Takeaways From a Classic Game 7
Game seven of Panthers vs Oilers amounted to its high expectations regardless of what you think about a defensive style of play. Truth be told, good game or not, the Oilers gave us all we could possibly ask for by clawing all the way back from a devastating 3-0 hole to a game seven in Sunrise, Florida. If you weren’t able to watch the game, here’s what happened.
The Panthers struck first with a much-needed early first-period goal to stop the bleeding in a series that was all Edmonton in the last three games. Evan Rodrigues drilled a shot in front of the goal, and Carter Verhaeghe broke his silence in the series with a deflection sending the puck between Stuart Skinner’s legs.
Two and half minutes later, Edmonton defenseman, Cody Ceci, threaded the needle to a wide-open Matias Janmark who put Sergei Bobrovsky on skates and buried the puck in the back of the net. The game was a stalemate for a period and a half with Edmonton stifling Florida’s power plays, Florida resisting their, Connor McDavid being swarmed no matter how many times he tried to slice and dice his way through the defense, and finally, with just over three minutes to play in period two, the Panthers struck. Sam Reinhart emerged in the face-off circle unguarded and sniped a shot between Skinner’s left pad and the post to continue his marvelous season and give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
With seven and a half minutes left in the third period, Bobrovsky saved shot by Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. After the future Hall-of-Famer kept the first two shots out, Evan Bouchard launched a slapshot towards the goal which was deflected right to the deadly McDavid just feet from the net. As he wound up to take a shot, Kristof Forsling made just enough contact with McDavid’s stick to stop its momentum. The puck deflected off Bobrovsky right to dangerous winger, Zach Hyman, who pulled his stick back to shoot from point-blank range, but veteran defensemen scraped the back of Hyman’s stick causing a scramble in front of the net. Bodies, sticks, helmets, and the whole nine yards crossed the goal line into the net. Everything except the puck, leaving the score at 2-1.
For the next seven minutes, the Panthers played exactly how they’ve played all season. They built a wall in front of their goal, launched the puck down the ice whenever they got the chance, and ended the game by jamming the puck into the boards for the final 15 seconds of the game, awarding the franchise to its first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The glory set in for Matthew Tkachuk, Reinhart, Verhaeghe, Evgeni Barkov, Bobrovsky, and countless other Panthers who contributed to this brilliant ride as they took in the crowd’s roars while lifting the Stanley Cup into the air.
Like any game, there is more than a winner and a loser. Here are my five biggest takeaways from an unforgettable game in NHL history.
1. Florida Got Back to Their Winning Ways
On the surface, this is an obvious statement since Florida had been outscored 18-5 in games four through six, and came back to win game seven. However, it’s no coincidence that the game they won was the one where they hunkered down defensively and scored timely goals.
In the regular season, Florida ranked first in goals against per game (2.42), first in shutouts (8), second in save percentage (0.918), and sixth in penalty kill percentage (82.47%). This season, they were 27-1 when they allowed one goal or less.
On offense, it was more about who and when than how. The team that scored first won every game of this series, and it was the Panthers that set the tone early with Verhaeghe’s goal. Speaking of Verhaeghe, Florida has a record of 33-4-2 when he scores. In the playoffs, that record is 8-2. In games where he didn’t score, Florida is 19-20-4 in the regular season and 8-6 in the playoffs—both far worse than when he does.
Verhaeghe scoring the first goal of the game and the Panthers’ defensive intensity in game seven were the two keys that unlocked the winning game plan in game seven.
2. McDavid Deserved the Conn Smythe
Like the Finals MVP in the NBA, the Conn Smythe Stanley Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player trophy is usually awarded to the most outstanding player on the winning team. Many thought that player would be Sergei Bobrovsky, who smothered opponents with a 0.906 save percentage, just 2.33 goals against per game, two shoutouts, and the most minutes of any player in the playoffs.
However, much to the chagrin of the Florida fans in attendance on Monday night, commissioner, Gary Bettman, announced Connor McDavid as the Conn Smythe trophy winner. He is just the sixth player to ever win the award on the losing team and the second skater (non-goaltender) to ever do so.
