It’s time for the NHL’s biggest stage.
The Florida Panthers head to the Edmonton Oilers for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at 8 p.m. ET at Rogers Place. Tonight begins the Panthers’ quest as repeat Stanley Cup champions, looking to do the same as Tampa Bay in 2020 and 2021.
Florida has only lost two road games through the entire postseason, when it fell in Games 1 and 2 at the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the playoffs. Obviously, Florida stormed back to take that round in a thrilling seven-game series.
Leon Draisaitl started the party just 66 seconds into the game. And he ended it with 31 seconds left in overtime.
The Edmonton Oilers secured a much-needed Game 1 victory over the Florida Panthers to start the Stanley Cup Finals. The Oilers crawled back from a 3-1 deficit in the second period, with Mattias Ekholm tying the game in the third frame.
Neither team could pull away at the end of regulation, forcing a sudden-death overtime. The Panthers initially had the upper-hand to start the bonus hockey frame, before Edmonton took over. With a tired Florida squad on an extended shift, Tomas Nosek flipped the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty with 1:43 left in OT.
That put the Oilers on the man-advantage, and Draisaitl took advantage, finally, after Connor McDavid had a nice feed across the ice.
Game 2 stays in Edmonton, scheduled for June 6 at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local time in Edmonton).
On the power play, Leon Draisaitl skated in late through the zone and got a pass from Connor McDavid below the goal line. With Florida down a player and playing a little aggressive on the penalty kill, Draisaitl was wide open and hit the back of the net with just 31 seconds left.
Edmonton takes a 1-0 series lead over the Panthers.
Tomas Nosek flipped the puck out of the playing area from his own defensive zone without hitting the glass, and that’s a delay of game penalty.
Florida will be on the penalty kill for the remainder of the OT period.
With 6:20 left in the OT period, Aaron Ekblad leads all skaters with 30 minutes and 49 seconds of ice time. Gustav Forsling isn’t far behind at 30 minutes and 31 seconds. Next up are Sam Reinhart (27:54), Seth Jones (27:45) and Aleksander Barkov (25:14).
The ice is being scraped after the stoppage for a TV timeout, giving both teams a little breather a bit past the midway mark of this overtime period.
Edmonton appears to have a slight advantage in the last few minutes after the Panthers were on the offensive to start the bonus period.
A cross-ice pass to Trent Frederic, and Sergei Bobrovsky made an incredible sliding save with the puck bouncing off his pads. Florida iced the puck with 10:49 left in OT to get a much-needed breather.
Edmonton nearly found the game-winner after Kasperi Kapenen some how split two defenders and still got a got off right in front of Sergei Bobrovsky, but he hit the wrong side of the right post and this one continues.
It’s not sure when he came back to the bench, but Jonah Gadjovich is on the ice for the Panthers in overtime.
Florida has had a few shots on net to start the frame. Edmonton it shot-less almost three minutes into the period and haven’t been able to get much out of the zone.
Stuart Skinner did make a nice save to start the period, and Florida’s been on the front foot ever since.
All five members of the TNT crew made their game-winning goal predictions. Paul Bissonnette initially selected Edmonton defenseman John Klingberg, before he allowed Henrik Lundqvist to have the pick.
Bissonnette quickly switched his pick Edmonton forward Corey Perry. Wayne Gretzky, who just predicted how the Oilers’ game-tying goal would come, voted for forward Trent Frederic.
Anson Carter gave two answers. If it’s the Oilers, he chose Connor McDavid. If it’s the Panthers, he said Carter Verhaeghe. Liam McHugh claimed Carter “stole” his answer, referring to Verhaeghe.
During the second intermission, NHL legend Wayne Gretzky said just exactly how the Oilers needed to score, especially using Connor McDavid.
“Connor’s going to have to take it around the net, or stop … and hit the late guy (trailing in),” Gretzky said in the intermission.
That’s exactly what Edmonton’s captain did, hitting a streaking Ekholm in the third period.
The Florida Panthers have only had one overtime game in the 2025 playoffs so far. It was during Game 3 of the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs, when the Panthers were victorious, 5-4. That started a small streak of three wins to truly take the advantage in the series.
