"It's Not a Dream Anymore": Florida Panthers Hoist Their First Stanley Cup Trophy

Soak it in and bang those pots and pans, South Florida. A championship parade is headed your way.

For the first time since the Miami Heat celebrated back-to-back Larry O'Brien trophies down Biscayne Boulevard in 2013, a local team is the final squad standing as the Panthers won their first-ever Stanley Cup on Monday night.

The clutch championship performance capped off an extraordinary season with a Stanley Cup Final series that ended with a 2-1 victory and a hell of a lot of beer to enjoy out of an oversized silver trophy in the coming days.

Move over, Flanigan's cup. There is a new, more famous cup in town.

Champs! #FloridaPanthers pic.twitter.com/HN5fI89MGX

— Gabriel Gabor (@MLSGabor) June 25, 2024

On the cusp of a historic collapse — potentially being the first team to blow a 3-0 Stanley Cup Final lead since 1942 — the Panthers gave a high stick to making the wrong kind of history, instead making franchise history by bringing the Cup home to Sunrise.

Lemon booty turned into booty shaking in the streets of South Florida, just as we all planned it back in October when the Panthers began their trek back to the championship round.

Carter Verhaeghe puts the Panthers up 1-0 to start Game 7 of the Stanley Cup 🔥

pic.twitter.com/fWCvnochGN

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 25, 2024

The game started with the sort of action you would expect from a series featuring two three-game winning streaks heading into Game 7. Carter Verhaeghe broke the scoreless tie and put Florida on the board five minutes in.

Edmonton — in true WTF-go-away Oilers fashion — responded quickly. Just 2:17 later, Mattias Janmark tied the game. Like a zombie that came back from the dead in this series, the Oilers wouldn't die.

KULIKOV SAVES A GOAL AT ONE END AND REINHART SCORES AT THE OTHER 😱🤯

2-1 PANTHERS LEAD pic.twitter.com/mehFHPXGDD

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 25, 2024

Florida's defense stepped up in the second period. Despite Edmonton controlling the puck for most of the period, they couldn't convert their possession into goals.

Sam Reinhart seized a critical opportunity, scoring with a sniper wrist-shot from the right wing, putting Florida ahead 2-1.

Double-tap complete. The Panthers were 25 minutes from their first-ever Stanley Cup title. They needed to regroup, refresh, and come out in the third period ready to fight tooth-and-nail and put a bow on the best hockey played in franchise history.

And that they did, staving off the Oilers' rally after furious rally. In protecting a 2-1 lead, they would never give up.

The Florida Panthers are the freaking Stanley Cup champions!

What a remarkable season by the Florida Panthers 🙌

🏒 Won Round 1 in 5 games
🏒 Beat the 2 seed in the Atlantic in Round 2
🏒 Beat the 1 seed in the East in the WCF
🏆 Won their franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup Finalpic.twitter.com/9ec1Utfkom

— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) June 25, 2024

Head coach Paul Maurice and the Florida Panthers have officially overcome the heartbreak of last season's NHL finals loss. The team will enter this week's NHL Draft as defending Stanley Cup champions, and a formidable team is set to return to defend the title in 2025.

Maurice joined Scott Van Pelt on ESPN's SportsCenter following the game to reflect on his two-year tenure in South Florida and to look ahead at what is next for the Ice Cats. When asked about his mindset going into Game 7 and how the Panthers coped with losing three games in a row in the series, Maurice said he tried to get the team back to a mental place where they were playing freely, without an overbearing fear of making mistakes.

"What we needed, what [was] different last night, is that we played with some freedom, that we made plays," said Maurice, who guided the Panthers to the Final in both of his two seasons with the team.

Panthers scoring machine Matthew Tkachuk said after the win, "I can’t believe how good these two years have been."

"It's not a dream anymore. It's not a dream. It's reality," Tkachuk said. "So thankful for this group of guys. It's the best place, best guys. It's something really special here with what we have."

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice joined @notthefakeSVP and reflected on the journey of chasing the Stanley Cup 🍿 pic.twitter.com/DGwzLxNSqn

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 25, 2024

While the Panthers were rejoicing over their Game 7 win, celebrations began across South Florida, and fans took to the streets to enjoy a moment three decades in the making.

If you didn't know better, you'd think Miamians were celebrating a Miami Heat title. From the looks of things, there are a lot of tag-on-new-looking jerseys, and so it seems quite a few new Panthers fans will be invested this same time next year.

Brick by brick, that's how you build a true fanbase. The Panthers are now a major piece of South Florida sports history. 

WATCH: Celebrations underway in South Florida pic.twitter.com/SRBlQaOAAL

— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) June 25, 2024

To top things off, the Hard Rock capped the festivities by putting a digital display on the iconic Guitar Hotel congratulating the Panthers on winning the championship. It's a good bet that Panthers players will celebrate with fans in that building at some point this summer.

THE FLORIDA PANTHERS ARE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Xh88kaSLmr

— Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood (@HardRockHolly) June 25, 2024

Goodnight and good morning from Hockeytown USA. Let's hope winning is contagious.