The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions on Tuesday night, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5–1 in Game 6. With the win, they became the NHL’s first back-to-back champions since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Sam Reinhart had a historic performance, scoring four goals to tie the record for the most goals in a Stanley Cup Final game. He became just the second player in NHL history to score four goals in a Cup-clinching game and recorded both the first hat trick and four-goal game in Panthers playoff history. Matthew Tkachuk, one of the franchise’s stars, added a goal late in the first period to give Florida a 2–0 lead heading into intermission. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had a strong performance in net, stopping 28 of 29 shots and sealing the win in a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup final.

Sam Bennett was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading the NHL with 15 goals and tallying 7 assists across 23 playoff games. He was one of six Florida players to score at least 20 points during the playoffs. Reinhart (11 goals, 12 assists), Tkachuk (8 goals, 15 assists), and Carter Verhaeghe (7 goals, 16 assists) each posted 23 points. Bennett and Aleksander Barkov (6 goals, 16 assists) followed with 22, while Brad Marchand added 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists).

Edmonton’s only goal came in garbage time from Vasily Podkolzin, by which point the Panthers fans were already celebrating a second consecutive Stanley Cup title on home ice.

The Oilers were powered by superstar forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who tied for the playoff lead with 33 points each—McDavid with 7 goals and 26 assists, and Draisaitl with 11 goals and 22 assists. However, Florida’s physicality and team defense proved decisive. The defense was led by Barkov, who was named the winner of the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, and Gustav Forsling, regarded as one of the league’s top defensemen.

Since the arrival of Tkachuk via trade and the hiring of Paul Maurice as head coach in the summer of 2022, the Panthers have won 11 of 12 playoff series. With three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances and back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025, Florida is building the foundation of a modern-day dynasty.