The series began on June 8, and ended on June 24.[1] The Panthers had home-ice advantage in the series as the team with the better regular season record. This was the fifth consecutive Finals featuring a team from Florida.[2]
This was the furthest distance between two cities for a Finals matchup in NHL history with 4,089 kilometres (2,541 miles), breaking the previous record of 4,023 kilometres (2,500 miles) set by the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins in 2011.[3] This was the first Finals since 1945 to see a team force a seventh game after being down 3–0,[4][5] with Florida becoming the first team since that occurrence to win the title in seven games after nearly surrendering a 3–0 series lead.[6] This was also the first Stanley Cup Finals since 2018 where no games went to overtime,[7] and the first since 2019 in which the losing team scored more goals (the Oilers outscored the Panthers 23–18 in the series).
This was Edmonton's eighth Finals appearance. They had won the Stanley Cup five times, all of which came between 1984 and 1990 during their dynasty years.[8] They lost their most recent Finals appearance in 2006, against the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.[9]
Captain Connor McDavid led the team in scoring with 132 points, and was third overall in the league.[18] 100 of those points were assists, making him the fourth NHL player to record at least 100 assists in a season, and the first since Wayne Gretzky in 1990–91.[19] Perry made his fifth Finals appearance, previously winning with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and losing with the Dallas Stars in 2020, Montreal Canadiens in 2021, and Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022, respectively; this made him the first player to play in the Stanley Cup Finals for five different teams.[20]
The Oilers finished the regular season with 104 points via a 49–27–6 record, which gave them second place in the Pacific Division. In the first round of the playoffs, the Oilers defeated one of their rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, in five games.[21] Edmonton then prevailed against the Vancouver Canucks in a seven-game victory in the second round.[22] They then defeated the Dallas Stars in six games in the Western Conference final.[23]
This was the second consecutive and third overall Finals appearance for the Panthers. They lost both previous Finals appearances, being swept in 1996 by the Colorado Avalanche and losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.[24]
During the first period of game two, Edmonton forward Warren Foegelekneed Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen, resulting in a match penalty as well as a game misconduct for Foegele.[43] Luostarinen continued to play in the game.[43] Whilst on the subsequent five-minute power play, defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was penalized for tripping, resulting in a four-on-four, during which an Oilers rush resulted in their first shot from Mattias Ekholm going past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for a 1–0 lead.[44][45] In the second period, Niko Mikkola tied the game for the Panthers, taking a drop-pass from Anton Lundell and snapping a shot past Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner.[46] In third period, Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues broke the tie, picking off a clearing attempt by Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard to put the puck past Skinner for a 2–1 lead.[47] With less than ten minutes in the game, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl was called for roughing and on the ensuing power play, Lundell passed to Rodrigues, who scored again to give the Panthers a 3–1 lead and end Edmonton's streak of 34 consecutive penalty kills.[48] The Oilers then brought on an extra attacker, but Aaron Ekblad scored into the empty net for the Panthers, sealing a 4–1 victory for Florida.[49][50]
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov recorded the game-winning goal and two points in game three.
