SUNRISE — Finally, amazingly, the game was over. Gloves and sticks flew through the air, arms and bodies tangled. The Florida Panthers walked off their bench and into the heart of the hockey world, behind the goal with a bang, their long journey to the top over.
Move out, Miami Heat. Make way, Florida Marlins. Make way, veteran champions, Miami Dolphins.
There's a new champion in town.
When the Panthers beat Edmonton 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, the emotion was more than just ecstasy about winning the franchise's first championship or pride in how the Panthers played in that final game.
This, too, was, in a word, whew.
Above the rare breath of relief the Panthers took as champions, the caption should have read: Whew. They bounced back from three straight losses in this series. Whew. They didn't become just the second NHL team to blow a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final, or the first since 1942.
“We had to lose three times to learn how to win four,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “What makes this game special is how tough it was to win.”
As this series unfolded, and the Panthers played out one frustrating game after another, this became more than just a hockey story. It became a story of controlling demons and believing in talent. It became a story of team determination no matter what the odds, even if the sense of uncertainty across the team was palpable by the time Monday night arrived.
“We believed,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “It was never an issue.”
Can you feel the tension in the stadium? There was a tense atmosphere at Amerante Bank Arena during the tense minutes before Monday's match, made even more so by the loud cheers of the foreigners.
“Go Oilers,” chanted hundreds of Edmonton fans who had traveled across the country to watch.
“Go Panthers!” the home fans chanted back.
The Panthers had told each other before the game they were going to do whatever it took, and they did it all against a hot-fought Edmonton side, as Carter Verhaeghe scored less than five minutes into the game to snap a quiet series and give the Panthers their first lead in three games, 1-0.
A breakaway goal from Edmonton's Mattias Janmark two minutes later evened the score, solidifying emotions and the belief on both sides' minds that the night was theirs.
Sam Reinhart, the other quiet Panther in the series, smashed a shot past Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner late in the second period to make it a 2-1 game. Little did anyone know it was the winning goal. There was still one period left.
“Every goal is a big goal in Game 7,” Reinhart said. “It wasn't until later that I realized how big a goal it was.”
This game also required the Panthers to get back to what they do best: anchoring the defense with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky was the star of Game 7, and Edmonton is no longer in the running for a dramatic comeback.
An Edmonton shot was saved by Bobrovsky, leaving a loose puck in front of the goal. McDavid and Oilers leading scorer Zach Hyman went for the puck, but the Panthers tried to cover it. When the whistle blew, there were nine bodies packed in various positions in front of the goal. Bobrovsky collapsed on the goal line with eight minutes left.
With just under four minutes left and Edmonton in the back of the net, Bobrovsky fell to the ice making a save and lost his stick. He tried desperately to play without it. Edmonton's Evan Bouchard tried to get a shot but couldn't get through the clutter of players. Another threat gone.
That was the way the season ended. Can you play bigger on a bigger stage than Bobrovsky did tonight? Can you contribute more to the team, the fans, and the team's traditions than Reinhart or Verhaeghe?
With two minutes left, Reinhart got in front of Edmonton's Warren Vogel, drawing an offside. In the final seconds, Gustav Forsling shoved the puck against the end boards. Edmonton couldn't dig it out, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. McDavid played half of the final period and three-and-a-half of the final four minutes, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the best player in the NHL playoffs. But the Panthers were the best team.
“We played this game like we've played all year,” Verhaeghe said. “Played hard. Defense first.”
What a night, what a series and a season that will live on forever. Trace the Panthers' timeline back to when H. Wayne Heusinga bought the team and they lost in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final in their third season. That series lives on this season.
“That's when I fell in love with hockey,” Panthers veteran Kyle Okposo said, “My parents let me stay up late watching the triple-overtime game. Colorado scored at the right point in overtime. I watched the whole game, and that's when I really fell in love with hockey.”
“It was my first time seeing people lifting the trophy and, of course, I'm eight years old so I can't understand the emotions they're going through. But after 27 years of watching people lift the trophy I have a pretty good idea of how they're feeling after the hardships they've been through.”
Now he knows. Now they all know. As the seconds ticked down and the rats hopped across the ice, a new team was inducted into South Florida's hall of champions.
