The Florida Panthers are on the verge of beating the Edmonton Oilers after taking a 3-0 lead in Game 6. One of the most consistent patterns that’s emerged in these five games is Edmonton’s inability to take and hold on to a lead consistently. Meanwhile, the Panthers have almost always taken the lead in the first period. The result? They are now on the cusp of redefining what dominance means in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Chris Jastrzembski, an NHL on TNT researcher, posted about how the Cats are on the verge of breaking a record set by the Oilers’ golden stars. Yes! That same one with icons like Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, and other NHL greats. How, you ask? Well, it all comes down to the time the Panthers have spent holding on to the lead in these five games.

“Should the Panthers not lose the lead tonight, they will have led for 255:49, a Stanley Cup Final record surpassing the 1987 Oilers (250:04),” revealed the NHL analyst. With the Panthers still firmly in the lead as the third period is in its early stages, it’s safe to say the Oilers will need a miracle to stop the defending champions from getting this record.

So what happened? Well, that decisive third period came and went, and the Panthers have wrestled the Oilers’ record away from them. While the Edmonton Oilers did get the better of the Florida Panthers in the second period of Game 4, eliminating Florida’s lead after scoring three unanswered goals, those heroics were completely absent in Game 6 as the Cats shut down everything the Oilers threw at them.

The Panthers marked every man on the Oilers’ offensive and defensive lines as the Canadian NHL team struggled to string together any meaningful passes. Whether it was the McDavid-Drasaitl wombo-combo or 6-on-5, nothing worked. In fact, 6-on-5 turned out to be the disaster that sealed the deal, with the Florida Panthers’ Sam Reinhart scoring two more times, ending his night with 4 goals in Game 6.

Are the Florida Panthers turning into a dynasty?

The Cats didn’t just claim the unique record from the ’87 Oilers side; they did it even better. “And those 87 Oilers did it in 7 games…” Chris Jastrzembski added to his post. Now, that’s a monumental achievement. However, this is far from the only record the Cats have achieved. Several Panthers’ stars, including Brad Marchand, have found themselves among the NHL’s elite.

Brad Marchand joined the Florida Panthers during the March NHL trade deadline. Yet, no one could imagine that the 37-year-old would become so indispensable for the Panthers during the playoffs. With 10 goals in the playoffs, Marchand became the x-factor that won the defending champion some crucial games. Meanwhile, his efforts earned the forward a seat beside the legendary Mario Lemieux.

“Brad Marchand joins Mario Lemieux as the only players in NHL history to score five goals in multiple Stanley Cup Finals in the last 59 years,” The Athletic’s Chris Johnston wrote after Game 5. What’s more? He wasn’t the only star. Sam Bennet led his team and the NHL playoffs in goals, scoring goals, and winning the coveted Conn Smythe Trophy.

Wanna hear more? Well, Florida Panthers star Anton Lundell became the player to notch the most career Stanley Cup Final assists before his 24th birthday, after earning his 12th assist in Game 6. Unfortunately, it’s not all good news for this budding dynasty. Marchand, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad are set to become free agents on July 1. Yet, whatever the future holds, it’s going to be hard to beat the record they created in Game 6.