During the regular season, Florida was 10-4 in overtime.
Edmonton has won three overtime games in the playoffs, including one against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, and then twice against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round. The OT win over the Kings was at home, while the two against the Golden Knights were both on the road.
Edmonton, in the regular season, was 12-5.
After Edmonton tied the game following Mattias Ekholm’s goal, the Oilers remained on the offensive throughout the period but just couldn’t find the back of the net.
Florida was held to just three shots in the third period, while Edmonton ran the table.
Up next? A 20-minute, sudden-death period. Whoever scores first will take a much-needed Game 1 to set the tone for the rest of the series.
Florida, through 18 minutes of the third period, has only recorded two shots on net in the frame. It’s been all Oilers, so to speak, so far. Edmonton, on the opposite end, has had 13 shots, putting Bobrovsky on double duty late in this one.
This one has been tightly contested in a chippy end of the game. The Oilers nearly had a chance with 5:36 left on a bouncing puck, but Sergei Bobrovsky was able to scoop up the puck.
Bobrovsky is now 28-for-31 in the crease, marking a .903 save percentage. Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner has stopped 23 of 26 shots (.885).
Connor McDavid made a nice pass below the goal line through the slot (that somehow got by four or five players in front of the net), and a screened Sergei Bobrovsky never saw the puck. Mattias Ekholm had the one-timer that it the back of the net with 13:27 left in the third period.
That was a quick 47 seconds. The Panthers return to full strength unscathed after the high-sticking penalty from Evan Rodrigues.
A combined 58 hits from both teams, with Edmonton on the slight advantage (33-28) over Florida. And a combined 45 shots between the teams, with the Panthers up, 24-22, over the Oilers. Both teams have blocked 11 shots apiece.
This has definitely been a physical game plus a skilled game between two lethal offenses. Will this set the tone for the rest of the series?
Florida is, as of now, 20 minutes away from taking a crucial lead in the Stanley Cup Finals series against Edmonton, especially on the road.
Following one goal from both teams, the Florida Panthers remain on top after 40 minutes of play. It’s still a physical game with plenty of quality shots and offensive chances.
Florida will have to kill 47 seconds of the Evan Rodrigues penalty to start the the third period.
Perhaps it saved a clear opportunity, but Evan Rodrigues’ stick hit the face of Leon Draisaitl on a breakaway, resulting in a two-minute minor penalty. The Panthers, with 1:13 left in the second frame, will go on the penalty kill for the third time (after the 4-on-3 then the 5-on-4).
This penalty, barring no goals in the first portion of this man-advantage, will spill into the third period.
Game 1 has allowed both Stuart Skinner and Sergei Bobrovsky to show off some nice second-chance saves, as well as some screened-shot saves. Despite it being a 3-2 game toward the end of the second period, both goalies have double-digit saves.
In between the two quick goals from Bennett and Arvidsson, Jonah Gadjovich was seen headed down the tunnel into the locker room. Social media noted that Gadjovich might’ve taken a puck to the body, but no further news has been shared since the initial shot showed him.
For right now, the Panthers will be running with 11 forwards. Florida was already without AJ Greer tonight, with Jesper Boqvist taking his spot on the fourth line. Gadjovich is the second fourth-liner down now for Florida.
A slap shot through Sergei Bobrovsky’s five-hole just one minute, 17 seconds after Bennett’s goal, and the Oilers are back within one goal. That’s the second time this game there have been quick back-to-back goals.
Sam Bennett, streaking up the center of the ice, got a nice pass from Nate Schmidt on a rush from the Panthers. After a nifty deke from Bennett, he got a shot that hit the top corner of the net past Stuart Skinner.
Panthers lead, 3-1, just two minutes into the period.
Bennett, with his 12th postseason goal this season, has broken the Panthers’ franchise record.
The TNT crew said Sergei Bobrovsky is “locked in” after the first period. An updated 13 saves on 14 shots is surely impressive after 20 minutes, especially given some of the fire power on Edmonton’s team.
