Sam Reinhart scored four goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves, and the Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.
“It’s amazing,” Bobrovsky said. “Obviously, it’s not easy to do and not many people can do that, but this group of guys is unbelievable. It’s a privilege to be their goalie.”
Reinhart’s four goals tied the record for most in a Stanley Cup Final game, and he became the second player in NHL history with four goals in a Stanley Cup-clinching win. He also had the first four-goal game and hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Panthers history.
Reinhart scored the winning goal when Florida defeated Edmonton 2-1 in Game 7 of the Cup Final last season to capture its first championship.
“He scored a game-winner in Game 7 last year and he banged in four,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “Nobody’s going to say whether there was a goalie in the net and nobody’s going to care. He just scored four goals. That was a pretty good story.”
Reinhart credited the Panthers’ depth, though.
“That’s the beauty of it,” he said. “Everyone steps up at different times. That’s what makes it so special.”
Carter Verhaeghe had three assists, Aleksander Barkov had two assists, and Matthew Tkachuk also scored for Florida, which became the NHL’s first repeat champion since the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and the first team to defeat the same opponent in the Cup Final in consecutive seasons since the Montreal Canadiens against the Boston Bruins in 1977 and 1978. Florida also reached the Cup Final in 2023, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
“You look to all the bad days, long trips, all the stuff, this just makes it all worth it,” said Tkachuk, whose first period goal was the game-winner. “Lifting that Cup, it’s just insane. I don’t know what to tell you guys. It’s just the most special thing.”
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