2024 Stanley Cup Finals

The 2024 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2023–24 season and the culmination of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers defeated the Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers four games to three in the best-of-seven series, earning their first championship in their thirty year history.

The series began on June 8, and ended on June 24. The Panthers had home-ice advantage in the series as the team with the better regular season record. This was the fifth consecutive Finals featuring a team from Florida.

This was the farthest distance between two cities for a Finals matchup in NHL history with , breaking the previous record of set by the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins in . This was the first Finals since to see a team force a seventh game after being down 3–0, with Florida becoming the first team since that occurrence to win the title in seven games after surrendering a 3–0 series lead. This was also the first Stanley Cup Finals since 2018 where no games went to overtime, and the first since 2019 in which the losing team scored more goals.

Paths to the Finals

Edmonton Oilers

This was Edmonton's eighth Finals appearance. They had won the Stanley Cup five times, all of which came between and during their dynasty years. They lost their most recent Finals appearance in , against the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.

During the offseason, the Oilers acquired forward Connor Brown and defenceman Ben Gleason via free agency. They also re-signed forward Mattias Janmark. The team started the season poorly, going before firing head coach Jay Woodcroft and replacing him with Kris Knoblauch, under whom the team would rebound and finish with a record. Edmonton signed free agent Corey Perry during the season, after Perry's contract with the Chicago Blackhawks was terminated for misconduct. Nearing the trade deadline, the team acquired centres Sam Carrick and Adam Henrique via a three-way trade; they also acquired defenceman Troy Stecher.

Captain Connor McDavid led the team in scoring with 132 points. 100 of those points were assists, making him the fourth NHL player to record at least 100 assists in a season, the most recent being Nikita Kucherov, who recorded his 100th assist 2 days later. Perry made his fifth Finals appearance, previously winning with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and losing with the Dallas Stars in 2020, Montreal Canadiens in 2021, and Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022, respectively; this makes him the first player to play in the Stanley Cup Finals for five different teams.

The Oilers finished the regular season with 104 points via a record, which gave them second place in the Pacific Division. In the first round of the playoffs, the Oilers defeated one of their rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, in five games. Edmonton then prevailed against the Vancouver Canucks in a seven-game victory in the second round. They then defeated the Dallas Stars in six games in the conference finals.

Florida Panthers

This was the second consecutive and third overall Finals appearance for the Panthers. They lost both previous Finals appearances, being swept in by the Colorado Avalanche and losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in .

During the offseason, the Panthers signed defencemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitry Kulikov, forward Evan Rodrigues, and goaltender Anthony Stolarz in free agency. They also re-signed Eetu Luostarinen and traded for Steven Lorentz. At the trade deadline, the team acquired Vladimir Tarasenko, Magnus Hellberg, and Kyle Okposo. They also acquired Tobias Bjornfot via waivers and also re-signed Gustav Forsling shortly before the trade deadline.

Sam Reinhart led the team in scoring with 57 goals and 94 points.

The Panthers finished first in the Atlantic Division with 110 points via a record. In the first round, they defeated their intra-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in five games. In the second round, they won in six games against the Boston Bruins in a rematch from the previous season's first round. In the Eastern Conference final, they faced the New York Rangers, who had won the Presidents' Trophy by having the best regular season record, and defeated them in six games.

Game summaries

:''Numbers in parentheses indicate the player's total goals or assists in the 2024 playoffs up to that point.''

Game one

In game one, Florida took a 1–0 lead four minutes into the first period when Carter Verhaeghe received a pass from Aleksander Barkov, beating Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner with a wrist shot. Two minutes into the second period, Evan Rodrigues scored to make it 2–0 after receiving a centering pass from Sam Bennett. Late in the third period, Edmonton pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, but with five seconds remaining, Eetu Luostarinen scored an empty net goal to make the final score 3–0. Edmonton recorded 32 shots on goal in the game against Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who saved them all in a shutout.

Game two

During the first period of game two, Edmonton forward Warren Foegele kneed Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen, resulting in a match penalty as well as a game misconduct for Foegele. Luostarinen continued to play in the game. Whilst on the subsequent five-minute power play, defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was penalized for tripping, resulting in a four-on-four, during which an Oilers rush resulted in their first shot from Mattias Ekholm going past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for a 1–0 lead. In the second period, Niko Mikkola tied the game for the Panthers, taking a drop-pass from Anton Lundell and snapping a shot past Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner. In third period, Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues broke the tie, picking off a clearing attempt by Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard to put the puck past Skinner for a 2–1 lead. With less than ten minutes in the game, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl was called for roughing and on the ensuing power play, Lundell passed to Rodrigues, who scored again to give the Panthers a 3–1 lead and end Edmonton's streak of 34 consecutive penalty kills. The Oilers then brought on an extra attacker, but Aaron Ekblad scored into the empty net for the Panthers, sealing a 4–1 victory for Florida.

