Tag: 2024 Stanley Cup

Kyle Okposo finally getting his Stanley Cup victory skate after the Panthers won was so wholesome

Okay, this was so cool to see for Kyle Okposo.

It’s always fantastic to see a beloved veteran player who has never won a championship finally get their moment in the sun.

That time came for Florida Panthers winger Kyle Okposo on Monday night as his team won the 2024 Stanley Cup Final over the Edmonton Oilers in a 2-1 Game 7 victory in front of the home crowd.

The 36-year-old Okposo has been in the NHL since 2008 after being drafted in 2006 and spent the majority of his NHL career with the New York Islanders and the Buffalo Sabres.

His first season with Florida cast him as one of the team’s elder statemen, and it proved to be worthwhile as he finally got a chance to skate on the ice and hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup in victory as his teammates cheered him on.

For a hockey player, this is the pinnacle of your career. for Okposo, he’s waited 16 years to finally get his chance at tasting a Stanley Cup win.

Seeing him get his victorious stake with the trophy is just beyond cool to see.

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Why Connor McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy after the Oilers lost the 2024 Stanely Cup Final

Connor McDavid won the Conn Smythe without the Stanley Cup to go with it. Here’s why.

Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid wasn’t able to hoist the Stanley Cup on Monday night but winning the 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy is a pretty good consolation prize.

Per NHL analyst Frank Seravalli, McDavid became the first NHL player since 1976 to win the trophy without his team taking home the Stanley Cup, as Reggie Leach of the Philadelphia Flyers accomplished the same feat nearly a half a decade ago.

While the Oilers went home without the series win, the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the player with the best performance over the entire playoffs, not just the Stanley Cup Final.

McDavid pretty easily was the best player on the ice throughout this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, which paved the way for his earning the trophy.

It’s just the tough luck of the draw that his team wasn’t able to totally match what he was able to accomplish.

McDavid will have more time in his career to push for a Stanley Cup, but adding the Conn Smythe to his record is nothing to shake a hockey stick at.

We’ll see in the future if the elite hockey star is able to win both the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup in one fell swoop.

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Meet Brodie, the very good dog who got a front-row seat to Game 7 of the 2024 Stanely Cup Final

This is the best Stanley Cup boy ever.

If you were watching Game 7 of this year’s Stanley Cup in Miami between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, you might’ve noticed a big dog sitting right by the glass.

Who is that dog, you might ask? Have you seen this dog before? Well, as it turns out, you probably have.

The very good dog in question at Monday night’s Stanley Cup game is Brodie the Goldendoodle, who has attended sporting events in the past.

His Instagram (@brodiethatdood) stories on Monday showed that Brodie was indeed the dog sitting by the rink with his owner, taking in the exciting hockey festivities.

 

In fact, Brodie has gotten into a dance battle at a Los Angeles Lakers game while sitting courtside (in his owner’s lap).

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1CmXXPOidP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

No matter who won Monday night’s Game 7 for Lord Stanley’s Cup, it’s clear that Brodie is the real winner for being a very good boy.

Maybe someone will fill the Stanley Cup with water and let Brodie take a few drinks of it for being the best pup?

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Connor McDavid made an absolutely unbelievable pass to set up a Corey Perry Game 5 Oilers goal

Connor McDavid isn’t of this world.

Edmonton Oilers superstar center Connor McDavid made one of the sharpest moves of his career on Tuesday night to set up teammate Corey Perry for a goal during Game 5 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

McDavid navigated staunch defense from the Florida Panthers to weave his way down the ice and set up Perry for the goal with an absolutely outrageous assist in front of the net.

When people talk about McDavid as an all-time talent down the road, this is one of the plays that’s going to come up in his career highlight reel.

It just shows what a generational distributor of the puck he is outside of his excellent scoring prowess.

For Edmonton fans, this is the kind of play you’ll want plenty more of in the years to come.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Connor McDavid scored his first Stanley Cup Final goal and broke a Wayne Gretzky record in the same night

That Connor McDavid is sure good at hockey.

The Edmonton Oilers are still alive in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, and superstar Connor McDavid is a big reason why.

The electric center scored the first goal of this Stanely Cup series on Saturday night during Game 4 in front of the Edmonton crowd.

He also managed to set a new record for assists during a single NHL postseason with 32, passing Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky’s 31 assists on the leaderboard.

