Stanley Cup Final: Florida Panthers Sergei Bobrovsky is fans' choice for MVP | D'Angelo

SUNRISE — Rats rained down on the Amerant Bank Arena ice.

Hockey sticks and gloves headed in the opposite direction, toward the heavens, as the buzzer sounded.

Every member of the Florida Panthers, those on the ice and those hopping the boards, headed toward goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as a deafening, Richter-scale worthy roar filled the arena.

The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions by virtue of their 2-1 Game 7 victory over the Edmonton Oilers Monday because they did everything they had not done in the previous three games.

They scored first. They shut down the explosive Edmonton offense. They were the more aggressive team. They received goals from two stars — Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart — who previously were missing in action for this series.

And their goaltender rediscovered his touch.

Fans displeased with McDavid winning MVP

The only thing that put a temporary damper on the post-game celebration was when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Edmonton superstar Connor McDavid was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, just the sixth player in NHL history to be named MVP of the playoffs from the losing team.

McDavid, of course, was not coming onto the ice to be serenaded by boos, not to mention skate around the hundreds of rats, to pick up that trophy.

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But those boos directed at the commissioner soon evaporated, turning into chants of "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby," the Panther faithful making clear their choice for the award.

The ear-piercing cheers continued as captain Aleksander Barkov lifted the cup and give it a ride around the ice. What the captain did next was symbolic.

He handed the trophy to Bobrovsky.

"That's the dream come true," Bobrovsky said. "So many times you visualize this moment and see it from different angles, different perspectives and in real life, it's a lot better."

Was Barkov seeking out Bobrovsky as the second man to skate with the cup a message?

Hell, yes it was.

"I think everyone knew it was going to go to him," Barkov said. "He deserved it. He's been incredible for his whole career and finally … he deserves it."

Nobody was more appreciated during the postgame bedlam than the the 35-year-old, 14-year veteran goalie on his third team. He remained largely on one end of the ice during the chaotic hour following the game with family and friends, posing for enough photos to fill an iCloud. He was just feet from his office (at least for the first and third periods) and where the celebration began after he stopped 23-of-24 shots.

And he had to go back 11 days to appreciate what was in front of him.

"Three losses wasn't easy," said Bobrovsky, who allowed one goal in the first two games and was pulled in Game 4 after allowing five goals on 16 shots.

"But to become a true champion you have to overcome adversity and that was pretty good adversity, the Stanley Cup Final you lose three in a row. But we found it. We've been down before. We found a way to get out of this."

Bobrovsky and his teammates were complimentary of McDavid, who rightfully earned the award that goes to the MVP of the entire playoffs and not just the Stanley Cup Final. While he recorded eight points in Games 4 and 5 against Florida, he was shut out in the final two games with just two shots on goal, both in Game 7.

But McDavid had eight goals and 34 assists in 25 playoff games, joining Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as the only players to record more than 40 points in a single playoff.

"He's an unbelievable player and he got the record," Bobrovsky said. "He brought them to that point and I'm happy for him.

"At the end of the day it's about only one trophy that's important, we have it."

"Bobby, Bobby, Bobby" chants deep into the night

As Bobrovsky said this, fans started chanting his name again, for about the 1,823rd time this season.

He was able to then reflect on what this support has meant, especially after taking more shots off the ice following Games 4-6 than he did on the slick surface.

"I appreciate them for the whole playoff, the whole season," he said. "I start hearing my name in warmups and sometimes after goals (he allowed) they are cheering my name."

Again, more than an hour after the final horn, after the rats all had been scooped up, after the obligatory team photo with the Stanley Cup and after the franchise had a Zamboni-sized weight lifted from its shoulders those chants started up once more as Bobrovsky skated along the glass to acknowledge the fans.

"Bob's been through it all," said Verhaeghe, whose goal 4:27 into the game gave the Panthers their first lead since the end of Game 3. "He played so well. We don't have a chance without him back there. He's our backbone."

The Panthers made history.

And more importantly, they avoided history.

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Because a loss would have been cataclysmic, in a sports sense, and something difficult to overcome for the foreseeable future.

But instead of being the first team to blow a 3-0 Stanley Cup Final lead in more than eight decades, Florida now is the first team in 79 years to capture the most iconic trophy in sports after seeing that 3-0 series lead turned into a 3-3 deadlock, forcing an anything-can-happen Game 7.

And nobody on the Panthers had more at risk Tuesday when it came to legacy than the man they call "Bob."

Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf writer for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Sergei Bobrovsky saves legacy in Panthers' Stanley Cup win over Oilers