dominant Florida performance. It was Sam Reinhart who would open the Panthers’ scoring with the team’s second shot on goal at the 15:24 minute mark of the first period. Reinhart would go on to score four goals as they took a 5-0 lead. Florida allowed a “meaningless” Vasily Podkolzin backhand goal with 4:42 left in the game. Sergei Bobrovsky would dominate the deciding game, stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced; a 96.6% save percentage.
For the Edmonton Oilers, last night was more of the same. It seemed as if Florida wanted this game and series more, from getting to every loose puck to extending the offensive zone time by cycling in the Oilers’ D-Zone. Connor McDavid continues his search for his first Stanley Cup. Stuart Skinner was in the net after being benched for Game 5. Skinner stopped 20 of 23 shots he faced, an 87% save percentage.
Panthers’ Series Overview
Center Sam Bennett would win the Conn Smythe Trophy, the playoff MVP award. Bennett scored five goals and an assist in the six games, along with 22 hits. His value goes beyond his scoring. His defensive intensity was evident in holding the best player in the world, McDavid, to one goal on 21 shots. Was it all Bennett? No, but he played a massive role. Reinhart led all scorers in the finals with 10 points; seven goals, and three assists.
I want to spotlight a player the Panthers acquired at the trade deadline who had a real chance to win the Conn Smythe, Brad Marchand. After trading a second-round pick (which became a first-round pick because of the Panthers success), for Marchand, he played more than 50% of their playoff minutes. He was just what the Panthers needed, as he added depth and scoring. Marchand recorded 20 points, 10 goals, and 10 assists this postseason. He would also score two overtime game-winning goals.
Where Do the Oilers Go From Here?
There isn’t much wiggle room for the Oilers to do this offseason. Edmonton has $11.9 million in cap space next season. One of the questions that could trouble this team is, what if Zach Hyman never got hurt against the Dallas Stars? It is unfortunate when a team and player as good as this one and Connor McDavid are to come up short in back-to-back seasons. To compare it to the NFL, it’s like how Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills consistently remain a dominant regular season team, but they face the Kansas City Chiefs every season.
Panthers Playing Through Injuries
Let’s praise the physicality of hockey players for a moment. We know the tales of how legendary they can be, almost willing to die on the ice instead of miss a shift. The Panthers’ captain Aleksander Barkov “split the palm of his hand open” in Game 1 of the SCF, which required stitches, which were torn out twice. So, what did they do?
They glued his hand together. Reinhart played through a Grade 2 MCL injury, and Matthew Tkachuk tore the adductor off the bone, dealing with a hernia on the same side of his body that put his status for the playoffs in doubt. It’s all worth it to hoist the Stanley Cup!
Final Thoughts
This was a great series that wrapped up an electric season. A season in which we saw the Winnipeg Jets win the President’s Trophy for the first time in Franchise History to Alexander Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record. To cap it off with the best team in the NHL hoisting the Cup at the end is poetic. Thank you to all the NHL teams that made the postseason and to all the teams that look to make that climb again next season. We look forward to seeing you again when the puck drops in October!