In game three, the Panthers opened the scoring in the first period when captain Aleksander Barkov picked the puck off Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard, leading to a 3-on-2 rush in which Gustav Forsling shot toward the net and Sam Reinhart tipped the puck past Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner.[51] In the second period, Oilers forward Adam Henrique passed to Warren Foegele, who scored on a breakaway to tie the game 1–1.[52] The Panthers regained the lead after Anton Lundell shot the puck around the boards and Skinner attempted to play the puck, but Eetu Luostarinen sent the puck to an open Vladimir Tarasenko who wristed the puck into the net.[53] Florida then made it 3–1, after Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk forced a turnover in the offensive zone, leading to a Tkachuk-assisted Bennett goal.[54] Barkov shortly made it 4–1, snapping a shot past Skinner after receiving a pass from Evan Rodrigues.[55] In the third period, Philip Broberg brought the deficit for the Oilers down to two when his snap shot went past Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.[56] The Oilers then lowered the deficit to one goal when Brett Kulak's shot was deflected in by centre Ryan McLeod.[57] The Panthers ultimately defended their one-goal lead en route to a 4–3 victory, taking a 3–0 series lead.[58]
Oilers captain Connor McDavid recorded a goal and four points in game four, in the process breaking Wayne Gretzky's single-playoff assist record.[59]
The Oilers began the scoring in the first period of game four while on the penalty kill, with forward Connor Brown passing to Mattias Janmark on a shorthanded rush for a goal.[60] Edmonton then gained a two-goal lead when an offensive zone rush allowed Janmark to send the puck toward the net, with Adam Henrique tipping it in to make it 2–0.[61] The Panthers got on the board with a goal from forward Vladimir Tarasenko, tipping in a shot from defenceman Gustav Forsling.[62] With 5:12 left in the first period, the Oilers regained a two-goal lead when Leon Draisaitl passed to Dylan Holloway, who shot backhand on Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for a 3–1 lead.[63] In the second period, Oilers captain Connor McDavid made it 4–1, snapping a shot past Bobrovsky.[64] The Oilers then made it 5–1 when McDavid dropped a pass to defenceman Darnell Nurse, who shot it past Bobrovsky, leading to Panthers backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz entering the game.[65] The Oilers were then given a 5-on-3 power play, during which Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored to make the score 6–1.[66] In the third period, the Oilers continued their rout, with both Holloway and Ryan McLeod scoring to push the score to 8–1, forcing a fifth game and avoiding becoming the first team since 1998 to be swept in the Stanley Cup Finals.[67] With an assist on the Holloway goal, Connor McDavid set the single season playoff record for most assists in one playoff year, breaking the record previously held by Wayne Gretzky in 1988.[59]
In game five, Connor Brown scored the initial goal for the Oilers in the first period, with his backhand shot beating goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for a shorthanded goal.[68] In the second period, the Oilers gained a two-goal lead when Zach Hyman scored on the power play. Three minutes later, Oilers forward Warren Foegele passed to captain Connor McDavid, whose wrist shot beat Bobrovsky for a 3–0 lead.[69] The Panthers got on the board less than two minutes later when forward Evan Rodrigues passed to Matthew Tkachuk, who scored to cut the deficit to two goals.[70] Following a slashing penalty by Rodrigues, the Oilers regained a three-goal lead when McDavid passed to Corey Perry, who scored his first goal of the playoffs.[71] Fourteen seconds later, the Panthers brought the deficit back to two goals when Brandon Montour passed to Rodrigues, who scored to make it 4–2.[72] In the third period, Florida defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson brought the score to 4–3, snapping the puck past Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner.[73] In the final 30 seconds, and with an extra attacker out for Florida, the Oilers cleared the puck toward the empty net, but Tkachuk dove to sweep the puck away.[74] McDavid recovered the puck and scored into the empty net to give Edmonton a 5–3 victory, forcing a sixth game.[74][75] Edmonton became the first team since the 2011–12 New Jersey Devils and the fourth overall to force a sixth game after being down 3–0 in the Finals.[76]
Warren Foegele scored the game-opening goal and an assist in game six.
The Oilers began the scoring in the first period of game six, with centre Leon Draisaitl passing to right wing Warren Foegele who snapped the puck past Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.[77] Florida was limited to only two shots in the first period. In the second period, Mattias Ekholm sent a stretch pass to Mattias Janmark, who then passed to Adam Henrique; Henrique subsequently beat Bobrovsky with a wrist shot for a 2–0 Oilers lead.[78] Ten seconds later, the Panthers had a goal by Aleksander Barkov disallowed when replay showed Sam Reinhart was offside on the play.[79]Zach Hyman then made it 3–0 for Edmonton when he scored backhand on a breakaway chance.[80] The Panthers were able to get on the board in the third period when Barkov dangled the puck around goaltender Stuart Skinner.[81] The Oilers held off the Panthers for the remainder of the game, with Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse each scoring an empty net goal for a 5–1 victory. Edmonton became the tenth NHL team to force a seventh game after trailing 3–0 in the series,[82] the third team to do so in the Finals, and the first in the Finals since the Detroit Red Wings did so in 1945.[4]
In game seven, the Panthers began the scoring when forward Evan Rodrigues shot toward the goal, with Carter Verhaeghe deflecting the puck past Oilers goaltenderStuart Skinner.[83] Oilers forward Mattias Janmark then tied the game, scoring on the breakaway after receiving a stretch pass from defenceman Cody Ceci.[84] In the second period, after a narrow save by Bobrovsky, Dmitry Kulikov got the puck to Florida in the corner, Verhaeghe passed the puck to forward Sam Reinhart, who fired a wrist a shot past Skinner for a 2–1 lead.[85] The Panthers defended their lead into the third period, with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopping the remaining nine shots to win their first Stanley Cup.[6]
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov became the first Finnish-born captain to win the Cup,[86] while the Panthers became the first team to win game seven of the Finals at home since the Carolina Hurricanes did so in 2006, also against the Oilers.
