Florida Panthers Avoid Disaster, Clinch 1st Stanley Cup In Franchise History

The only question the Florida Panthers need to answer on Tuesday is whether the parade will be held in a shopping mall or Fort Lauderdale after they staved off a historic collapse and eked out a 2-1 game seven victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

A week ago, everything lined up for the Panthers to coast to their first Stanley Cup in the 30-year franchise history. They won the first three games of the series, and even after being blown out by the Oilers 8-1 in game four, the Panthers had an opportunity to close out the series on home ice. Fast forward to Monday, and Edmonton, led by three-time MVP Connor McDavid, dragged the series back to Sunrise for a do-or-die game seven, a game some analysts said was the most critical NHL game of the 21st century.

Florida scored first in the opening five minutes with a Carter Verhaeghe deflected goal, a crucial tally since McDavid’s men went on the board first in the last three games. Still, the Oilers responded two minutes later with a Mattias Janmark breakaway goal as he got behind D Aaron Ekblad and lifted the puck over G Sergei Bobrovsky’s blocker.

The pace of the game slowed, and the teams were tied 1-1 heading into the first intermission. With neither team wanting to make a mistake, the second period started cagey. Neither team found a way through until Sam Reinhart broke the deadlock. The pending UFA and 50-goal scorer went through the neutral zone with speed on a 3-2, ripped a wrist shot past G Stuart Skinner above the pad, and bellow his blocker for what turned out to be the game-winning goal. In the first place, Skinner turning into a brick wall helped Edmonton find their way back in the series, but that will be a blemish he will want to have back.

First-year head coach Kris Knoblauch tried everything he could to spark the Oiler offense in the third period, loading up McDavid with Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, but nothing broke down the Florida defense. With the puck pinned on the wall for the final ten seconds, reality set in for the amazing Amerant Bank Arena crowd that their hometown team finally broke through. The Panthers came up short last year in the SCF, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights, but that is forgotten now as the South Florida team reached the hockey pinnacle.

Winning the largest trophy in sports is a dream for everyone, especially for Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. Maurice coached in the NHL for 26 years without winning a cup until last night, almost retiring before taking this job. He seemed the most relieved of any person wearing red and blue that he ended his streak.

Even though his team lost, McDavid won the Conn Smythe trophy for playoff MVP. Bobrovsky was the best player on the best team, carrying the Cats to a championship. Some people believed he should have won the award, but he settled for the first star in game seven last night.

For a while, it looked like hockey could never work in South Florida. The team struggled with where to play between Miami and Broward and where to market their product. Three years ago, the Panthers won the President’s Trophy for best regular season in the NHL and seemed destined to break through, only to lose in the second round to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Now, Sunrise, FL, is the capital of the hockey universe.