Stanley Cup Final Game 6 live updates: Panthers are Stanley Cup champions again!
PANTHERS WIN THE STANLEY CUP — AGAIN
Final score, Panthers 5, Edmonton 1 as the 2024-25 Panthers win the Stanley Cup Final 4 games to 2 over the Edmonton Oilers.
An empty net encore for Sam, Bob loses his shutout
Another empty netter by Sam Reinhart gave him four for the night and the Panthers a 5-0 lead with 5:05 left. And Amerant Bank Arena bathed in the glory of a Stanley Cup repeat by the Panthers.
Edmonton’s Vasily Podkolzin knocked home a rebound with 4:32 left. Not only did Podkolzin not celebrate, Edmonton didn’t pull Skinner after the ensuing face-off, almost acknowledging they were just trying to avoid the shutout.
Hats fly, plastic rats will fly and the Panthers will repeat: 4-0
Edmonton pulled goalie Stuart Skinner with just less than seven minutes left. The Panthers put the usual matchup out for the McDavid line, the Barkov line, and when Carter Verhaeghe cleared the zone, Sam Reinhart headed for the Oilers blue line. Verhaeghe dropped the puck to Barkov and Barkov hit Reinhart at the Edmonton line.
Empty netter, hat trick and Panthers fans sent their lids sailing onto the ice. No big deal — there will be new Stanley Cup champion merch to buy on Wednesday.
Panthers up 4-0 with 6:34 left until Stanley.
Hot Sam puts Panthers up 3-0
A wonderful forechecking sequence by the Carter Verhaeghe-Aleksander Barkov-Sam Reinhart line kept the puck deep in the Edmonton zone for a month — OK, 30 seconds that seemed like a month to tired Edmonton player during the period with the long line change — and by the time Verhaeghe threw the puck on the net from the right boards, the Oilers looked as if they’d just stopped.
Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner shouldered the shot into the left circle. Barkov strolled onto the rebound with the nearest Oiler completely unescorted. He fired the puck into the crease where it caromed in off Reinhart, Reinhart’s second goal of the game, at 17:31 of the second.
The Panthers carried that 3-0 lead into the second intermission.
McDavid leads Edmonton’s push, Bob repels it
The inevitable push from Edmonton came as the Oilers put Connor McDavid with Leon Draisaitl five-on-five. On his second shift, McDavid sizzled in on Bobrovsky alone near the right post. Bobrovksy made the save there, as he did on Corey Perry’s redirect of a two-on-one pass from McDavid after Panthers’ defenseman Aaron Ekblad got caught out of position.
Also, as became clear from the uncalled takedowns by both teams, referees Chris Rooney and Jean Hebert were calling the game by Rollerball championship game rules. No penalties in the first period other than the coincidental minors on Kane and Bennett and no penalties in the first 16 minutes of the second.
McDavid also started cherry picking like he was working the trees in Washington, hanging out at the Panthers blue line for stretch passes. The Panthers covered it well.
Off the bench and into the net: Panthers up, 2-0 after one
As Panthers right wing Eetu Luostarinen entered the Edmonton zone, he realized he had some space and pulled up to observe his passing options. Edmonton seemed to notice all those options -- except Matthew Tkachuk racing off the Panthers bench and into the Oilers zone. Tkachuk took the lovely pass from Luostarinen, fired through Anton Lundell’s screen and the Panthers had a 2-0 lead with 46.4 seconds left in the first period.
The Panthers have scored at least two goals in the first period in each game of this Stanley Cup Final.
Shots were even, 10-9, Edmonton, and the Panthers uncharacteristically kept giving away the puck on breakouts, six giveaways to Edmonton’s two. But, the Panthers kept Bobrovsky’s sight lines clear and kept the Oilers on their heels for the last eight minutes or so of the period.
Panthers survive four-on-four
A scrum around the Panthers net ended with Edmonton’s Evander Kane (slashing) and Sam Bennett (roughing) going to the box. Edge Edmonton, when they could put Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl out with defenseman Evan Bouchard’s booming slapshot.
Draisaitl did set up Bouchard between the circles for a Bouchard Bomb, but Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky saw it all the way and made a stick save.
Reinhart strips, dips, rips: Panthers lead, 1-0
As Brad Marchand opened the scoring in Game 5 with a fantastic individual effort, Sam Reinhart did the same for the Panthers in Game 6 with a goal that incorporated Marchand’s payoff move on his second Game 5 goal.
Reinhart stripped Edmonton defenseman Dan Bouchard at the Edmonton line, skipped inside Bouchard’s partner Mattias Ekholm and, as Bouchard tripped him, roofed a shot on Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner.
The Panthers had a 1-0 lead 4:16 into the game. They’ve led at some point in the first period in all six games.
Luongo on the drum
The Panthers will turn to former goaltender and current special advisor to the general manager Roberto Luongo for the pregame drum banging ahead of Game 6 on Tuesday.
Luongo was the guest drummer banger ahead of Game 7 of the Cup Final last season, which Florida eventually won 2-1 to claim its first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
It worked that time, so why mess with things? Plus, the Panthers are 3-0 over the past three postseasons when one of their own bangs the drum ahead of the game. The others were Billy Lindsay ahead of Game 6 in Round 1 against the Boston Bruins in 2023 and Keith Yandle ahead of Game 4 in Round 2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs this year.
Series schedule
▪ Game 1 — Oilers 4, Panthers 3 (overtime): The Panthers had a two-goal lead early in the second period but couldn’t hold on as Edmonton tied the game early in the third and won it on a Leon Draisaitl power-play goal with 31 seconds left in overtime.
▪ Game 2 — Panthers 5, Oilers 4 (double overtime): The Oilers tied the game with 17.8 seconds left in regulation to force overtime for a second consecutive game. Brad Marchand scored the game-winner 8:05 into the second OT period to secure the Florida win and even the series 1-1.
▪ Game 3 — Panthers 6, Oilers 1: The Panthers dominated from start to finish, with six different players scoring and Sergei Bobrovsky stellar in net, before the game unraveled in the final 10 minutes.
▪ Game 4 — Oilers 5, Panthers 4 (overtime): The Panthers blew a 3-0 lead as Edmonton, tied the game with 19.5 seconds left in regulation and then lost when Leon Draisaitl scored on a backhanded shot 11:18 into overtime.
▪ Game 5 — Panthers 5, Oilers 2: Brad Marchand scored a pair of highlight-reel goals and the Panthers played probably their best defensive game of the series to move within one win of repeating as champions.
▪ Game 6: Tonight
▪ Game 7 (if necessary): Friday, June 20, 8 p.m., TNT, truTV, Max, Edmonton’s Rogers Place
Pregame reading
Need to catch up ahead of Game 6? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days.
▪ With a chance to win the Stanley Cup at stake, it’s ‘another day in paradise’ for the Panthers
▪ Now one win from repeat, why Panthers feel better equipped this year to close out Cup Final
▪ How Matthew Tkachuk went from uncertain to start playoffs to ‘best I felt’ with Panthers near repeat
▪ Panthers’ playoff road dominance has them in record book and one win from repeat
▪ ‘We would not be in this position without him’: Panthers rely on Sergei Bobrovsky in playoff run
▪ Sam Bennett scores 15th goal of playoffs, keeps making Stanley Cup history
▪ Brad Marchand joins exclusive list with latest Stanley Cup Final goals
This story was originally published June 17, 2025 at 7:00 PM.
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