Florida Panthers Make History And Win Their First Ever Stanley Cup
That's right, the Florida Panthers won their first NHL championship last night thanks to goals by Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart in a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
The team that plays its home games in Sunrise, Florida, home to less than 100,000 people, took down the hockey crazed town of Edmonton, Canada and the beat Oilers in Game 7 after previously dropping three straight potential series-clinching games.
The Panthers took a early 1-0 lead thanks to a terrific re-direct goal by Verhaeghe before Edmonton's Mattias Janmark evened the score. Verhaeghe would make his impact felt again as he saved a goal at one end of the ice and then skated down the other to provide an assist to Sam Reinhart.
Florida then hung on for dear life as their bend but don't break defense held on to the one goal lead Verhaeghe had provided. While the puck was pinned up against the boards as the clocked ticked down to zero, Amerant Bank Arena turned into a frenzy. 20,000 screaming Floridians had just experienced something that had never happened before in their 30-year history, a Stanley Cup trophy had just been won.
The Panthers showed grit and determination by keeping a high-flying Edmonton offense at bay and holding star players Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scoreless throughout the game. The cliché defense wins championships has never been truer as the Panthers won all postseason long by winning close low-scoring games such as Game 7.
With this win they will no longer have to hear the critics saying they will become infamous for blowing a 3-0 series lead or for not having enough star power to win it all after losing in five games to the Golden Knights in last year's Stanley Cup final. South Florida has a hockey team to be proud of, and unlike last year, this time they're Stanley Cup Champions.
Noteworthy Stats:
The Panthers now become the fourth team in the last seven years to win their first Stanley Cup joining the 2018 Washington Capitals, 2019 St. Louis Blues, and the 2023 Vegas Golden Knights
With their win last night, the Panthers are the first team to win the Stanley Cup Finals on home ice in a winner-take-all game since the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes when they beat the.... Edmonton Oilers.
Between the three major sports leagues that have game seven of a championship series (World Series, NBA Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals) this is the first time the home team won Game 7 since the 2013 Miami Heat. The home teams had previously lost their last six Game 7's between the leagues.
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