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Sam Reinhart scores Game 7 winner, Florida Panthers capture 1st Stanley Cup

Plus, Connor McDavid wins the Conn Smythe, Senators acquire Linus Ullmark, and more.

Author

Brandon Rubeo
June 25, 2024

In partnership with

Good morning. Wow, what a truly epic Stanley Cup Final?!

And even better, I predicted the Panthers in 7. 😬

… if only I put my money where my mouth is.

A very special thank you goes out to our thousands of loyal readers for opening our emails this season. 🙏

And with the NHL offseason officially upon us, you can expect to hear from the Hockey Recap team twice a week leading up to NHL training camps.

Today’s lineup:

  • Sam Reinhart scores Game 7 winner

  • Connor McDavid captures the Conn Smythe

  • Senators acquire Linus Ullmark

  • Three steps to learn to shoot in-stride in today’s Coaches Corner

  • And a lot more… 👇

2024 STANLEY CUP FINAL 🏆

Florida Panthers (4) vs. Edmonton Oilers (3)

Game 1: Panthers 3, Oilers 0

Game 2: Panthers 4, Oilers 1

Game 3: Panthers 4, Oilers 3

Game 4: Panthers 1, Oilers 8

Game 5: Panthers 3, Oilers 5

Game 6: Panthers 1, Oilers 5

Game 7: Panthers 2, Oilers 1

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Stock up now and make hydration your top priority this year.

CAN’T MISS HOCKEY NEWS 🎯

🚨 Sam Reinhart scores game-winning goal, Panthers capture 1st Stanley Cup in franchise history with 2-1 Game 7 win over the Oilers. After a colossal 57-goal regular season, and with the stakes at their highest, the West Vancouver native led the Panthers’ rush on the right side where he entered the zone, slightly delayed to allow his linemates to crash the net, and released a lethal wrister below the glove and above the left pad of Stuart Skinner for the biggest goal of his hockey career and a 2-1 Panthers lead with 4:49 remaining in the 2nd period.

Panthers’ netminder Sergei Bobrovsky delivered another stellar performance, collecting 23 saves, including 9 in the frantic 3rd period, to earn the decisive win. The 35-year-old undrafted goaltender finished the 2024 playoffs with a 2.32 GAA, .906 save percentage, and 2 shutouts en route to 16 wins.

"I was trying to cut off everything outside of myself, to just settle down, relax and focus on one shot at a time. I think it was a great moment that I didn't skate yesterday. The goalie coach came up with the idea to just have a rest, go away. I went home and played with my daughter. She's my motivation. She's my inspiration. Just relax, reset, come this morning for the morning skate ready to go."

Carter Verhaeghe opened scoring with his 11th of the postseason just 4:27 into the 1st period with a sick deflection — Evan Rodrigues threw a puck on net from the left wall that was headed 3-feet wide of the net before Verhaeghe deftly redirected the puck out of midair through the legs of Skinner for the 1-0 lead.

The Oilers’ Mattias Janmark buried a nice breakaway goal just over two minutes later to tie the game at 1-1 but proved to be the only goal Edmonton’s offense could muster last night as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were once again held pointless.

Panthers’ head coach Paul Maurice finally captured a Stanley Cup in his 3rd Cup Finals appearance, after coaching 1,985 NHL games — 1,848 regular season plus 137 playoff games.

“They played with freedom and that's what I'm going to remember from this game. The story gets written differently if we don't win, but under the most pressure they found the courage to play with some freedom, to make plays, to move the puck. They get to say, 'In Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, I was at my best.'"

Florida’s captain Aleksander Barkov lead the Panthers with 4 game-winning goals and finished the 2024 postseason with 22 points in 24 games, tied with Matthew Tkachuk for the team lead. Verhaeghe lead the Panthers with 11 playoff goals, edging Reinhart’s 10. And Gustav Forsling lead all Panthers with a +9 through 24 playoff games.

🤯 Mind blowing stat: The Edmonton Oilers penalty kill outscored the Florida Panthers power play in the Final series.

ICYMI 🏆

Connor McDavid became the 6th player in NHL history to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy after losing the Stanley Cup.

And if you participated in Saturday’s trivia, you would know he’s just the 2nd skater to do so, joining Reggie Leach, with the other four recipients all being goaltenders.

Despite being held pointless in Games 6 and 7, McDavid led all playoff performers with 42 points in 25 playoff games while breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record for assists in a postseason.

He certainly had an epic playoff run but I’ve never been a huge fan of non-Cup winners taking home the Conn Smythe, preferring the league recognize a key contributor from the winning team. But what say you? 👇

POLL 🗳️

Should a player be eligible for the Conn Smythe if he doesn't win the Stanley Cup?

Let's hear it 👂

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Saturday’s poll: Who wins Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals?

75% of Saturday’s poll voters predicted the Oilers would win Game 7. 👎

QUICK HITS ⚡️

  • Sergei Bobrovsky’s growth into a top goalie is complete: ‘Bob’ is now a Stanley Cup champion (AP News)

  • Barkov becomes 1st Finland-born NHL captain to win Stanley Cup (NHL.com)

  • Oilers' Corey Perry Joins Small List of NHL Players With Four Cup Finals Losses (The Hockey News)

  • Senators acquire 2023 Vezina winner Linus Ullmark from Bruins for 1st-round pick, 2 players (CBC)

  • What could Jets get in Rutger McGroarty trade? (Sportsnet)

  • Derrick Brassard retires after 17-year NHL career (TSN)

COACHES CORNER 🏒

TRIVIA 🧠

Aleksander Barkov and this player finished tied for the most game-winning goals (4) this postseason.

Let's see what you got 👇

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