The Florida Panthers’ 5-1 Game 6 win sealed their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final series victory Tuesday night, defeating the Edmonton Oilers for the second straight year and winning the series 4-2.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday night’s dynasty-establishing win.
1. The game script mostly followed Florida’s previous wins.
Edmonton opened with a flurry of shots, but the Panthers scored on their first shot after Sam Reinhart forced a turnover just inside the neutral zone and made a tremendous individual effort. The Panthers smell blood better than anyone, turned up the heat and scored with just seconds left in the first period to open a 2-0 lead. The Panthers dominated with a 5-1 advantage in high-danger chances in the period, according to Natural Stat Trick. They outscored Edmonton 13-4 in first periods this series.
2. A fourth straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final will be hard.
There’s not really any data on a team in the modern era playing this many games, so there’s not really any way to know how the Panthers may be impacted by fatigue. Plus, it’s likely at least one — and possibly two — of center Sam Bennett, winger Brad Marchand and defenseman Aaron Ekblad won’t be back next season. The Panthers are light on assets to help them improve with their next three first-round picks traded. Bennett, the Conn Smythe winner for playoff MVP, could be the most lucrative player to hit the free-agent market if he doesn’t re-sign with Florida.
3. On the other hand, Florida’s pro scouting has no equal.
The Panthers’ pro scouting department is unequivocally the best in the NHL. Florida wins trades — Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. Florida wins in reclamation projects — from hitting home runs like claiming No. 1 defender Gustav Forsling off waivers to identifying bargain-bin defenseman who could well exceed their value in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola and Nate Schmidt. If Florida becomes the first franchise since the New York Islanders (1980-1984) to go to four consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, you can credit their incomparable pro scouting.
4. Goaltenders are not running backs.
There are plenty of reasons why Florida won this series, and goaltending is near the very top. There’s an axiom that goaltenders are about the equivalent of NFL running backs. It’s because of how often coaches will wind up riding the hot hand and how often the goaltending middle class can get very mushy and amorphous when trying to rank them — which makes paying them a questionable decision. But, value wise, there is no comparison — goaltenders are the most important players on the ice. Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky has redefined his career these past three seasons. His .915 save percentage in that span is the type of rock-solid consistency that most fans beg from their netminders.
5. The Oilers goaltender conundrum needs resolution.
Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard were not good enough in the Stanley Cup Final for Edmonton. Everything you need to know about Skinner’s performance can be summed up how he played Sam Reinhart’s second goal. He has a career .893 save percentage in the playoffs.
The Oilers have $3.6 million tied up next season in their two goaltenders and $11 million in cap space this summer. The summer free-agent goalie crop isn’t great, so Edmonton may need to get aggressive on the trade market to address this.
Connor McDavid is entering a contract year, and convincing him Edmonton can win the Stanley Cup might come down to what it does in net this summer.
