There was no collapse. The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions for the first time, and they took about the hardest path possible to the title, the AP reports. Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves and the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Monday night in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It was the third title-round appearance in Florida's 30-year history; it was swept in 1996 by Colorado and routed 4-1 by Vegas last season. This time, they were on the right side of history—after avoiding what would have been a historic collapse. The Panthers won the first three games of the series, then lost the next three and needed a win on Monday to avoid joining the 1942 Detroit Red Wings as the only teams to lose the final after taking a 3-0 lead in the title round.
The Oilers couldn't snap Canada's title drought; it's been 1993 and counting since a team based in Canada won the Cup. Montreal was the last to do so, 30 seasons ago. Since then, there have been seven attempts by teams from Canadian-based cities—Vancouver in 1994 and 2011, Calgary in 2004, the Oilers in 2006, Ottawa in 2007, and the Canadiens in 2021—to win titles, and all were in vain. South Florida now has one of everything when it comes to titles from the four major pro sports leagues in the US. The Miami Dolphins were champions twice, the then-Florida Marlins were champions twice, the Miami Heat have three titles, and now the Panthers have joined the party. (More on the final game here.)
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