Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; The Edmonton Oilers look on from the bench in the final minutes of game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Florida Panthers extended Canada's agonizing Stanley Cup drought to 32 years with a 5-1 win over Edmonton in Game Six on Tuesday, a second straight Finals defeat for the Oilers which left their fans devastated and players searching for answers.
It was the eighth time a Canadian team reached the Finals but fell short since the Montreal Canadiens won the NHL championship in 1993.
It was also the second Finals in a row that the Panthers beat the Oilers, who became the first team to lose back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals since the Boston Bruins in 1977-1978.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid, arguably the best player in the league, said his team had given everything in the best-of-seven series.
"Nobody quit, nobody threw the towel in," he added. "They're a heck of a team. They're Stanley Cup champions back-to-back for a reason.
"Never really able to generate any momentum up the ice. We kept trying the same thing over and over again, banging our heads against the wall," he told reporters.
"Still a lot of confidence and belief. I don't think people thought we were going to make it this far - we obviously believed. Came up just short again," added McDavid, who last year won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.
From "the Great One" Wayne Gretzky to Mark "the Moose" Messier and "Mr. Hockey" himself, Gordie Howe, the proud sons of the Great White North have created ice hockey lore to last generations.
The Canadian men's and women's teams have won 14 Olympic gold medals between them, yet the country's NHL sides continually fail to get their hands on the trophy.
The Oilers had home advantage in the series despite an injury-plagued season but that mattered little to the Panthers, who won seven of their last eight games on the road.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner, who got the nod over Calvin Pickard for Game Six, said the Oilers had to find out what went wrong.
"We need to learn from this right away, right now. Letting it happen two times in a row is devastating," he said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney struck an optimistic tone on social media, as he rallied his compatriots to keep faith.
"Proud of the Oilers' grit. Proud of the guys for getting us to this moment. Heads high," Carney wrote. "Next year."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
