Latest news with #SamReinhart
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hockey rides into offseason with full-on buzz, a threepeat bid and Olympic-size showdowns ahead
Florida Panthers fans celebrate a goal by center Sam Reinhart during the second period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Members of the Florida Panthers hockey team celebrate with fans outside the Elbo Room, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the morning after defeating Edmonton in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk pours beer into the Stanley Cup at the Elbo Room at the Elbo Room, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the morning after defeating Edmonton in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk, front. and defenseman Gustav Forsling pour beer from the Stanley Cup onto fans at the Elbo Room, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the morning after defeating Edmonton in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk, front. and defenseman Gustav Forsling pour beer from the Stanley Cup onto fans at the Elbo Room, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the morning after defeating Edmonton in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) Florida Panthers fans celebrate a goal by center Sam Reinhart during the second period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Members of the Florida Panthers hockey team celebrate with fans outside the Elbo Room, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the morning after defeating Edmonton in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk pours beer into the Stanley Cup at the Elbo Room at the Elbo Room, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the morning after defeating Edmonton in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk, front. and defenseman Gustav Forsling pour beer from the Stanley Cup onto fans at the Elbo Room, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the morning after defeating Edmonton in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) The 4 Nations Face-Off in February was meant to provide a taste of international competition a year before the Winter Olympics because it had been nearly a decade since the NHL's top players were able to represent their countries in the same tournament. Instead, the pace and quality of games captivated sellout crowds, with millions tuning in to watch. In the immediate aftermath of his team beating the U.S. i n the final in overtime, Canada general manager Doug Armstrong met up with American counterpart Bill Guerin in the hallway, shook hands and had a message that was bigger than one game. Advertisement 'He said it best: Hockey was the big winner,' Guerin recalled. 'Obviously Canada won that championship, but the sport of hockey, the game, was the big winner.' Hockey is seeing a surge in popularity and buzz, fed by the 4 Nations tournament, Alex Ovechkin's stirring run to the NHL career goals record and the Florida Panthers repeating as Stanley Cup champions to set up a threepeat bid next season. Up next are the draft and free agency, with Mitch Marner and playoff MVP Sam Bennett among the top players available, and anticipation is building for the NHL's return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014. 'For all of us, I think we're just really proud of being a part of this bigger picture and growing the game and getting it more on the forefront,' Guerin said. 'The game's never been in a better spot.' 4 Nations success Advertisement The NHL and NHLPA wanted to stage a World Cup but plans were pushed back until this year with a pared-down version involving the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland. Commissioner Gary Bettman referred to it as an appetizer, and no one knew exactly what to expect. 'We all went in hoping it was going to be a great event,' Armstrong said, 'and it ended up being better than anyone could have expected.' Canada's star-studded power play of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Sam Reinhart connecting on a tic-tac-toe passing goal less than a minute into the opening game against Sweden served notice that the play would be at the highest level. The U.S. and Canada had three fights in the first nine seconds, and geopolitical cross-border tensions with crowds booing anthems and more put the 4 Nations in an unexpected spotlight. Fans were riveted. Advertisement The final became one of the hottest tickets in Boston sports history, and more than 9 million watched in the U.S. and nearly 11 million in Canada. Not bad for a tournament that never happened before and may never happen again. The GR8 chase Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals took center stage as he chased down Wayne Gretzky's record of 894 goals, a feat that had long seemed unapproachable. Despite missing more than a month earlier in the season because of a broken left leg, he was in striking distance by late March. Still scoring at an absurd pace at 39 years old, Ovechkin went on a tear and tied the mark at home on a Friday night that became a celebration of his career. Two days later, he got No. 895 in New York against the Islanders, with Gretzky, Bettman, his mother, wife, children and more there to congratulate him. Advertisement '(It is) the biggest accomplishment that the world of hockey has seen a very long time,' longtime teammate T.J. Oshie said. 