SUNRISE, Fla. — There was no collapse. The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions for the first time, and they took about the hardest path possible to the title.

Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves and the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Monday night in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It was the third title-round appearance in Florida’s 30-year history; it was swept in 1996 by Colorado and routed 4-1 by Vegas last season.

This time, they were on the right side of history — after avoiding what would have been a historic collapse. The Panthers won the first three games of the series, then lost the next three and needed a win on Monday to avoid joining the 1942 Detroit Red Wings as the only teams to lose the final after taking a 3-0 lead in the title round.

“It’s not what I thought it would be,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s so much better.”

It wasn’t easy. Not even close. But it’s done.

“It’s heavy,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said, after he took the celebratory first lap with the Cup.

But not too heavy. Barkov handed it to Bobrovsky and the celebration was on. It took until the very end for the Panthers to deny Connor McDavid his first title, and Edmonton what would have been its first Cup since 1990.

McDavid won the Conn Smythe as MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He didn’t come out for the trophy. It’s not the one he wanted, anyway. The Cup is what they play for, and it was Florida that hoisted it.

“It’s not a dream anymore. It’s not a dream. It’s reality,” said Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who got traded to Florida two summers ago with this as his goal. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. … I can’t believe how good these two years have been. So thankful for this group of guys. It’s the best place, best guys. It’s something really special here with what we have.”

Mattias Janmark had the goal for Edmonton and Stuart Skinner stopped 19 shots for the Oilers. The Oilers also couldn’t snap Canada’s title drought; it’s been 1993 and counting since a team based in Canada won the Cup.

Montreal was the last to do so, 30 seasons ago. Since then, there have been seven attempts by teams from Canadian-based cities — Vancouver in 1994 and 2011, Calgary in 2004, the Oilers in 2006, Ottawa in 2007 and the Canadiens in 2021 — to win titles, and all were in vain.

South Florida now has one of everything when it comes to titles from the four major pro sports leagues in the U.S. The Miami Dolphins were champions twice, the then-Florida Marlins were champions twice, the Miami Heat have three titles and now the Panthers have joined the party.

Welcome, Stanley. The Panthers have been waiting. Maurice hoisted the Cup by the bench, closed his eyes tight to control the emotion and let out a yell. General manager Bill Zito didn’t bother even trying to not let the yell out. And in the stands, Tkachuk’s family — his father, Keith, never won a Cup — reveled in the moment, knowing their surname will soon be on Lord Stanley.

“This is for them,” Tkachuk said.

Bobrovsky was as cool as could be, even in the biggest moments. Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard had a good look from the right circle with about 14 seconds left in the second period; Bobrovsky blocked the shot, and the puck bounced off him and into the air.

No problem. Bobrovsky took his stick and batted the puck away again, more like he was playing morning pickleball at a park than in the biggest game of his life — literally, the last line of defense against the Oilers, and against a piece of history that the Panthers desperately fought to avoid.

Florida led this title series 3-0, then got outscored 18-5 in Games 4, 5 and 6 to waste three chances at winning the Cup. Edmonton was one win away from becoming the second team in NHL history to win the Cup after dropping the first three games; Toronto did it to Detroit in 1942, and no team has pulled off such a comeback since.

They brought in seven-time Grammy winner Alanis Morissette — she was born in Canada and became a dual U.S. citizen in 2005 — to sing the national anthems. Hardly anybody could hear her; the Oilers fans drowned her out for “O Canada,” the Panthers fans did the same for “The Star-Spangled Banner.” They had Panthers legend Roberto Luongo bang the ceremonial bass drum after that; he urged fans to “let’s go” with an extra word in there that needed to be bleeped a few times.

“I just can’t believe we did it,” Barkov said.

The pregame was raucous. The stage was set.

And the teams came out absolutely ablaze.

The Panthers got the first goal just 4:27 into the game when Verhaeghe waved his stick at the puck that was fired in from the left side by Evan Rodrigues and got just enough to redirect it past Skinner for a 1-0 lead — the first Florida lead since the end of Game 3.

They waited more than a week to be back on top. They stayed there for just over two minutes.

Janmark got behind the Florida defense and beat Bobrovsky over the right shoulder at 6:44, knotting things right back up and ensuring that this Game 7 of the final — like all 17 of the previous such games — wouldn’t end 1-0.

It stayed that way through wild ebbs and flows — the Oilers controlled long stretches, the Panthers would counter, back and forth — until Reinhart scored late in the second to put Florida up 2-1. It capped a crazy sequence, one where Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov wound up in the net to help prevent an Edmonton goal seconds before Reinhart beat Skinner. The goal was Reinhart’s 67th of the season, extending his Florida single-season record, and it was up to the Panthers to make it hold up.

Florida was an NHL-best 44-0-3 entering Monday when leading after two periods this season. An NHL-best 85-2-6 in that situation in the two seasons under coach Maurice, too.

They slammed the door, one last time. And the Cup was their reward.

“This is the best moment of my life so far,” veteran Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “Nothing tops it.”

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A woman who works as a St. Paul firefighter has been missing since she left her South St. Paul residence Sunday, police said Monday, asking for the public’s help to find her.

South St. Paul police have been working “alongside the family to locate Gloria and bring her home,” the department said in a social media post about Gloria Clausen, 38. “With permission from the family, we are sharing some information about her struggle and are seeking your help.”

