NHL
Stanley
Cup Final
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The Florida Panthers have defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year, becoming just the third team since 1998 to win back-to-back titles.
Sam Reinhart scored four goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves as the Panthers clinched the series with a 5-1 victory in Game 6.
Sam Bennett was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the postseason after leading all players with 15 goals.
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Back-to-back Stanley Cup wins make the Panthers the latest dynasty of the cap era
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Oilers fall short again in Stanley Cup Final, so where do they go from here?
The Panthers learned their lesson from last year.
After needing four cracks to eliminate the Oilers last season, Florida's reign continued Tuesday night when they thoroughly dominated Game 6 en route to a 5-1 victory to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.
Our team breaks down how the game unfolded, including:
Follow the link below to check out our takeaways from Game 6.
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Sam Reinhart scores four goals as Panthers beat Oilers for back-to-back Stanley Cups: Takeaways
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Having won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020 before joining the Panthers that summer, Carter Verhaeghe has now won the Cup for the third time. He joins an exclusive list of active players to have won three titles:
Find your goggles!
The Marchand clan has grown since the last time Brad won the Stanley Cup.
With the season over, Paul Maurice has given a few updates on injuries members of his team were carrying.
Aleksander Barkov had his hand split open in Game 1 and the ensuing stitches kept opening later on in the series.
Sam Reinhart sustained a Grade 2 MCL sprain in the Eastern Conference final.
Matthew Tkachuk, however, believes that it's only a matter of time before Connor McDavid wins a Stanley Cup: "When you have a player that good and that talented, he's going to win (the Stanley Cup) one day. Wherever it is."
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To that point, Connor McDavid is the only player in NHL history to record nine straight 90-point seasons but not win the Stanley Cup in any of them, per Opta.
Connor McDavid and the Oilers have now lost in the Stanley Cup Final in two straight seasons, which will inevitably lead to questions about his future with the team.
McDavid is entering the final year of an eight-year, $100 deal, with unrestricted free agency looming afterward. His playmaking was stellar throughout the postseason, as he recorded seven goals and 26 assists in 22 games, but he faded in the Stanley Cup Final. McDavid tallied five points over the first two games but just two more the rest of the series.
While it is certainly too early to say what the future holds for the superstar center, it's not a given that he'll stay in Edmonton.
GO FURTHER
Oilers fall short again in Stanley Cup Final, so where do they go from here?
Sam Bennett tallied a goal in each series-opener this year, one of only two players in NHL history to score a goal in Game 1 of four rounds in a single postseason, alongside Leon Draisaitl, who also did so this very year.
Bennett (15) tied Alex Ovechkin (15 in 2018) and Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009) for the second-most goals in one playoff year among active players, behind Zach Hyman (16 in 2024).
The Tampa Bay Lightning repeated as Stanley Cup champions in 2020 and 2021. They went to three consecutive Stanley Cup Final series.
The Florida Panthers, like the Lightning, have advanced to the championship series three straight years from 2023 to 2025. Florida repeated as Stanley Cup champions.
Hockey is having quite a moment in the Sunshine State.
Stuart Skinner said that he's still processing the emotions of losing in the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive years. The key difference in the series, according to the Oilers goaltender, was consistency.
"They played a consistent game," Skinner said. "Our game was up and down."
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The Oilers are just the third team in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to lose in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years:
Leon Draisaitl praised his team's compete and battle level, but ultimately acknowledged that it wasn't enough.
"We leave here as losers," he said. "The same takeaway is we didn't win."
Yesterday, Aleksander Barkov was one of six players named to Team Finland's Milan Cortina Olympic 2026 squad. Tonight, the Panthers captain is a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion.
Barkov is the first European-born player in NHL history to captain multiple Stanley Cup-winning teams.
Two Cups. Two Vezinas. Career .914 save percentage. Men’s Worlds gold and goalie award. Consistent 55-65 starts per year in an era where there are fewer and fewer of those guys. Top 10 all-time in wins. Going to break 800 games played. Maybe I answered it myself?
Opening championship odds are usually not all that creative, so it’s not a surprise to see the two finalists for the last two years open as the favorites for next year’s Stanley Cup. Despite the Panthers beating the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row, it’s Edmonton that opens as the favorite ahead of Florida to claim the Cup in 2026.
The Oilers are +650 on BetMGM, with the Panthers next at +750. As it was throughout the playoffs, the odds remain tight at the top. The Colorado Avalanche (+800), Dallas Stars (+850) and Carolina Hurricanes (+900) aren’t far behind the top two
GO FURTHER
2026 Stanley Cup odds: Oilers ahead of Panthers in opening odds
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Brad Marchand was long expected to be a Boston Bruin for his entire career. But at the trade deadline, he was dealt to the Panthers.
Now, Marchand is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having won his first title in 2011. His 20 playoff points this year are the fourth most in NHL history for a player that was acquired on deadline day. The three players ahead of Marchand are Marian Gaborik (2014 Kings), Mikko Rantanen (2025 Stars) and Marian Hossa (2008 Penguins).
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has now led his squad to consecutive Stanley Cup titles and he provided insight into what makes this group special postgame.
"I don't know how we got up the mountain," he told TNT. "We were all standing at the bottom at the start of the year, and it looked pretty high. We had a lot of twists and turns. We covered a lot of miles, we had injuries, but these guys love each other. That's the best I can come up with. It's the truth, and it's the way they treat each other. They care about each other, and that's their energy source. It's the most powerful energy source, and it certainly didn't come from the coach. But they love each other.
"I've been really lucky in my career. I've coached in wonderful cities, had great teams. These guys are different. I haven't met people like this before," he said. "It's the collection of them. There's great men on every team. It's just all of them, every guy."
Connor McDavid after losing in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year: "Lost to a really good team. Nobody quit, nobody threw the towel in. They're a heck of a team. They're back-to-back Stanley Cup champions for a reason.
"Still a lot of confidence and belief. I don't think people thought we were gonna make it this far. We obviously believed. Came up just short again."
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