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The Florida Panthers won their franchise’s first Stanley Cup Monday night, with a hard-fought, 2-1 nail-biter in Game 7.
First time this series these two clubs were even after 1, even though Florida had double the O-zone time Edmonton did. The play evened out in the second frame, but the Panthers emerged with a 2-1 lead. And there it stayed until minute 60, without the Oilers able to find the equalizer.
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Florida had two power plays to Edmonton’s one. And the Oilers man advantage was their best opportunity with one Panther stickless for the better part of the sequence. Both McDavid and Draisaitl were held pointless.
While the Oilers and their fans will be understandably heartbroken, there is certainly no shame in the series comeback from being down 0-3.
Here is the tale of the tape…
STUART SKINNER. 5. Left all alone with a Florida man who had slipped behind coverage and had little chance on the subsequent deflection to make it 1-0. A fine save off a Tkachuk deflection early in the second. A sharp stop on a Barkov deflection. And another on Verhaeghe. You might want your goalie to stop the short side shot by Reinhart that made it 2-1. But that is also a 57-goal scorer firing on you. Stuffed Bennet point-blank in the third. Played quite well. But in the end, the guy at the other end was one save better. Stopped 19 of 21.
CONNOR McDAVID. 5. Was awarded the Conn Smyth Trophy was the MVP of the playoffs, a skater winning it for the first time since Reggie Leach in 1976. Forced to spend a lot of time defending in the first as the Panthers dominated with Edmonton’s first line on the ice. Cut hard to the middle for his first shot in four periods early in the second. Crisp pass to Draisaitl late in the second but Leon missed the net. Had the puck in tight with Bob down but could not get a good handle on it. The best chance to tie it was a Bouchard pass through the middle that McDavid got a stick on, but the puck flew high. Played half the game down the stretch. 5v5 CF 61%.
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RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 4. A rough first 20 5v5 as a line but meaningful contributions on the PK. A hard pass into the slot but Hyman could not corral it. A backhand chance part way through the second. Only managed that single shot and was -1.
ZACH HYMAN. 4. This line did not have much at all going on in the opening fame. Unable to get a piece of a hard Nugent-Hopkins pass into the slot in the second. Could not get much on a puck loose in the crease late in the third. Two shots.
EVAN BOUCHARD. 5. Got puck watching on the 1-0 as his man managed to slip in behind him and deflected the point shot home. Hammered a hard slapper squarely off the post about 12 minutes into the first. Whistled for a second period high stick but his mates killed it off. Walked with 8 minutes left in the third but a Draisaitl back-check erased the threat. A hard shot late in the third. Shot pass to McDavid late but the deflection sailed high. Played 27:43. 5 shots.
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MATTIAS EKHOLM. 6. Played very well. Hard point shot after a sustained cycle by the first line. This pairing carried a heavy load (26:07). Four shots. Led the club in 5v5 CF at 34-15, 69%.
LEON DRAISAITL. 5. Whiffed on a PP one-timer in the second. Missed the net short side on a McDavid feed deep into the second. Fed Foegele for an excellent chance net side just before the 2-1. Able to get a shot from longer range on net through traffic. Unable to get all the way back into the picture on the 2-1 goal. Third period backcheck maybe saved a goal. 70% in the circle. No lack of effort. But you do wonder just how nicked up he is.
WARREN FOEGELE. 6. Took an early high sticking call while driving the net in the first period. Then drew a trip in the second. Good shot in the second. Just missed a jam net side before Florida took it the other way for the 2-1. A pass across to a charging Perry but a Montour stick intercepted it. 4 shots. Played well.
DYLAN HOLLOWAY. 4. Credited with three hits but not a lot else was going on in 10:31.
DARNELL NURSE. 5. Was solid through the back half of this series including on this night. Hugh Dangers 5v5 were 0-3 on his watch but to my eye Nurse played well.
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PHILIP BROBERG. 5. Skated a puck out of intense pressure in the second. While shot shares were decidedly adverse while he was on the ice, it is hard not to be impressed with how he has performed.
ADAM HENRIQUE. 6. A hard-working zone clear after an extended Florida cycle in the first. Nearly corralled a loose puck right at the top of the Florida crease. A smart clear on a third period PK. His fine play continued deep into Game 7. It would have to be a priority to try and re-sign him.
MATTIAS JANMARK. 7. Collected just a terrific Ceci stretch pass and then deked Bobrovsky glove hand high for the 1-1 goal, just 2:17 after Florida had opened the scoring. A Second period takeaway. Surely has earned a new contract with his post-season exploits.
CONNOR BROWN. 5. The Oilers most effective line through two periods. Brown had a shot and was +1.
BRETT KULAK. 5. Won a hard race back to earn an icing call and get a favorable matchup for an O-zone faceoff at the other end. Gave up a bit too much gap on the 2-1. High Dangers 5v5 1-1 on his watch.
CODY CECI. 6. Splendid stretch pass to Janmark to knot the score at 1. Good play to foil a Stenlund jam later in the second. A good glove stopped an aerial pass by Florida in the third.
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RYAN McLEOD. 3. Had a rough go. A failed clear up the wall then unable to get to the point man who took the shot from the blueline on the 1-0. Nearly burned again on a similar play late in the first. -2.
DEREK RYAN. 4. Played just 6:54. Solid on the PK. 38% on draws.
COREY PERRY. 4. Broke in all alone mid-way through the third but a Montour stick intercepted Foegele’s pass attempt. But that was about it.
Find me on Threads @kleavins, on Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social, and X @KurtLeavins. AI was not used in the composition of this article.
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