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New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
This time around, Panthers' on-ice celebrations with the Stanley Cup were different
SUNRISE, Fla. – All you need to know about what makes the Florida Panthers special was revealed in the moments immediately after captain Sasha Barkov got his hands back on the Stanley Cup Tuesday. Rather than taking a customary solo lap around the ice at Amerant Bank Arena, Barkov skated directly into a red swarm of his teammates after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman presented him with the shiny silver trophy for the second straight spring. ALEKSANDER BARKOV IS A 2X STANLEY CUP CHAMPION!! — x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 18, 2025 Barkov wasn't done there. The Panthers captain orchestrated a Cup pass line that saw every first-time winner get their hands on it before the team's stars took a twirl. That started with Nate Schmidt and Seth Jones, two veteran NHLers who joined the Panthers after last year's victory over the Edmonton Oilers, but also included multiple players who didn't see a minute of game action during the entire playoffs. Advertisement 'I didn't know, honestly,' said Schmidt, a first-time champion in his 12th NHL season. 'He just looked at me and he gave me the 'captain' death stare. You don't turn those eyes away. They said, 'We're gonna take a back seat to you guys.' It means a lot. 'Yeah … this group is really special. And now we'll be able to share this memory forever.' BARKOV HANDS THE #STANLEYCUP TO FIRST-TIME WINNER NATE SCHMIDT 👏 — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 18, 2025 You won't find an NHL team that battles its way to the top of the mountain without being close, but these Panthers took the 'we before me' ethos to a new level entirely. After accepting the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, Sam Bennett waited another 10 minutes to hoist the Stanley Cup while 16 of his teammates got the honor ahead of him. Only here would it be possible for Evan Cormier to get a spot in line ahead of Bennett or Sam Reinhart, who scored four goals on four shots in Tuesday's Cup-clinching game. The third-string goaltender probably won't even get his name engraved in the trophy this summer after playing 36 games for the ECHL's Savannah Ghost Pirates this season. Barkov initially reminded him to pass the Stanley Cup to GM Bill Zito from the end of the player line, but a group of his teammates pushed him out there much sooner than that. Instead he ended up handing the trophy off to Sergei Bobrovsky, the first repeat champion to get it after the newcomers had each been recognized. 'It's surreal. I'm speechless right now,' said Cormier. 'I didn't butt in front of anybody, I was just waiting my turn. They just told me to go.' Tomas Nosek, who along with Schmidt was part of the Vegas Golden Knights expansion team that lost in the Stanley Cup Final to Washington in 2018, was another one of those first-time winners who received the Cup before Bennett, Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. Advertisement His Stanley Cup Final got off to a rocky start when in Game 1 in overtime, he flipped a puck over the glass for a penalty that resulted in Leon Draisaitl's power-play winner. That's one big reason Nosek after the game embraced Maurice, who stood behind him and kept playing him. The 32-year-old broke down on Maurice's left shoulder. 'Indescribable,' Nosek said. 'There still is so many emotions. Can't figure out which one is which. It's happiness. It's belief. It's dream come true. It's everything mixed up. I'm just so happy I got the chance to sign here.' Nosek, who has a touching moment breaking down on Maurice's shoulder: 'I'm so glad I signed here.' — Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 18, 2025 Maurice said that moment with Nosek will be one of the most special memories of his career. 'What a wonderful thing for those guys to be on the ice when it went to zero,' Maurice said of his fourth liners, which included A.J. Greer and Jonah Gadjovich. 'We're in trouble. We're down 2-0 to Toronto, and those three guys came in and they changed our fortune and earned the right to be on the ice at the end. 'That's a tough way to start your final (for Nosek). We shared things (as we hugged). I missed a line change in one of the games that cost us a goal that cost us a game in my mind. But the players rally around you and take care of ya. So that was kind of like the two guys who screwed up. That was very special for me. That will be one that I'll never forget.' For Schmidt, who took a million less from the Panthers than he could have got elsewhere, the move to Florida reinvigorated his career. He spent the playoffs writing his young child emails about what's been going on in his life. He said he couldn't wait to write the final chapter about winning the Stanley Cup, something they'll eventually share together when his boy learns how to read. Advertisement 'It doesn't really register right away,' Schmidt said. 'Can't really feel it until that Cup comes out on the ice. You don't really know until you see it, feel it. It's got its own heartbeat.' Schmidt says there's a reason why so many players the past three years have come to Florida and had career years. 'Just completely selfless,' he said. 