Stanley Cup stays in South Florida as Panthers go back-to-back.
The Florida Panthers secured their second straight Stanley Cup title with a dominant 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 on Tuesday night, becoming the NHL’s first repeat champions since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021 — and only the third team this century to achieve the feat.
Sam Reinhart delivered a historic performance, netting four goals and becoming just the sixth player in league history — and the first since Maurice Richard in 1957 — to score four times in a Stanley Cup Final game. His hat trick goal sent both hats and plastic rats raining down from the crowd.
Matthew Tkachuk, a cornerstone of the franchise, fittingly sealed the victory with the Cup-clinching goal. As the final seconds ticked off, the Panthers erupted in celebration, swarming each other in the corner while a stunned Oilers squad looked on.
“Good evening, South Florida,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said with a smile as he handed the Cup to captain Aleksander Barkov. “It feels like we just did this.”
