Panthers on verge of playoff infamy, as Oilers force Game 7 of Stanley Cup Final: Best memes, tweets (2024)

The goal for any team is to win the championship. The last thing you want to do is lose. But perhaps the worst thing possible is to lose in a way that any fan will remember for a long time.

The Atlanta Falcons are continually reminded of blowing a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots in their Super 51 loss. The New York Yankees fanbase will never forget the 2004 team blowing a 3-0 lead in the ALCS and losing in seven games. They are in playoff infamy. The Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Florida Panthers are close to becoming the latest team to join that group of teams that blew a seemingly insurmountable lead.

Since June 13, the Panthers were one victory away from winning the Stanley Cup Final. They looked to be on the verge of hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time in franchise history, while the Edmonton Oilers looked to be destined to be swept. Then, the seemingly unthinkable happened -- the Oilers bounced back.

On Friday night, the Oilers beat the Panthers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. With that, the series is tied at three games apiece, and there will be a winner-take-all Game 7 on Monday night.

Let's just say that social media wasn't taking it easy on the Panthers. They are on the verge of becoming just the fifth team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead and lose.

The last time a team overcame a 0-3 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final and won it all was back in 1942 when the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings to win it all. The Oilers look to become the second NHL team ever to accomplish this feat in the Stanley Cup Final.

Edmonton has carried the momentum ever since blowing out Florida 8-1 in Game 4. Then, they won a thrilling Game 5 by a 5-3 margin. Now, they picked up a decisive Game 6 win.

Warren Foegele got things started for the Oilers by scoring over seven minutes into the game on a snap shot assisted by Leon Draisaitl and Brett Kulak.

Once the second period began, Adam Henrique made it 2-0 for Edmonton after Adam Henrique put a feed from Mattias Janmark in the back of the net 46 seconds into the second period.

The Panthers seemingly cut their deficit to 2-1 on a goal from Aleksander Barkov not too long after. But after a review and a challenge from Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch, replay officials determined that Sam Reinhart was offside while Carter Verhaege carried the puck into the offensive zone. With that, Barkov's goal was negated.

Not too long afterward, Zach Hyman scored on a breakaway opportunity to put Edmonton ahead 3-0 near the end of the second period.

While Barkov would get his goal back in the third period, it wasn't enough to spur a comeback by the Panthers. Instead, after Panthers head coach Paul Maurice pulled goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for an extra skater with over three minutes left in regulation, Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse scored empty-net goals in succession to put the Oilers up 5-1.

Now, the series heads back to Sunrise, Fla., for Game 7. For the Panthers, they face two situations -- either they win the Stanley Cup on their home ice in front of their fans or suffer one of the biggest chokes in playoff history and watch the Oilers celebrate. That is what they are facing, and now have to wait until Monday for the decisive Game 7.