I am in the McDavid camp on this one. His 42 points in the postseason are 4th of all time behind Wayne Gretzky (twice) and Mario Lemieux. He posted 11 points in the Stanley Cup Final (all in the first five games) which is the most since Gretzky’s 13 in 1988. He is also the first player to ever have back-to-back four-point games in the Stanley Cup Final.
McDavid’s assist in game five where he weaved between defenders to dish the puck off to Hyman was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen, his constant highlights through all four rounds were unmatched by any other player, and McDavid is the clear best player in the NHL, so there is no reason he shouldn’t have been awarded for the best player in the postseason.
3. Paul Maurice Can Call Himself a Winner
There were plenty of emotional reactions at the end of game seven, but the one that stirred the most conversation was Paul Maurice’s 26 years of pent-up defeat, frustration, and pressure all being lifted off his back when he hoisted the Cup into the air. Maurice looked at the illusive trophy with tears welling up in his eyes and gave it a kiss before finishing his interview with ESPN.
Maurice started his career as the final coach in Hartford Whalers history. They became the Carolina Hurricanes where Maurice would coach for the next six years of his career including a Finals appearance in 2002. He worked for Toronto and Carolina again for three years each but didn’t find the success he had in his first stint.
He then moved to Winnipeg where he would lead the Jets to their first-ever playoff appearance in 2015 and their first conference finals appearance in 2018. Maurice made it back to the Finals in 2023 with the Panthers who took the Eastern Conference by storm as the worst-ranked playoff team by points and finally got over the hump in 2024.
Once the second youngest coach in the league, Maurice is now the 4th winningest coach in NHL history, the winningest active coach, and before this season, was considered one of the greatest coaches in Big 4 sports history without a title. After a stress-inducing week of wondering if Maurice would ever touch the Cup, he doesn’t have to worry about the talk anymore. He is a champion.
4. Draisaitl Didn’t Rise to the Occasion
Watching game seven, I kept expecting Edmonton to strike even with a big play from McDavid or Leon Draisaitl that we’ve become accustomed to seeing throughout the decade, but it never came.
To me, McDavid was giving it everything he had—relentlessly attacking through defenses designed to stop him, giving his team numerous opportunities to score, and never shying away from the moment. Draisaitl, on the other hand, put no fear into Florida’s eyes, registering no shots, no hits, and two giveaways in his 22:22 minutes of action.
The Oilers’ star has reached five straight all-star games because of his premier goal-scoring ability—he ranked 14th in goals and 7th in points this season. But in these Finals, Draisaitl didn’t score once and had just three points. And in a series where the Oilers were a +5 five, he was a -2. In fact, throughout the whole postseason, Draisaitl ranked 112th in +/- with 0 which was 10th place on an Edmonton team that had the top-3 +/- performers in the entire playoffs.
5. Sean McDonough is an Elite Broadcaster
Anyone who knows me well knows that when I watch sports, I listen closely to the commentators and grade their performance. Those who know me also know that I have always been a huge Mike Breen fan. Breen does a terrific job of setting the stage and is a master of maximizing the importance of moments with his dramatic tone and signature phrases. He also does a great job of deferring to his color commentators for not only analysis but also light-hearted comments to take the audience away from the heat of the moment for a brief second.
I thought McDonough did all of those things in game seven, I thought he did it well all season, and he has quickly become one of my favorite broadcasters in sports.
McDonough hardly takes a breath as he documents the puck sliding up and down the ice like an action film, and has a wavy tone of voice depending on the level of attack in the game that kept me engaged all night. He knows just how to get Ray Ferraro involved—a task more difficult than it looks given that he is all alone with Ferraro next to the benches. Finally, McDonough’s goal calls are simple but powerful.
As Florida came streaking down the ice last in the second, McDonough yelled, “Sam Reinhart…SCORES!” Short and sweet. After that, he let the crowd do the rest as the were sent into a frenzy by the go-ahead score. I loved McDonough’s work in game seven.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned tonight for NBA draft reactions!