Sam Reinhart’s 4-Goal Performance in Game 6 Propels Panthers to Back-to-Back Stanley Cup Triumph

The Florida Panthers clinched their 2nd successive Stanley Cup as Sam Reinhart scored 4 goals in his team's 5-1 win in Game 6.

Sam Reinhart’s 4-Goal Performance in Game 6 Propels Panthers to Back-to-Back Stanley Cup Triumph

Sam Reinhart (Image via Instagram/@nhl)

The Florida Panthers are once again Stanley Cup champions. The Eastern Conference side defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 with a 4-goal performance from Sam Reinhart to repeat as champions and break the hearts of their opponents once again.

Following a 5-2 win in Game 5, the Panthers entered the game on Tuesday knowing that the cup was within touching distance for them. Reinhart, who scored the game winner in Game 7 last year, once again turned out to be the hero for his team in a cup-clinching game.

He opened the scoring in this game after stealing the puck from Evan Bouchard and skating past Mattias Ekholm before tucking away the puck past Stuart Skinner. His side doubled their advantage in the final minute of the 1st period through Matthew Tkachuk.

Reinhart’s 2nd goal was a bit fortunate as Aleksander Barkov‘s shot deflected off his body and went in past Skinner in the net. With around 7 minutes remaining, the Oilers decided to pull out the goaltender and leave the net empty.

This move did not work out well, as Reinhart managed to sneak in two empty-netters from long-range shots to make it 5-0. Vasily Podkolzin did tap in one from close range and denied the Panthers a shutout win. The 29-year-old Panthers’ star is now just the 2nd player after Babe Dye to score 4 goals in a Stanley Cup clinching game.

Sam Reinhart replicates Wayne Gretzky’s incredible record following 4-goal showing against Oilers

Sam Reinhart stole the show on Tuesday night as the Florida Panthers thumped the Edmonton Oilers for a 2nd successive season to win the cup. With his 4-goal showing, he tied a record which was last accomplished by “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky.

Wayne Gretzky and Sam Reinhart
Wayne Gretzky and Sam Reinhart (Image via Imago/X/@TheSabreReport)

Reinhart’s 4 goals against the Oilers in Game 6 took his series tally to 7 goals. This is the most amount of goals ever scored by a player in Stanley Cup Final history.

Gretzky was the last one to do it in 1985. The Canadian international scored 7 goals in the series against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Reinhart now joins Gretzky, Jean Beliveau (for the Montreal Canadiens in 1956), and Mike Bossy (for the New York Islanders in 1982) as the only other players to have scored 7 goals in a Stanley Cup final series. He eventually finished the 2024-25 playoffs with 11 goals and 12 assists (23 points) in 21 games.

Wayne Gretzky jokes about Sam Reinhart tying his record following Stanley Cup final

The Stanley Cup will remain in Florida for another year as the Panthers successfully defended their crown against the Edmonton Oilers. Following the game, former Oilers captain Wayne Gretzky made a hilarious joke regarding Sam Reinhart tying his record.

Sam Reinhart and Wayne Gretzky
Sam Reinhart and Wayne Gretzky (Image via X/@BR_OpenIce/Imago)

Reinhart became the first player after Gretzky to score 7 goals in the SCF series. While reacting to this, the NHL Hall of Famer jokingly claimed that all his records were dropping likes flies this year.

My records this year are dropping like flies, Eddie O.

Gretzky’s name came up several times this year as Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin kept chasing him for the most goals scored record of all time. In April, the Russian international finally overtook Gretzky at 895 goals and became the highest goal scorer in league history. Despite that, Gretzky still has several more records intact.

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