^ – played both wing and centre.
† – did not play in the Finals.
Coaching and administrative staff
Vincent Viola (Owner/Chairman/Governor), Teresa Viola (Alternate Governor), John Viola (Alternate Governor), Michael Viola (Alternate Governor)
Travis Viola (Alternate Governor), Doug Cifu (Vice Chairman/Alternate Governor), Bill Zito (President of Hockey Operations/General Manager/Alternate Governor), Paul Maurice (Head Coach)
John Congemi (Asst. Video Coach), Myles Fee (Asst. Coach), Jamie Kompon (Asst. Coach), Sylvain Lefebvre (Asst. Coach)
Teddy Richards (Head Equipment Manager), Tuomo Ruutu (Asst. Coach), Robb Tallas (Goaltending Coach), Rick Dudley (Senior Advisor to the General Manager)
Roberto Luongo (Special Advisor to the General Manager), Paul Krepelka (Senior Vice President, Hockey Operations), Sunny Mehta (Asst. General Manager/Head of Analytics), Brett Peterson (Asst. General Manager)
Dave DiNapoli (Head Athletic Trainer), Chris McLellan (Vice President of Sports Performance/Strength and Conditioning Coach), Braden Birch (Director of Hockey Operations & Salary Cap Management), Bryan McCabe (Director of Player Personnel)
Matt Caldwell (President/CEO/Alternate Governor)
Engraving notes
#10 Vladimir Tarasenko (RW) - played 76 regular-season games (57 with the Ottawa Senators and 19 with the Panthers), plus all 24 playoff games. He qualified to have his name engraved for playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.
#8 Kyle Okposo (RW) – played 67 regular-season games (61 with the Buffalo Sabres and 6 with the Panthers), plus 17 playoff games. He qualified to have his name engraved for playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.
#18 Steven Lorentz (C/LW) – played 38 regular-season games and 16 playoff games. He qualified to have his name engraved for playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.
#12 Jonah Gadjovich (LW) – played 39 regular-season games, but no playoff games. As he did not automatically qualify for engraving, Florida successfully requested an exemption to include him on the Cup.
#28 Josh Mahura (D) – played 30 regular-season games, but no playoff games. As he did not automatically qualify for engraving, Florida successfully requested an exemption to include him on the Cup.
Sam Reinhart was engraved as his full first name of Samson, while Nick Cousins was engraved as his full first name of Nicholas.
due to the high number of non-playing 5 members of training/equipment staff had to be left off the Stanley Cup, but were included on the team picture. Brian Riedel (Asst. Athletic Trainer), Anthony Moore (Asst Strength & Conditioning Coach), Thomas Anderson (Asst. Equipment Manager), Dakota King (Asst Equipment Manager), Mike Valey (Massage Therapist).
53 total names were engraved on the Cup, rather than the standard 52. For unknown reasons, team president and CEO Matt Caldwell was engraved below the players, rather than with the executives and coaches.
Player notes
These players were on the extended roster during the playoffs, with some having played regular-season games for Florida.[99] None appeared in the playoffs. They will receive championship rings, but were left off the Stanley Cup engraving.
In the United States, the series was being televised on ABC and streamed on ESPN+.[1] This was the third year of a seven-year deal in which ABC/ESPN+ will show the Finals in even years and TNT/Max will televise the series in odd years.[101][102]
^"NHL Morning Skate for June 20". NHL.com. June 20, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024. Edmonton became just the fourth team in NHL history to force Game 6 after trailing 3–0 in the Stanley Cup Final – and second in the past 78 years following the aforementioned 2012 Devils
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