For the first time in history, the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions.
Florida won a 2-1 Game 7 thriller on Monday night over the Edmonton Oilers to secure a 4-3 series victory in the Stanley Cup Final. The win staved off a historic collapse after the Oilers rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to tie the series at 3-3.
After allowing 18 goals in consecutive losses in Games 4-6, Florida’s defense returned to form Monday night anchored by a stellar performance from goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who turned back 23 of 24 Edmonton shots, including a late Oilers flurry that threatened to tie the game.
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid secured the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the entire Stanley Cup playoffs despite his team’s loss. He’s the sixth player in NHL history to win the award from a losing team.
McDavid led the playoffs with 42 points and set an NHL record previously held by Wayne Gretzky with 34 playoff assists. But the Panthers stifled McDavid and the rest of the Oilers offense in Monday’s decisive Game 7.
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