Current:Home > InvestThe Stanley Cup will be awarded Monday night. It’s the Oilers and Panthers in Game 7 -Wealth Impact Academy
The Stanley Cup will be awarded Monday night. It’s the Oilers and Panthers in Game 7
View
Date:2025-04-17 06:40:18
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — A perk of being the captain of an NHL team is this: If your team wins a championship, you get perhaps the ultimate honor in the sport.
You get to be the player who accepts the Stanley Cup on the ice after the game.
Will it be Connor McDavid on behalf of the Edmonton Oilers, seeking their sixth title but first since 1990? Will it be Aleksander Barkov on behalf of the Florida Panthers, seeking the first title in franchise history? The answer comes Monday night, when the Oilers and Panthers play Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final that was all Florida at the start, all Edmonton ever since, and now one last game will decide everything.
“Obviously, it’s not your ordinary game,” said McDavid, who is generally considered the best player in hockey right now and is likely the favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs. “Everybody understands that. But you’ve got to make it as ordinary as possible in your head.”
It will not be an ordinary game. It’s Game 7, the last game of the season and the capper of a series that has been bonkers; Florida won the first three games, then Edmonton won the next three games — all of them handily, too — to keep staving off elimination.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Florida is trying to avoid becoming the second team in NHL history to take a 3-0 lead in the title series and not win the Stanley Cup; Detroit wasted such a lead against Toronto in 1942.
Edmonton is trying to become the first team based in Canada to win the Cup since 1993, an issue of such national importance north of the border that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote “All of Canada’s behind you. Let’s bring the Cup home” to the Oilers on social media as the series was getting underway. It is the longest drought for Canada in Cup history.
“We won three, they won three,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “Both teams have an opportunity. ... Very exciting. Kind of leave-it-all-out-there, desperation on both sides. It all comes down to this.”
When the game ends, the Cup will be brought to the ice. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will say a few words, then present it to the winning captain before he skates away to start the celebration with the newly crowned champions.
Will it be McDavid? Will it be Barkov? The moment they have dreamed about since they started putting on skates as little kids is here, and only one of them will capture it on Monday night.
“It comes down to this last one,” Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour said, “and it’s going to be a fun one.”
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
veryGood! (6688)
Related
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Conditions starting to 'deteriorate' in La. as Hurricane Francine nears: Live updates
- 2024 MTV VMAs: Eminem Proves He’s Still the Real Slim Shady With Rousing Opening Performance
- Arizona’s 2-page ballots could make for long lines on Election Day
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Chappell Roan Steals the Show With 2024 MTV VMAs Performance Amid Backlash for Canceling Concerts
- Jordan Chiles Says Her Heart Is Broken After Having Olympic Medal Stripped
- Dutch adopt US war graves to harbor memories of the country’s liberation 80 years ago
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Raging western wildfires are causing unhealthy air quality in Nevada, Arizona, California
Ranking
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Nikki Garcia files to divorce Artem Chigvintsev weeks after his domestic violence arrest
- Who plays on Thursday Night Football? Breaking down Week 2 matchup
- 2024 MTV VMAs: Chappell Roan Brings Her Own Rug for Revealing Red Carpet Outfit Change
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- 2024 MTV VMAs: Halsey Teases Marriage to Avan Jogia Amid Engagement Rumors
- Damar Hamlin timeline: How Bills safety recovered from cardiac arrest, became starter
- Travis Kelce Reacts to Taylor Swift’s Sweet 2024 MTV VMAs Shoutout
Recommendation
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
DA who oversaw abandoned prosecution of Colorado man in wife’s death should be disbarred, panel says
Jon Bon Jovi Talks Woman Off Ledge of Bridge in Nashville, Police Say
Olympian Jordan Chiles Returns to Spotlight at 2024 VMAs Red Carpet After Bronze Medal Debacle
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
Aubrey Plaza Details Experiencing a Sudden Stroke at Age 20
Campbell removing 'soup' from iconic company name after 155 years
Early childhood development nonprofit Brilliant Detroit set to expand nationally