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Florida Panthers - In Play! magazine
A record-tying four-goal performance by Sam Reinhart and a clinching goal by Matthew Tkachuk helped the Panthers become the 10th franchise in NHL history to repeat as Stanley Cup champions – and first in 37 years to do so by clinching both on home ice. File photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
18
Jun

Stanley Cup Final – June 17, 2025 – REINHART HAS RECORD-TYING NIGHT AS PANTHERS CLINCH STANLEY CUP REPEAT

The 2025 Stanley Cup Final ended in much the same way that many of its games went: in record fashion. The Game 7 hero from last June made sure that one would not be needed again this year as Sam Reinhart delivered a once-in-a-century performance by scoring four goals to help clinch Florida’s Stanley Cup repeat.

  • Reinhart (4-0—4) tied the Stanley Cup Final record for goals in a game and became the second player to score as many times in a Cup-clinching win – joining Babe Dye more than 100 years ago. Overall, Reinhart scored the fourth hat trick ever to clinch the Stanley Cup – and second in the past three years after Florida’s first of three straight trips to the Final ended with a Mark Stone hat trick to vanquish the Panthers’ Cup hopes and make the Golden Knights the 2023 champions.
  • Overall, Reinhart became the sixth player in NHL history score four goals in any Stanley Cup Final game, and first to do so since Maurice Richard with the Canadiens 68 years ago (Game 1 of 1957 SCF vs. BOS). Reinhart and Stone account for the only Stanley Cup Final hat tricks over the past 28 years.
  • With his performance, Reinhart (7) overtook Brad Marchand (6) and Sam Bennett (5) for the series lead in goals – claiming a championship with both of them for the second time in five months after their win together with Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February (with Reinhart set to represent his country again at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026). It marked the second time in NHL history that three teammates all scored five-plus goals in the same Final, following Alex Delvecchio (6), Gordie Howe (5) and Ted Lindsay (5) with the 1955 Red Wings.
  • Reinhart matched the modern-era record (since 1944) for most goals in a single Stanley Cup Final, posting the highest total since Wayne Gretzky had seven for the Oilers 40 years ago. Reinhart, Gretzky, Mike Bossy (7 in 1982) and Jean Beliveau (7 in 1956) are the only players in the past 102 years to achieve that feat.

TKACHUK NETS CUP-CLINCHING GOAL ONE DAY AFTER OLYMPICS NOD

One day after being named to USA’s preliminary roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, Matthew Tkachuk became the ninth American to score a Stanley Cup-clinching goal and first since Ross Colton with the 2021 Lightning – which also completed a repeat on home ice in Florida. Less than three years after the blockbuster trade that made him a Panther, Tkachuk has twice celebrated a Stanley Cup win with his entire family on the ice in South Florida.

  • Tkachuk tied Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe for the team lead with 23 points during this Cup run, marking the third time in as many years with the club that Tkachuk has at least shared the Panthers lead in playoff points (also 24 in 2023 & 22 in 2024). He became the second player over the past 33 years and sixth in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1968) to lead a repeat Stanley Cup champion in points during each playoff run (outright or tied).

BENNETT NAMED PLAYOFF MVP AFTER SERIES OF RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCES

Sam Bennett (15-7—22 in 23 GP) established an NHL or franchise record in each of the first three games of the Final, part of a postseason in which he tallied a League-leading 15 goals and set an NHL record for road goals in one playoff year (13) – earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

BARKOV BECOMES FIRST EUROPEAN TO CAPTAIN MULTIPLE CUP WINNERS

Named to Finland’s preliminary roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 the day before the clinching win, Aleksander Barkov captained the Panthers to a Stanley Cup for the second time in as many years – the first European in NHL history to wear the “C” for two Cup champions. The victory also came 16 days after he was announced as the repeat winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy (and first-time recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy) – delivered in a special surprise presentation from several girls and boys from Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

  • Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola followed up their first-of-its-kind feat from last June with another Stanley Cup and became the second set of Finnish-born teammates in NHL history to repeat as champions, joining Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen with the 1987 and 1988 Oilers. Lundell (0-1—1) and Luostarinen (0-1—1) both found the score sheet Tuesday and concluded the postseason with 14 combined points in series-clinching wins.

Marchand wins first Cup since vanquishing Vancouver, Luongo 14 years ago

Brad Marchand tallied six goals in the Stanley Cup Final and 10-10—20 overall in the postseason (23 GP) – the fourth-most playoff points by a Trade Deadline Day pickup – en route to claiming his second Cup and first since winning as a rookie with the 2011 Bruins (when he scored twice in Game 7, including once against Panthers’ executive Roberto Luongo – who banged the drum pre-game, just as he did ahead of their clincher last June).

  • Marchand’s six goals against Edmonton exceeded his Final goal output from 2011 as he became the fifth player in NHL history to go at least 14 years between Stanley Cups.
  • Marchand, who was occasionally fueled by a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard Treat from Dairy Queen and peppered with plastic rats following wins.

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Guest Writer