Game three

In game three, the Panthers opened the scoring in the first period when captain Aleksander Barkov picked the puck off Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard, leading to a 3-on-2 rush in which Gustav Forsling shot toward the net and Sam Reinhart tipped the puck past Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner. In the second period, Oilers forward Adam Henrique passed to Warren Foegele, who scored on a breakaway to tie the game 1–1. The Panthers regained the lead after Anton Lundell shot the puck around the boards and Skinner attempted to play the puck, but Eetu Luostarinen sent the puck to an open Vladimir Tarasenko who wristed the puck into the net. Florida then made it 3–1, after Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk forced a turnover in the offensive zone, leading to a Tkachuk-assisted Bennett goal. Barkov shortly made it 4–1, snapping a shot past Skinner after receiving a pass from Evan Rodrigues. In the third period, Philip Broberg brought the deficit for the Oilers down to two when his snap shot went past Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. The Oilers then lowered the deficit to one goal when Brett Kulak's shot was deflected in by centre Ryan McLeod. The Panthers ultimately defended their one-goal lead en route to a 4–3 victory, taking a 3–0 series lead.

Game four

The Oilers began the scoring in the first period of game four while on the penalty kill, with forward Connor Brown passing to Mattias Janmark on a shorthanded rush for a goal. Edmonton then gained a two-goal lead when an offensive zone rush allowed Janmark to send the puck toward the net, with Adam Henrique tipping it in to make it 2–0. The Panthers got on the board with a goal from forward Vladimir Tarasenko, tipping in a shot from defenceman Gustav Forsling. With 5:12 left in the first period, the Oilers regained a two-goal lead when Leon Draisaitl passed to Dylan Holloway, who shot backhand on Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for a 3–1 lead. In the second period, Oilers captain Connor McDavid made it 4–1, snapping a shot past Bobrovsky. The Oilers then made it 5–1 when McDavid dropped a pass to defenceman Darnell Nurse, who shot it past Bobrovsky, leading to Panthers backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz entering the game. The Oilers were then given a 5-on-3 power play, during which Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored to make the score 6–1. In the third period, the Oilers continued their rout, with both Holloway and Ryan McLeod scoring to push the score to 8–1, forcing a fifth game and avoiding becoming the first team since to be swept in the Stanley Cup Finals. With an assist on the Holloway goal, Connor McDavid set the single season playoff record for most assists in one playoff year, breaking the record previously held by Wayne Gretzky in 1988.

Game five

In game five, Connor Brown scored the initial goal for the Oilers in the first period, with his backhand shot beating goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for a shorthanded goal. In the second period, the Oilers gained a two-goal lead when Zach Hyman scored on the power play. Three minutes later, Oilers forward Warren Foegele passed to captain Connor McDavid, whose wrist shot beat Bobrovsky for a 3–0 lead. The Panthers got on the board less than two minutes later when forward Evan Rodrigues passed to Matthew Tkachuk, who scored to cut the deficit to two goals. Following a slashing penalty by Rodrigues, the Oilers regained a three-goal lead when McDavid passed to Corey Perry, who scored his first goal of the playoffs. Fourteen seconds later, the Panthers brought the deficit back to two goals when Brandon Montour passed to Rodrigues, who scored to make it 4–2. In the third period, Florida defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson brought the score to 4–3, snapping the puck past Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner. In the final 30 seconds, and with an extra attacker out for Florida, the Oilers cleared the puck toward the empty net, but Tkachuk dove to sweep the puck away. McDavid recovered the puck and scored into the empty net to give Edmonton a 5–3 victory, forcing a sixth game. Edmonton became the first team since the 2011–12 New Jersey Devils and the fourth overall to force a sixth game after being down 3–0.

Game six

The Oilers began the scoring in the first period of game six, with centre Leon Draisaitl passing to right wing Warren Foegele who snapped the puck past Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Florida was limited to only two shots in the first period. In the second period, Mattias Ekholm sent a stretch pass to Mattias Janmark, who then passed to Adam Henrique; Henrique subsequently beat Bobrovsky with a wrist shot for a 2–0 Oilers lead. Ten seconds later, the Panthers had a goal by Aleksander Barkov disallowed when replay showed Sam Reinhart was offside on the play. Zach Hyman then made it 3–0 for Edmonton when he scored backhand on a breakaway chance. The Panthers were able to get on the board in the third period when Barkov dangled the puck around goaltender Stuart Skinner. The Oilers held off the Panthers for the remainder of the game, with Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse each scoring an empty net goal for a 5–1 victory. Edmonton became the tenth NHL team to force a seventh game after trailing 3–0 in the series, the third team to do so in the Finals, and the first in the Finals since the Detroit Red Wings did so in .