'Guys just play one way, and they say, 'Hey, this is how we do things,' and you got to jump on board. And guys, they mold themselves, and you just become another cog in the wheel here. That's just the way it runs. It's just a well-oiled machine. You just don't know how you're going to fit in, right? You come into the group that just brings you right in from the beginning. I couldn't be more blessed.' And then there's Jones, who publicly begged to get out of Chicago before Zito came to the rescue. He was acquired from the basement-dwelling Blackhawks on March 2. He called this a 'freakin' whirlwind.' 'This feeling itself is amazing,' said Jones, standing next to his father, former NBA player Popeye Jones. 'It's lighter than you think. When you're so just amped up, your adrenaline, you're carrying it, and you lift it and all the fans are going nuts, you want to hold it forever. You get your lap with it, you kiss it, it's just a great feeling. 'All the hard work you put in, the day in and day out, the workouts, the practices, the training camp, everything — it all comes together, and it's all worth it. I talked to these guys on the phone, I talked to Bill, this was the only goal. This is their only thing they have in mind. They want to win another one, and I'm so happy they believed in me and wanted me to come here.' Seth Jones: 'what a freakin' whirlwind' — Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 18, 2025 The Panthers already owned the Stanley Cup after a seven-game series win over Edmonton, but they needed reinforcements to take a run at it again. Less than a week after last year's final, they said goodbye to virtually all of the depth that fueled the run, including two top-six defensemen, four bottom-six forwards and the backup goaltender. Advertisement How enthusiastically they embraced a former nemesis in Marchand after a deadline-day trade with the Boston Bruins spoke volumes. He wound up contributing 10 goals during these playoffs, including two overtime winners. 'Billy just went out and got (Marchand) and he meant everything to us,' said Rick Dudley, the senior adviser to Zito. 'You can't have enough of those types of people. He went after this guy and boy, was it a clutch move. I don't know that we're here without him.' Ask any of the Panthers, though, and they'll tell you that every member of their entourage had a hand in seeing them through a difficult playoff journey that included 10 road victories. 'It takes everyone,' Marchand said. They were a true band of brothers. 'On the road, it was together – no matter what,' said Tkachuk. 'Like every single person, trainers, everything. We'd go to the lounge and every single person (was there). This team is as tight of a team as you're going to find in pro sports and that's a huge reason why we won.' There was no denying that when it came time for them to take another dance with Stanley, the feeling on the ice was a little different this year. Less exuberance, but maybe a touch more satisfaction. 'The awareness that it doesn't go captain to captain to captain to Sam Reinhart, who scored four,' said Maurice. 'The awareness of each other, all those guys that touched it first, it was their first Cup, so that's what makes these men special. To be aware of that, they're just not selfish at all. There's no pecking order.' For all the brute force the Panthers often displayed in the heat of battle, there was something beautiful about the love they showed, too. The way they looked out for each other, and looked after each other. A true example for 31 other NHL organizations to strive for. 'It's actually not the Stanley Cups,' said Maurice. 'Watching these guys interact with each other, that's been the gift (of) this place.' Although the Stanley Cups are nice, too.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
What was up with the goalie stare down before Game 4? Panthers' Vanecek, Oilers' Pickard explain
It's not every day goaltender warmup routines become a story. But it certainly became one in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. As the teams took the ice pregame at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday, Florida Panthers backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek locked eyes with Edmonton Oilers starter Stuart Skinner at the red line between the team's benches. Eventually, Edmonton's Calvin Pickard got in on the fun as well, making it a two-on-one stare down before they ultimately went their separate ways. So ... what exactly happened? 'I was just doing my routine,' Vanecek said, 'and then [Pickard] said 'if I want to go stretch with him.' I said 'no, I'm good, I like this side.'' Has this always been Vanecek's routine? 'It's a new one,' he said. 'For this series.' Pickard, who entered in relief for Skinner following the first period on Thursday, confirmed that's how things unfolded. 'It's nothing,' Pickard said. 'I just went over there asking, because he's just, I don't know, I think he's trying to get into [Skinner's] head. But it really wasn't anything. Obviously, the cameras, you can't hide out there. You guys are making it be a bit of a story, but I was just asking if he wanted to stretch next to me. He said, 'No.' I said, 'That's OK.'' Vanecek was able to appreciate how Pickard handled himself after being thrust into Game 4. Florida built a 3-0 lead against Skinner in the first period before Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch made the change. Pickard then went on to stop 22 of 23 shots he faced as Edmonton rallied to win 5-4 in overtime. 'It's always tough. He's an old guy, a lot of experience, and then he come into the game. He played great. I think that's something special for him.' Pickard will be back in net for Edmonton for Game 5 on Saturday at Edmonton's Rogers Place, with the best-of-7 series tied 2-2. Will another stare down ensue? 'I don't have much routine there,' Pickard said. 'I'll be probably facing our end.'
National Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Edmonton Oilers can't 'drag 'em back to Alberta' for Game 7 showdown
Article content The best the Edmonton Oilers could have hoped for facing elimination in Tuesday's Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final was to be able to face another elimination game Friday. Article content That was the consequence of a 5-2 loss in Game 5 on Saturday to the very same Florida Panthers the Oilers needed four straight wins against in last year's Cup final, after falling behind 3-0 in their previous championship go-round. Article content Article content So, the prospect of having to win two in a row this time couldn't have felt like mission impossible. Article content The thing is, nothing comes guaranteed when Lord Stanley's mug is on the line, and what Edmonton ended up with Tuesday was anything but the best. Article content Here are some takeaways from Florida's 5-1 win over the Oilers in Game 6 at Amerant Bank Arena: Article content • It might have a year's worth of dust covering it, but the quote by Connor McDavid from last year's final still had fans in Edmonton hoping the Oilers could 'drag 'em back to Alberta.' This time, for what would have been Game 7 on Friday. Article content It wasn't McDavid's most infamous quote from that Cup run, however. Thanks to a Prime Video camera giving us an intimate look inside the Oilers dressing room following a loss to the Panthers in Game 2 that year for, Faceoff: Inside the NHL, we saw the Oilers captain go on a memorable rant in effort to refocus his teammates. 'Dig the f–k in, right f–king now,' was the main takeaway. Article content And you can bet that while those words didn't need to be spoken again, they were still echoing off the walls of the Oilers dressing room as they faced elimination for the first and only time in these playoffs Tuesday. Article content In the end, the Oilers ended up digging their own graves with a dud of a performance in the one game that mattered most. Article content • The Oilers decided to make another change in net and go back to Stuart Skinner for Game 6. And for good reason. Article content When the pressure cranks up, so too do Skinner's stats. The 26-year-old came in with a record of 5-2 with a .910 save percentage and 2.11 goals-against average when facing elimination, including a 3-1 mark with a .935 save percentage and 1.76 goals-against average in Stanley Cup Final elimination games. Article content In two of his three previous starts in the series, Skinner ended up getting pulled for Calvin Pickard, including Game 4, after the Oilers fell behind 3-0 in the first 20 minutes on the way to a 5-4 comeback win in overtime. Article content • Had the Oilers not gone back to Skinner, it would have spoken volumes about not only what they think of the young hometown product, but also to his future with the club. Article content A change in general manager since Skinner reached the all-star game as a rookie in 2022-23 means there are no loyalty ties from Oilers brass, and those questions still loom large. Skinner's current three-year contract, worth an annual $2.6 million, has him lined up to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season. But the possibility of a trade as early as this off-season exists. Article content • And the Oilers were not very solid in front of Skinner early on, once again. In five straight games, the Panthers drew first blood. This time, it was the result of a turnover on the doorstep of Edmonton's zone by Evan Bouchard, the Oilers defenceman with a nose for the net, who has been accurately described as being dangerous at both blue lines. At this point, you have to ask when does his offensive upside no longer outweigh the defensive blunders that end up in the back of his own net? Article content • The Oilers were looking to become the ninth team in NHL history to force a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final en route to winning the Cup: The 2011 Bruins, 2009 Penguins, 2004 Lightning, 2001 Avalanche, 1971 Canadiens, 1964 Maple Leafs, 1950 Red Wings and 1942 Maple Leafs. Article content • Florida came in with an all-time record of 14-11 in potential series-clinching contests, with a 6-6 record at home, a 1-3 overall mark in the Stanley Cup Final and a 3-2 record in 2025. Edmonton came in 23-21 all-time when facing elimination, while holding a 6-3 record in the Stanley Cup Final, a 12-10 mark on the road and a 5-1 record in its last six games overall in that scenario. Article content While last year's Cup final felt like the Oilers simply ran out of time, after bouncing back from a 3-0 series deficit to force Game 7, this year's rematch didn't feel nearly as close — despite three of the opening five games going to overtime. The Panthers were calmer, showed more bounceback, their stars outshone those of the Oilers and they were just the overall tougher team. Article content • It was the second year in a row the Stanley Cup was presented to the Panthers after a game where McDavid was held off the stats sheet. Article content • It was the fifth appearance in and fifth elimination from a Cup finals over the past six seasons by Corey Perry, 40, who was with the Dallas Stars in 2019-20, the Montreal Canadiens in 2020-21 and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22, prior to joining the Oilers last season. Article content Article content
