Florida Panthers defeat Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 to capture first Stanley Cup in franchise history

In a thrilling conclusion to the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, in Game 7 to capture the first NHL championship in franchise history and avoid a historic collapse.

In a thrilling conclusion to the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, in Game 7 to capture the first NHL championship in franchise history and avoid a historic collapse. After racing to a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final, it seemed as if the Panthers would cruise to the franchise’s first title. However, struggles on both ends of the ice, combined with Edmonton outscoring Florida 18-5 during the three-game skid, erased their seemingly insurmountable lead and set up a dramatic Game 7. Playing in front of a raucous crowd at Amerant Bank Arena, the Panthers struck first on Monday night - something they had not done since their last victory in Game 3. Carter Verhaeghe redirected an Evan Rodrigues shot, moments after Florida’s power play expired, for the 1-0 lead nearly four-and-a-half minutes into the first period. Verhaeghe’s goal, his 11th of the Stanley Cup playoffs, tied the Panthers’ franchise record for the most in a single postseason. Florida’s lead was short-lived, as Mattias Janmark answered with a breakaway goal just over two minutes later to level the game 1-1. In the second period, the Oilers nearly took the lead when Warren Foegele’s shot at the net got past Panthers’ goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky but defenseman Dmitry Kulikov cleared it mere inches away before it crossed the goal line.