The Florida Panthers are once again Stanley Cup champions.
Thanks to a historic four-goal night from Sam Reinhart, the Panthers rolled over the Edmonton Oilers and grabbed a dominant 5-1 win in Game 6 on Tuesday night at Amerant Bank Arena in South Florida. That officially closed out the series 4-2 and gave the Panthers back-to-back titles and their second championship in franchise history.
The Panthers also beat the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final last season in seven games. They are now the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Tampa Bay Lightning did so in 2020 and 2021. The Oilers’ loss also ensured that Canada’s 32-year dry spell — the country hasn’t had a team win a Stanley Cup since 1993 — continues.
The Panthers entered Tuesday’s contest in Sunrise, Florida, coming off a commanding 5-2 Game 5 win in Alberta — which put them on the brink of the championship after just barely slipping in overtime in Game 4 last week.
The Panthers didn’t waste any time on Tuesday, either. Reinhart came up with a turnover and put in a wild off-balance goal not even five minutes into the game to put Florida on the board right away.
The Oilers haven’t won a title since the 1989-90 campaign, which marked their fifth championship in seven seasons. This was their third Stanley Cup Final appearance in the past two decades.
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