It has all come down to this. After the Florida Panthers opened up a 3-0 lead on the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, many believed the series to be all but over.
Then Connor McDavid and his friends outscored the Panthers by a combined score of 18-5 en route to tying the series up at three games apiece, becoming just the third team in NHL history to do so in the Stanley Cup Final.
Will the Oilers pull off the historic reverse sweep? Can the Panthers avoid ignominy? Here’s everything you need to know before puck drop tonight, including what’s at stake for each team, key players to watch and advanced matchup metrics from ESPN Stats & Information.
Jump ahead: What’s at stake?
Players to watch, picks
Key stats for Game 7
What’s at stake for the Panthers?
Reputation. And we’re not talking (underrated) Taylor Swift albums.
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
The Panthers had been afterthoughts for most of the franchise’s history. Florida lost in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final and then made just four playoff appearances — without winning a round — through the next 23 years. It was a team players aspired to join at the end of their careers, when it was more about the temperate climate and less about potential to win. And the Panthers were used to an arena filled with opposing fans capitalizing on their cheap tickets in a sunny locale not readily available in most hockey markets. A nice perk perhaps, but hardly a foundation upon which to build a thriving culture.
That’s what Florida has now, though. GM Bill Zito has methodically crafted the Panthers into a true top-tier contender. He turned Florida into a President’s Trophy winner and, when that didn’t translate to postseason success, had the courage to trade his club’s best player (Jonathan Huberdeau) for Matthew Tkachuk in a blockbuster swap that might have ended horribly for Florida. But it didn’t. Zito grabbed low-risk, high-reward players such as Gustav Forsling (off waivers) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (post-buyout) who have…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40409008/nhl-playoffs-2024-stanley-cup-final-panthers-oilers-game-7-players-picks
Author : ESPN staff
Publish date : 2024-06-24 11:46:04
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