Game seven

In game seven, the Panthers began the scoring when forward Evan Rodrigues shot toward the goal, with Carter Verhaeghe deflecting the puck past Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner. Oilers forward Mattias Janmark then tied the game, scoring on the breakaway after receiving a stretch pass from defenceman Cody Ceci. In the second period, after a narrow save by Bobrovsky and Dmitry Kulikov got the puck to Florida in the corner, Verhaeghe passed the puck to forward Sam Reinhart, who fired a wrist a shot past Skinner for a 2–1 lead. The Panthers defended their lead into the third period, with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopping the remaining nine shots to win their first Stanley Cup.

Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov became the first Finnish-born captain to win the Cup, while the Panthers became the first team to win game 7 of the Finals at home since the Carolina Hurricanes did so in 2006, also against the Oilers.

Edmonton captain Connor McDavid was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs, becoming the first player since Jean-Sebastien Giguere in and the sixth overall to be awarded the Conn Smythe despite losing the Finals. McDavid also joined Reggie Leach in as the only skaters to achieve this feat.

Team rosters

Years indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.

Edmonton Oilers

Florida Panthers

Stanley Cup engraving

The Stanley Cup was presented to Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman following the Panthers' 2–1 win in game seven.

The following Panthers players and staff qualified to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup:

2023–24 Florida Panthers

Engraving notes

* #10 Vladimir Tarasenko (RW) - played 76 regular-season games (57 with the Ottawa Senators and 19 with the Panthers), plus all 24 playoff games. He qualified to have his name engraved for playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.
* #8 Kyle Okposo (RW) – played 67 regular-season games (61 with the Buffalo Sabres and 6 with the Panthers), plus 17 playoff games. He qualified to have his name engraved for playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.
* #18 Steven Lorentz (C/LW) – played 38 regular-season games and 16 playoff games. He qualified to have his name engraved for playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.
* #12 Jonah Gadjovich (LW) – played 39 regular-season games, but no playoff games. As he did not automatically qualify for engraving, Florida successfully requested an exemption to include him on the Cup.
* #28 Josh Mahura (D) – played 30 regular-season games, but no playoff games. As he did not automatically qualify for engraving, Florida successfully requested an exemption to include him on the Cup.
* Sam Reinhart was engraved as his full first name of Samson, while Nick Cousins was engraved as his full first name of Nicholas.
* 53 total names were engraved on the Cup, rather than the standard 52. For unknown reasons, team president and CEO Matt Caldwell was engraved below the players, rather than with the executives and coaches.

Player notes

These players were on the extended roster during the playoffs, with some having played regular-season games for Florida. None appeared in the playoffs. They will receive championship rings, but were left off the Stanley Cup engraving.

* #26 Uvis Balinskis (D) - 26 regular-season games
* #67 Will Lockwood (RW) – 26 regular-season games
* #25 Mackie Samoskevich (RW) – 7 regular-season games
* #2 Tobias Bjornfot (D) – 1 regular-season game with Florida, 2 with the Vegas Golden Knights, and 1 with the Los Angeles Kings
* #35 Magnus Hellberg (G) – 0 regular-season games with Florida, 3 with the Pittsburgh Penguins
* #24 Justin Sourdif (RW) – 3 regular-season games
* #44 Mike Benning (D) – 0 regular-season games, 72 with Charlotte of the American Hockey League (AHL)
* #74 Rasmus Asplund (C) – 0 regular-season games, 67 with Charlotte of the AHL
* #36 Patrick Giles (RW) – 0 regular-season games, 66 with Charlotte of the AHL
* #3 Matt Kiersted (D) – 0 regular-season games, 57 with Charlotte of the AHL
* #30 Spencer Knight (G) – 0 regular-season games, 45 with Charlotte of the AHL

Media rights

In Canada, this was the tenth consecutive Stanley Cup Finals broadcast by Sportsnet and CBC Television in English, and TVA Sports in French. The series was also streamed on Sportsnet+, but was not available on CBC Gem like in previous years.

In the United States, the series was being televised on ABC and streamed on ESPN+. This was the third year of a seven-year deal in which ABC/ESPN+ will show the Finals in even years and TNT/Max will televise the series in odd years.

For the first time, the Finals were broadcast with commentary and analysis in American Sign Language for the benefit of the Deaf community on both ESPN+ and Sportsnet+.

Notes

References

External links

Coverage from the NHL

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