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Sergei Bobrovsky's brilliance leads Florida Panthers to second straight Stanley Cup title
SUNRISE, Fla. — The loudest cheers among Florida Panthers fans at Amerant Bank Arena are always for Sergei Bobrovsky. Pregame warmups. Jumbotron appearances. Each and every save. Florida fans know how important the veteran goaltender is to their team. So do the Panthers. It's why Florida never appeared rattled during its third straight Stanley Cup Final run. The defending champion Panthers remained even-keeled, never looking too far ahead, and certainly not harping on the past — mirroring the attitude of their unflappable, two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender. And Bobrovsky has rewarded their trust in him with a brilliant showing in this year's playoffs, which he stamped with a 28-save effort Tuesday in Florida's 5-1 romp over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 to win their second straight title. He stopped 192 of 209 shots on goal in the final and allowed 17 goals. He nearly had his fourth shutout of the postseason before Vasily Podkolzin broke up that bid with the Oilers' only goal Tuesday with just 4:39 left. With Tuesday's win, Bobrovsky moved to 13-8 in 22 series-clinching games in his career, tying Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy (13-9) for the most among active goaltenders. He was even more dominant than last year's title run, when he was again a key piece in Florida's success with a .906 save percentage. Ask Florida's veteran goaltender what he thinks of his success and he will likely sum it up in a few words. He'll express his gratitude and talk about how great it is to play the game he loves. Then he will deflect the attention to his teammates. That's who he's been since he took the starting job three games into the first round in 2023 and what the Panthers have come to appreciate about him. He's been the calming presence in their locker room amid all kinds of chaos during this dominant three-year run. His focus is always on what it takes to win and his credit always goes to the ones around him. That simple approach has worked for him. Going back to the 2023 playoffs, no goalie has more wins, saves or shutouts than Bobrovsky. He's the second-oldest goaltender in the last decade with a playoff shutout. Entering Tuesday, only three other goalies since 1981-82 had won the Vezina Trophy twice and hoisted the Stanley Cup trophy multiple times. Bobrovsky joined that group on Tuesday. The others? They're all Hall of Famers. ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Sergei Bobrovsky's brilliance leads Florida Panthers to second straight Stanley Cup title
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The loudest cheers among Florida Panthers fans at Amerant Bank Arena are always for Sergei Bobrovsky. Pregame warmups. Jumbotron appearances. Each and every save. Florida fans know how important the veteran goaltender is to their team. So do the Panthers. It's why Florida never appeared rattled during its third straight Stanley Cup Final run. The defending champion Panthers remained even-keeled, never looking too far ahead, and certainly not harping on the past — mirroring the attitude of their unflappable, two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender. And Bobrovsky has rewarded their trust in him with a brilliant showing in this year's playoffs, which he stamped with a 28-save effort Tuesday in Florida's 5-1 romp over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 to win their second straight title. He stopped 192 of 209 shots on goal in the final and allowed 17 goals. He nearly had his fourth shutout of the postseason before Vasily Podkolzin broke up that bid with the Oilers' only goal Tuesday with just 4:39 left. With Tuesday's win, Bobrovsky moved to 13-8 in 22 series-clinching games in his career, tying Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy (13-9) for the most among active goaltenders. He was even more dominant than last year's title run, when he was again a key piece in Florida's success with a .906 save percentage. Ask Florida's veteran goaltender what he thinks of his success and he will likely sum it up in a few words. He'll express his gratitude and talk about how great it is to play the game he loves. Then he will deflect the attention to his teammates. That's who he's been since he took the starting job three games into the first round in 2023 and what the Panthers have come to appreciate about him. He's been the calming presence in their locker room amid all kinds of chaos during this dominant three-year run. His focus is always on what it takes to win and his credit always goes to the ones around him. That simple approach has worked for him. Going back to the 2023 playoffs, no goalie has more wins, saves or shutouts than Bobrovsky. He's the second-oldest goaltender in the last decade with a playoff shutout. Since 1981-82, only four goalies have won the Vezina Trophy twice and hoisted the Stanley Cup trophy multiple times. Bobrovsky joined that group on Tuesday. The others? They're all Hall of Famers. ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
