NHL Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers win

Monday night, the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup championship of the National Hockey League with a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

In the Panthers’ thirty-year history, this is their first championship.

Carter Verhaeghe of Florida scored the first goal less than five minutes into the match.

Two minutes later, Mattias Janmark of Edmonton answered to tie the game at one.

Late in the second period, Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov teamed to thwart a solid Edmonton scoring opportunity. Sam Reinhart of Florida then scored on a rush up the ice to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.

After winning the first three games in the best-of-seven series, Florida seemed certain to win easily.

However, Edmonton made a strong comeback, defeating Florida 18-5 and winning three straight games in a decisive manner.

The Oilers had a chance to become the first Canadian club to win a Stanley Cup since 1993, but the Panthers’ victory in Game 7 prevented them from becoming just the second team in history to do so. The Oilers had lost the first three games of the series.

Connor McDavid, the key player for Edmonton, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the most valuable player of the whole playoff series despite the loss.