The Florida Panthers have been crowned the 2024 Stanley Cup champions.
The Panthers won their first-ever Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the series on Monday, June 24.
Fans went wild over the organization’s history-making win, with one X user writing, “I’ll tell you what Panthers fans showed up and helped their team to win the cup!” Another added, “I’m so happy right now, everyone on this team deserves it.”
The team’s win comes after Florida came out strong in the beginning of the final series, winning the first three games against Edmonton 3-0, 4-1 and 4-3, respectively.
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The Canadian team – led by captain and NHL all-star Connor McDavid – gave Florida a run for their money, however, after the Oilers scored an impressive eight goals in a Game 4 upset, defeating the Panthers 8-1.
The Oilers continued their momentum in the following games, beating Florida 5-3 in Game 5 and 5-1 in Game 6.
“Every game we go into, we know we have the best player in the world on our side,” said McDavid’s linemate Leon Draisaitl via the Associated Press on Sunday, June 23. “But this league is really, really hard to just go through one player or two or three players. You need a whole team, and I think we’ve shown that.”
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McDavid, 27, added, “It’s not your ordinary game, everybody understands that, but you’ve got to make it as ordinary as possible in your head. Our room has done a great job of being at our best in these big moments, and I would expect no different.”
Only one team in NHL history has come back from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup finals. The Toronto Maple Leafs previously won the last four games in the 1942 championship series against the Detroit Red Wings.
In the quest for this year’s Cup, Edmonton defeated the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, the Vancouver Canucks in the second round and the Dallas Stars in the third round.
For their part, Florida took down state rivals Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, the Boston Bruins in the second round and the New York Rangers in the third round.
Prior to the 2024 playoffs, Edmonton won the Stanley Cup a total of five times in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990, while the Panthers organization had yet to win the Stanley Cup title since it joined the NHL in 1993.