Sunrise, Florida – Once in a lifetime? Try it twice in two years!
Maintaining the Stanley Cup in South Florida, the powerhouse Panthers stuck to signature brand hockey to secure their second straight championship with a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final held at Amelan Bank Arena on Tuesday.
“Forward Sam Bennett, who brought Comte Smaystrophe home as the most valuable player of the postseason, said: “There’s so much faith in that locker room, and there’s a lot of experience. We really believed that everyone could win the Stanley Cup again from day one.”
The Panthers, who defeated the Oilers in Game 7 and won their first cup last season, are the seventh franchise in NHL history to win their first two cups on home ice.
After scoring the game-winning goal in last year’s Cup-crowded victory, Sam Reinhart once again provided the hero, scoring four goals in an overall dominant effort.
Holding it between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of his 29 shots.
“That’s something you’ve never really thought of,” said Reinhart, who tied the records of most goals scored in one Cup final. “In many cases, this has been even more difficult to overcome and be here at the end. We’re proud of this.”
Having taken the house crowd into action early, Reinhardt opened the score when he chose Evan Bouchard’s pocket at the Blue Line, piloting around Matthias Ekholm and fired a shot past Stuart Skinner, making it 1-0 at 4:36 in the first period.
