The Stanley Cup was introduced in a ceremony at center ice prior to the beginning of Game 1. It was the first time that hockey's greatest prize appeared prior to the start of the championship series since the 1960s. The Stanley Cup usually shows up at a venue when a team has a chance to win it that day.
The Panthers made their third appearance in a Stanley Cup Final and are celebrating their 30th season in the National Hockey League. The Oilers made their eighth appearance in the Stanley Cup Final and have not won a championship since 1990.
A team from Florida represented the Eastern Conference for the fifth consecutive season. A Canandian-based club last captured a Stanley Cup back in 1993 by the Montreal Canadiens.
Florida raced out to a 1-0 lead just 3:59 into the first period. Aleksander Barkov skated the puck out of his zone to the red line and made an outlet pass to his right. Sam Reinhart angled a a pass from the right wing to Aleksander Barkov. He sent a cross-ice pass from the right circle and Carter Verhaeghe placed in a forehand shot from the crease area past Stuart Skinner. It was Verhaeghe's team-leading 10th goal of the playoffs. Verhaeghe now has 25 career postseason goals and 50 postseason points.
The Panthers extended their lead to 2-0 at the 2:16 mark of the second period on their fifth shot on goal in the contest. Brandon Montour passed it out from his own right corner. Sam Bennett dumped the puck from the Oilers blue line and got to it first on the end wall. He centered it and Evan Rodrigues snapped a shot from the low slot for his fourth goal in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Edmonton pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with 2:25 to go in the third period. Eetu Luostarinen flicked in a shot from the red line for his second goal of the playoffs with 4.4 seconds remaining. Barkov chalked up his second assist of the series on the play.
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