'This record is going to be here for a while.' Ovechkin, now at 897 goals, is set to play his 21st NHL season and add to his total. Panthers repeat Florida had the 11th-most points out of the 16 teams that reached the playoffs and started each round on the road. Didn't matter. The Panthers got through Tampa Bay in five games, Toronto in seven and Carolina in six to reach the final for a third consecutive year. They then beat McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers again, this time in six to go back to back. Advertisement 'Everybody wrote us off from the start of the playoffs,' veteran winger Brad Marchand said after becoming a two-time champion. 'They had everybody beating us in every round. We just had that fire. We knew we had something special.' Matthew Tkachuk, whose arrival in the summer of 2022 along with coach Paul Maurice coincided with Florida becoming an NHL powerhouse, went as far as to use the 'D' word. 'We've got to be dynasty now,' Tkachuk said. "Three years in a row finals, two championships. This is a special group.' Retired goaltender Cory Schneider called the Panthers 'one of the best teams I think I've seen in my lifetime.' Advertisement 'They're the epitome of depth, skill, structure,' said Schneider, who worked the final as an NHL Network analyst. 'A lot of teams have good players. but it takes the attention to detail and the sacrifice to do it all the time. Teams want to play easy hockey sometimes and get their chances, but Florida does that while also committing to playing a complete brand of team hockey.' BetMGM Sportsbook lists the Oilers as a slight favorite to win next season's championship over the Panthers. The NHL hasn't had a three-peat since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-83. Draft and free agency The league is having its first in-person, de-centralized draft in Los Angeles on June 27-28. The New York Islanders after winning the draft lottery have the first pick, and new general manager Mathieu Darche could pick defenseman Matthew Schaefer, an inspirational story off the ice. Advertisement With the salary cap getting the first of several big jumps thanks to record attendance and revenue (increases to $95.5 million this summer), player movement could be fast and furious. Free agency opens July 1, and teams in markets from New York and Toronto to Los Angeles, Anaheim and Utah have cap space to use. Milan-Cortina Olympics The 12 countries taking part — Russia is banned — have already unveiled the first six players on their Olympic rosters. The International Ice Hockey Federation has released the schedule of games, with the men's tournament starting Feb. 11, 'When you're growing up when you're watching as a kid, it's Stanley Cup finals and it's Team Canada,' said Reinhart, who scored four goals in Florida's Cup-clinching game the day after getting named to Canada's roster. "Those are the two things that you dream about playing for. To have that opportunity is pretty exciting.' Advertisement The NHL went to five consecutive Games from 1998-2014, then skipped 2018 and pulled out in 2022, leaving teams those years without any active league players. Milan-Cortina will be the first Olympics for players like McDavid, MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel. 'Getting another opportunity to bring generations that have a Sidney Crosby and a Connor McDavid together to play internationally, it's just great for the fans and great for hockey,' Armstrong said. 'Players are so excited to be part of this. ... It's neck and neck with the Stanley Cup right now of wanting to win that event.' Tkachuk was named to the U.S. team along with brother Brady. With the two becoming household names for new fans after the fight-filled 4 Nations, it feels a little like hockey is in its Tkachuk era. Italy is the next stop on their journey. '4 Nations was good, and hopefully Olympics will be great, as well,' said Matthew after becoming a two-time Cup champion. 'I feel I've been the luckiest guy in hockey.' ___ AP NHL:
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Connor McDavid Makes Clear Statement About Oilers After Stanley Cup Loss
Connor McDavid Makes Clear Statement About Oilers After Stanley Cup Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Florida Panthers closed out the Edmonton Oilers with a dominant 5–1 victory in Game 6 on Tuesday night, securing their second consecutive Stanley Cup on home ice against the same team they already beat last season. Advertisement Florida jumped out early, scored twice in the first period, and never looked back. The Oilers were limited to a meager and meaningless goal with less than five minutes left in regulation and the score 5-0 in favor of the Panthers. While the result brought another painful ending for Edmonton, captain Connor McDavid pushed back on any notion that his team quit in the deciding game. "We lost to a really good team," McDavid said. "Nobody quit, nobody threw the towel in, but they're a heck of a team. They're back-to-back Stanley Cup champions for a reason." Sam Reinhart scored four goals for the Panthers, including two empty-netters, while Matthew Tkachuk added one in the opening frame. Advertisement The Oilers didn't get on the board until Vasily Podkolzin scored with just over four minutes left. McDavid was left off the board in Tuesday's game and held to just one goal and six assists in the series. "Their forecheck was great. They tilted the rink. They were able to stay on top of us all over the place," McDavid said. "Never really able to generate any momentum up the ice." Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) controls the puck defended by Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) during the 2025 Stanley Cup Navarro-Imagn Images McDavid, even after another crushing finals loss, maintained belief in the group and was already looking forward to making another deep run next season. "Still a lot of confidence and belief," McDavid said. "I don't think people thought we were going to make it this far. We obviously believed. Came up just short again." Advertisement With their second consecutive loss, the Oilers became the first team since the 1977-78 Boston Bruins to lose back-to-back finals. Related: Panthers Not the Favorites in Initial 2026 Stanley Cup Odds Related: NHL Makes Historic Connor McDavid Announcement Amid Stanley Cup Final This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox News
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov takes Stanley Cup on 5 am neighborhood tour, GM reveals
The Florida Panthers won back-to-back Stanley Cups after winning Game 6 over the Edmonton Oilers, 5-1, on Tuesday night. As one would expect, a party ensued at Amerant Bank Arena, and it lasted all night long for players and fans alike. However, what captain Aleksander Barkov did in the early hours of Wednesday morning is one of the funniest Stanley Cup stories of all time. A Ring camera in Barkov's development caught him going house to house, showing his neighbors the Stanley Cup. Yes, he brought it home with him. Panthers GM Bill Zito made an appearance on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," where he shared that Barkov was walking around his neighborhood at 5 a.m. with Lord Stanley's Cup. "Apparently, he went home at like five in the morning to change and clean up before they kept going," Zito told the show. "And walked around the his neighborhood and banged on everyone's front door. 'Hey, you want coffee with the Cup?'" The Stanley Cup has been virtually everywhere over the years, especially with every player and coach getting a day with it before the new season begins. So, while Barkov's story is not the craziest situation the Cup has been in, it is still a fun one as he wanted to share the celebration with everyone he could, even his neighbors. Barkov, now a two-time Stanley Cup champion, had two assists in the Game 6 rout of the Oilers, including the perfect pass to Sam Reinhart on his second of four goals on the night. That goal gave Florida a commanding 3-0 lead in the second period. The Panthers have played to the point where the dynasty conversation has come up, and Barkov is one of many superstars on the roster that will return for the 2025-26 season. However, preparation for three titles in a row will surely come. For now, Barkov and the rest of his teammates are keeping the party going, and he clearly wants everyone involved. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Stanley Cup cracked and dented after Panthers' wild celebration of historic second consecutive championship
Made of silver Live Events Not the first time (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Stanley Cup , the most iconic trophy in hockey, has been damaged during the Florida Panthers ' celebration of their second consecutive to the Hockey Hall of Fame , the bowl of the Cup is cracked and the base is dented. The damage happened during celebrations that began Tuesday night( June 17) after the Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank team partied into the early morning hours and continued the festivities Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale.A spokesperson from the Hockey Hall of Fame confirmed that the 'Keepers of the Cup' are already taking the necessary steps to repair it. The trophy is expected to be restored in time for the Panthers' victory parade, scheduled for Sunday(June 22).The Stanley Cup, made of silver and a nickel alloy, weighs 37 pounds and is known to be somewhat delicate due to its age. It has been awarded to NHL champions for 131 years and has seen its fair share of wear and tear over is not the first time the trophy has been damaged during celebrations. The Tampa Bay Lightning dented it during a boat parade in 2021. A year later, the Colorado Avalanche accidentally damaged it on the ice just minutes after winning the Final. Over its long history, the Cup has been dropped, dented, and even submerged in swimming pools and the damage, the Florida Panthers are celebrating a historic achievement. Tuesday's victory marked the franchise's second consecutive Stanley Cup title. Forward Sam Reinhart scored four goals in the game, and center Sam Bennett was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Panthers' championship parade will take place Sunday in downtown Fort Lauderdale, where fans are expected to pack the streets to celebrate the team's back-to-back victories. The Stanley Cup, likely freshly repaired, will be on full display once again.
CTV News
21 hours ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Sam Reinhart celebrates Stanley Cup win
Vancouver Watch The parents of West Vancouver's Sam Reinhart are over the moon after their son scored four goals to clinch his second Stanley Cup win.
