2024 Stanley Cup Finals facts for kids
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The 2024 Stanley Cup Finals was the exciting championship series for the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2023–24 season. It was the final showdown of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champions, the Florida Panthers, played against the Western Conference champions, the Edmonton Oilers.
The Panthers won the series four games to three in a best-of-seven series. This was their first championship ever, won in their 30th season. The Florida Panthers made history by winning the title in seven games after being ahead 3–0 in the series. This had not happened since 1945. The series started on June 8 and finished on June 24. The Panthers had the advantage of playing more games at home because they had a better record during the regular season. This was also the fifth time in a row that a team from Florida played in the Finals. The distance between the two cities, Edmonton and Sunrise, was about 4,089 kilometers (2,541 miles). This was the longest distance ever between two teams in the NHL Finals.
Contents
How Teams Reached the Finals
Edmonton Oilers' Journey
The Edmonton Oilers played in the Stanley Cup Finals for the eighth time. They have won the Stanley Cup five times before, all between 1984 and 1990. Their last Finals appearance was in 2006, where they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.
Before the season, the Oilers added players like Connor Brown and Ben Gleason. They also re-signed Mattias Janmark. The team had a tough start, winning only 3 games out of 13. Because of this, their coach Jay Woodcroft was replaced by Kris Knoblauch. Under Knoblauch, the team improved a lot, winning 46 games. They also signed Corey Perry during the season. Near the trade deadline, they got Sam Carrick, Adam Henrique, and Troy Stecher.
Captain Connor McDavid was the team's top scorer with 132 points. He had 100 assists, making him only the fourth NHL player to get 100 assists in one season. The last player to do this was Wayne Gretzky in 1990–91. Corey Perry played in his fifth Stanley Cup Finals. He had won with the Anaheim Ducks and lost with other teams.
The Oilers finished second in their division with 104 points. In the first round of the playoffs, they beat the Los Angeles Kings in five games. Then, they won a tough seven-game series against the Vancouver Canucks. Finally, they defeated the Dallas Stars in six games to reach the Finals.
Florida Panthers' Journey
The Florida Panthers made it to the Finals for the second year in a row and the third time overall. They had lost their previous two Finals appearances. They were swept in four games by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.
Before the season, the Panthers signed new players like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Evan Rodrigues, and Anthony Stolarz. They also re-signed Eetu Luostarinen and traded for Steven Lorentz. Near the trade deadline, they added Vladimir Tarasenko, Magnus Hellberg, and Kyle Okposo. They also re-signed Gustav Forsling.
Sam Reinhart was the team's top scorer with 57 goals and 94 points.
The Panthers finished first in their division with 110 points. In the first round of the playoffs, they beat their home-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in five games. In the second round, they won in six games against the Boston Bruins. This was a rematch from the previous season's playoffs. In the Eastern Conference final, they faced the New York Rangers, who had the best record in the regular season. The Panthers defeated them in six games to reach the Finals.
Game Summaries
- Numbers in parentheses show the player's total goals or assists in the 2024 playoffs up to that point. All times are in EDT (UTC−04:00.)
Game One: Panthers Win 3-0
| June 8 | Florida Panthers | 0–3 | Edmonton Oilers | Amerant Bank Arena | Recap |
In Game One, the Florida Panthers took an early lead. Carter Verhaeghe scored for Florida just four minutes into the first period. In the second period, Evan Rodrigues made it 2–0. Near the end of the game, with Edmonton's goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Eetu Luostarinen scored an empty net goal, making the final score 3–0. Florida's goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, stopped all 32 shots from Edmonton, earning a shutout.
Game Two: Panthers Win 4-1
| June 10 | Florida Panthers | 1–4 | Edmonton Oilers | Amerant Bank Arena | Recap |
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Game Two saw some big plays. Edmonton's Warren Foegele received a penalty early on. During the four-on-four play, Mattias Ekholm scored for Edmonton, giving them a 1–0 lead. In the second period, Niko Mikkola tied the game for Florida. In the third period, Evan Rodrigues scored twice for the Panthers, including a power-play goal. Aaron Ekblad then scored into an empty net, sealing a 4–1 victory for Florida. This win gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the series.
Game Three: Panthers Win 4-3
| June 13 | Edmonton Oilers | 4–3 | Florida Panthers | Rogers Place | Recap |
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In Game Three, the Panthers scored first with Sam Reinhart tipping in a shot. Edmonton's Warren Foegele tied it in the second period. But Florida quickly took the lead again with goals from Vladimir Tarasenko, Sam Bennett, and captain Aleksander Barkov, making it 4–1. In the third period, Edmonton tried to come back with goals from Philip Broberg and Ryan McLeod, bringing the score to 4–3. However, the Panthers held on to win, taking a strong 3–0 lead in the series.
Game Four: Oilers Win 8-1
| June 15 | Edmonton Oilers | 1–8 | Florida Panthers | Rogers Place | Recap |
Game Four was a huge win for the Oilers. Mattias Janmark scored a shorthanded goal to start, and Adam Henrique made it 2–0. Florida's Vladimir Tarasenko scored, but Edmonton kept going. Dylan Holloway, Connor McDavid, and Darnell Nurse all scored, making it 5–1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added another goal on a power play. In the third period, Holloway and Ryan McLeod scored again, leading to an 8–1 victory. This win prevented the Oilers from being swept and kept their hopes alive. Connor McDavid also set a new record for most assists in a single playoff year.
Game Five: Oilers Win 5-3
| June 18 | Florida Panthers | 5–3 | Edmonton Oilers | Amerant Bank Arena | Recap |
In Game Five, the Oilers continued their comeback. Connor Brown scored a shorthanded goal in the first period. In the second, Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid scored, giving Edmonton a 3–0 lead. Florida's Matthew Tkachuk scored to cut the lead, but Corey Perry scored for Edmonton, making it 4–1. Evan Rodrigues quickly scored for Florida, making it 4–2. In the third period, Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for Florida, bringing them within one goal at 4–3. But McDavid scored an empty-net goal in the final seconds, giving Edmonton a 5–3 win. This forced a Game Six, a rare feat after being down 3–0.
Game Six: Oilers Win 5-1
| June 21 | Edmonton Oilers | 1–5 | Florida Panthers | Rogers Place | Recap |
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Game Six saw the Oilers dominate again. Warren Foegele scored in the first period, and Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman added goals in the second, giving Edmonton a 3–0 lead. Florida's Aleksander Barkov scored in the third period, but it wasn't enough. Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse scored empty-net goals for Edmonton, leading to a 5–1 victory. This win tied the series 3-3, forcing a Game Seven. It was only the third time in Stanley Cup Finals history that a team came back from 3-0 down to force a Game Seven.
Game Seven: Panthers Win 2-1
| June 24 | Florida Panthers | 1–2 | Edmonton Oilers | Amerant Bank Arena | Recap |
In the deciding Game Seven, the Panthers scored first with Carter Verhaeghe deflecting a shot into the net. Edmonton's Mattias Janmark quickly tied the game. In the second period, Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, giving them a 2–1 lead. The Panthers held onto this lead through the third period. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all nine shots in the final period, securing the 2–1 victory and their first-ever Stanley Cup!
Even though the Oilers lost, their captain Connor McDavid was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy. This trophy goes to the most valuable player of the playoffs. He was only the sixth player ever to win this award while being on the losing team in the Finals.
Images for kids
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Connor McDavid captained the Oilers to their eighth Finals appearance and first since 2006.
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Aleksander Barkov captained the Panthers to their second consecutive and third overall Finals appearance.
