The Florida Panthers are the 2024 Stanley Cup champions. In Game 7 on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, two Canadians did crucial work for the Panthers, who defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 and won the best-of-seven series four games to three.
Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe of Toronto, Ontario, was Florida’s leading scorer with two points, as he had a goal and an assist. Meanwhile, Panthers center Sam Reinhart of West Vancouver, British Columbia, scored the game-winning goal.
Verhaeghe opened the scoring with a shot by Toronto’s Evan Rodrigues and Anton Lundell at 4:27 of the first period. Reinhart’s goal was scored by Verhaeghe and Dmitry Kulikov with four minutes, 49 seconds left in the second period to give Florida a 2-1 lead.
This was Verhaeghe’s second Stanley Cup. He previously won in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Verhaeghe scored 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 24 games. He had a -5 record with 20 penalty minutes, four power play goals, three game-winning goals, 79 shots on goal, 15 faceoffs won, 14 blocked shots, 27 hits, 11 turnovers and 16 turnovers.
Reinhart scored 10 goals and 6 assists for 16 points in 24 playoff games. He had a -2 record with 12 penalty minutes, four power play goals and two game-winning goals. 81 faceoffs won, 34 blocked shots, 54 hits, 13 turnovers and 15 turnovers. Reinhart’s other game-winning goal came in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Reinhart scored a goal with 1:12 left in overtime against defenseman Brandon Montour of Brantford, Ontario, and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-2, tying the series at 2-2.
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