Edmonton’s 8-1 victory over the Florida Panthers saved the Oilers from elimination, and getting to see more playoff hockey from McDavid is a win for us all. Seeing so much happen for him in a night is just icing on the cake.

While the Panthers still have very good odds of winning it all with the series headed back to Florida, McDavid and the Oilers can point to Saturday night as proof enough that they can still hang in there and make this competitive.

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Oilers’ Warren Foegele sported the most unexpected Kobe Bryant tribute ahead of Game 4

Warren Foegele wanted to channel the Mamba ahead of Game 4.

Edmonton Oilers forward Warren Foegele made the most unlikely Kobe Bryant tribute ahead of Saturday’s Game 4 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

With the Oilers entering an elimination game, Foegele needed all the good vibes he could muster to help get his team’s first win of the championship series.

In order to add a spark to his game, he wore a shirt that featured a photo of Bryant wearing a Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers jersey on it.

That’s a heck of a way to motivate yourself to play some hockey and pay tribute to an all-time athlete in the process, as honoring Bryant rocking your team’s jersey (your team’s all-time best player at that) has to get your blood pumping in the best way possible.

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Sean McDonough’s muted Game 3 broadcast call had NHL fans wondering if he was sick

Was Sean McDonagh sick during ESPN’s Stanley Cup Final broadcast of Game 3 on Thursday night?

ESPN broadcaster Sean McDonough’s announcing during Game 3 of this year’s Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night sounded a bit off.

On this Florida Panthers goal, you can hear McDonough’s muted call that doesn’t carry the enthusiasm we’re typically used to when it comes to listening to the regular broadcaster.

McDonough is a pro’s pro, which is why he didn’t suddenly forget to bring his A-game to calling a championship series. It’s very possible that McDonough was under the weather and was powering through Game 3’s broadcast.

Something was off, and it’s not hard to imagine that McDonough was battling some sort of ailment with his dampened delivery on the game call.

NHL fans noticed something wasn’t right with McDonough and wondered if he had some sort of bug.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Panthers coach Paul Maurice hysterically thanked the Oilers fans booing his team ahead of Game 3

The Edmonton boos didn’t seem to bother Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice.

The Edmonton Oilers weren’t too thrilled to host the Florida Panthers on Thursday night as the 2024 Stanley Cup entered Game 3 with Florida holding a 2-0 series lead.

The Oilers fans in attendance for the night’s home game gave the Panthers a healthy dose of boos before the game, and Panthers coach Paul Maurice didn’t seem to mind all the jeers for his hockey club.

Maurice waved at the hostile Edmonton fans and said, “thank you,” which is just the best and most hilarious way to silence the boo birds.

The Stanley Cup will bring out the boos for the competition every night, so you can’t help but respect Maurice for his very funny response for it.

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Charles Barkley accidentally dropped an f-bomb while being interviewed during Stanley Cup

Charles Barkley!

NBA great and broadcaster Charles Barkley was having a great time appearing on Stanley Cup broadcasts during Game 2 between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers on Monday night.

Well, Barkley might’ve had a little too much fun during an appearance on Hockey Night in Canada while being interviewed.

The Inside the NBA co-host accidentally dropped an f-bomb during the broadcast while discussing him picking the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup. He quickly apologized, but it still made for every funny television.

Sure, an accidental f-bomb is not great for the Sportsnet broadcast, but it was an absolute delight to all of those at home who had no idea Barkley was about to swear on live television.

While we can’t advise anyone to follow in Barkley’s footsteps during their own Stanley Cup interview one day, we did enjoy this clip immensely.

Some NSFW language to follow: 

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Fans loved Charles Barkley talking hockey during surprise Stanley Cup broadcast appearance

Charles Barkley talking hockey during the Stanley Cup is as good as you’d hope.

When you think about Stanley Cup coverage, you usually don’t think about Charles Barkley.

However, the former NBA player-turned-broadcaster made a surprise appearance during coverage of Monday’s Game 2 against the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.

Barkley appeared alongside P.K. Subban, Steve Levy and Mark Messier during one of ABC’s period breaks to talk about the game and have some fun in the process with the three NHL media personalities.

During Barkley’s appearance, he told a very funny story about how Messier “owes” him $5,000 and trolled his Inside the NBA pal Shaquille O’Neal on how Barkley prefers hanging out with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Barkey’s infectious personality was a great fit for the Stanley Cup broadcast, and fans loved seeing him out of his element and still having a blast.

 

 

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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