Gloria Clausen (Courtesy of the South St. Paul Police Department)

Clausen is suicidal and known to frequent parks, bridges and wildlife areas, police said in a public alert. She left her residence early Sunday in a 2008 white Honda Pilot with Minnesota license plate EHU489. Clausen is white, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 165 pounds and has brown/blonde hair.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter shared the St. Paul firefighter union’s post about Clausen being missing and wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Monday: “We join our St. Paul Fire Department, and family and friends of SPFD firefighter/EMT Gloria Clausen in praying for her well-being and safe return.”

Anyone who sees Clausen or her vehicle is asked to call 911, and anyone with information should contact South St. Paul police at 651-413-8300 during business hours or 911 after hours.

People who are in crisis can call 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or text “Home” to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. MnFIRE has a 24-hour hotline for any Minnesota firefighter who is in crisis or needs help at 888-784-6634.

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After Susanna Parent’s bag was stolen June 18, 2024, from her vehicle in St. Paul, including her 10-month-old son’s baby book, she was grateful when staff at the Wilder Foundation found it and contacted her. She got the baby book back. (Courtesy of Susanna Parents)

A bag stolen from an Inver Grove Heights woman’s vehicle didn’t have money or credit cards in it, but a book inside was irreplaceable.

It was Susanna Parent’s 10-month-old son’s baby book, which included ultrasound photos, his newborn footprints and more. “I was devasted,” she said Monday.

Some people told Parent she should be hopeful and maybe it would turn up. “That was something I wanted to believe in, but didn’t really think would be a reality,” she said.

But it was.

Staff at the Wilder Foundation in St. Paul — near the site of the theft — found Parent’s bag, which was discarded by their loading dock, and the baby book was still inside. They used information from inside the bag to track down Parent.

The theft happened last Tuesday morning, when Parent brought her 4-year-old to a swimming lesson off University Avenue and Lexington Parkway in St. Paul. She locked a passenger door, believing that she was locking all the doors, but it turned out the other doors were unlocked.

Parent later realized her laptop bag had been stolen from her vehicle. She hadn’t brought her laptop with her that day (there was nothing of monetary value in the bag), but she and her daughter had been working that morning on filling out her youngest son’s baby book and it was in the bag. She filed a police report.

“I was just hoping and praying that somehow, someway it would get returned,” she said. “I knew it would have been a miracle for it to actually turn up.”

Letters that Parent had received were in her bag. Two front desk employees at the Wilder Foundation, Connie and Pazao, found Parent’s information on the envelopes. They tried sending messages to Parent and her husband on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Wilder’s property administrator, Tammi, searched Parent’s name online and discovered she’s a freelance writer. That helped her locate an email address.

Parent received an email telling her they’d found her bag, and Parent wrote back. She went to the Wilder Foundation, brought pastries as a “thank you” and met the people who’d helped her. Tammi asked that the workers only be identified by their first names.

“What my experience has shown me is … there are people out there that have good intentions and they will go out of their way in order to bless someone and in order to help someone else’s day be better,” Parent said.

Preventing theft from vehicles

There were 675 cases of theft from vehicles reported in St. Paul as of Monday, compared with 703 in the same time period last year, according to St. Paul Police Department data.

Police recommend that people:

Lock their vehicles.
Don’t leave items inside vehicles or ensure items are not visible from the outside.
Park in well-lit areas.

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Minnesota locked up its head coach for the foreseeable future on Monday, inking Chris Finch to a four-year extension.

The Timberwolves announced the agreement as a “multi-year” deal. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi revealed the exact length. Finch is signed with the Wolves through the 2027-28 campaign.

“I’d like to thank Glen, Becky, and the entire organization for their continued support and commitment to me and the team,” Finch said in a statement. “I’m proud of the way we’ve been able to establish a great culture here with the Timberwolves, and I look forward to continuing to lead this organization and make our fans proud.”

Finch — who took over the team in the middle of the 2020-21 campaign — is fresh off guiding Minnesota to its first Western Conference Finals appearance in 20 years. In three full seasons with Finch at the helm, the Wolves have yet to miss the playoffs.

In his tenure, he has overseen the development of Anthony Edwards from rookie to superstardom. He has succeeded with multiple different roster constructions, most recently maneuvering Minnesota’s “big ball” approach — which required tact to thrive on both ends of the floor — to a 56-win campaign.

Over the final 46 games of the 2021-22 campaign, the Wolves sported the NBA’s top offensive rating under Finch. This season, they touted what many felt was a historically good defense. The coach has shown himself to be adaptable to the personnel around him.

Finch has also proven to be a leader who will be up front and honest with every player, from Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns on down, which creates a roster-wide respect for the bench boss.

Finch and his staff — a tight-knit group that’s largely remained the same since Finch’s first offseason on the job — coached the Western Conference all-star team last season and finished third in NBA Coach of the Year voting. At this point, he’s as much a part of the team’s long-term core as Edwards.

The coach ruptured his patellar tendon in Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs after colliding with guard Mike Conley on the sidelines, which forced him to a second-row seat for the remainder of the postseason. He’s fully expected to again be stalking the sidelines at the start of next season.

“Chris is a wonderful coach, and an even better person,” Wolves basketball boss Tim Connelly said in a statement. “We are thrilled that he is being rewarded with a well-earned extension. Under his guidance the team has improved every year, he’s the perfect leader for our organization.”