“That’s not good if you’re Edmonton,” former Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said on the broadcast.
Lots of big hits from both teams through the first 20 minutes. Though things simmered down after the three-goal, penalty-filled frenzy, it could set an interesting tone for the rest of this game (and the rest of the series, frankly).
The Panthers were able to tie the game thanks to a deflection from Sam Bennett. After an Oilers challenge for goaltender interference that wound up in a delay of game penalty, Brad Marchand made the Oilers pay while on the power play.
Florida leads, 2-1, after 20 minutes of play. Sergei Bobrovsky, minus the early blunder, has made an impressive 14 saves on 15 shots early in this one.
Evan Rodrigues, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe and Nate Schmidt all had assists on the two goals that Florida scored.
The TNT broadcast showed a graphic that, after Sam Bennett’s goal, the Panthers have notched 50 goals on the road throughout the entire Stanley Cup playoffs. That is now an NHL record, previously held by the LA Kings from the mid-1990s when they scored 49.
After that chaotic minute or so, both teams are back to full strength. Edmonton got a few shots off on the power play, but nothing too dangerous to potentially tie the game up.
Aaron Ekblad makes it 4-on-3 in favor of the Edmonton Oilers after he was called for holding against Leon Draisaitl following the Oilers’ faceoff win.
It’ll be 4-on-3 for 1:36. It’s physical and chippy early.
Corey Perry, just six seconds into the power play, negates it for the Oilers after he’s called for a tripping penalty against Sam Reinhart. It’ll be 1:54 of 4-on-4 hockey before an extremely short power play for the Panthers.
The Panthers will quickly have to defend that one-goal advantage after Anton Lundell was called for interference against Connor McDavid with 7:20 left in the first period.
Brad Marchand gives Florida its first lead of the game after a nice pass from Nate Schmidt down low, who finds Marchand on the back door. Marchand hit the wide-open net to give Florida the lad at 12:30 of the first period.
Bennett was, ultimately, tripped by Edmonton, and the goal is good. The Panthers go right back on the power play after a delay of game penalty against the Oilers for the failed challenge.
A mid-range shot from Carter Verhaeghe got past Stuart Skinner at 10:49 after it was deflected by Sam Bennett. But, the goal’s been challenged for goalie interference after Bennett fell into Skinner.
It’s possible an Edmonton defender had an incidental tripping that forced Bennett into Edmonton.
Florida was just under 43% successful on the power play on the road entering this man-advantage. But this time, no dice for the Panthers on the man advantage. Florida did get one shot off from Matthew Tkachuk, which was saved by Stuart Skinner.
Edmonton had a couple blocked shots and kept Connor McDavid also hit the left post short-handed.
Along the wall, Corey Perry tried to get his stick through some traffic to potentially go on a breakaway, and, instead, made contact with the face of Gustav Forsling with 6:53 left in the period.
Immediately after, a TV timeout came along.
Leon Draisaitl got the party started for the Oilers on a bouncing puck after Sergei Bobrovsky stopped a couple shots. The second one bounced off his pads, rolled to the side, and Draisaitl was right there to pick up the loose change.
Announcers noted that Draisaitl didn’t score at all in last year’s Stanley Cup Final, marking a 180 for him.
A quick moment during the introduction of the starting lineups showed Evan Rodrigues with a bit smile and a small chuckle as the was boo’d by Edmonton Oilers fans.
Looks like he’s enjoying being in enemy territory.
Here’s who’ll be on the ice for puck drop to start Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final:
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Sergei Bobrovsky
The studio crew gave their predictions during the pregame show on TNT, and appeared pretty split among the five-man team. Only former New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist gave how many games for the winner.
Lundqvist predicted that Edmonton would win in six games. Paul Bissonnette and former Oilers and NHL legend Wayne Gretzky also picked the Oilers. Gretzky’s came with a personal flair, with his brother, Keith, serving as Edmonton’s assistant general manager.
Anson Carter and host Liam McHugh both selected Florida to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Vergaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
Jesper Boqvist – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Defense
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt – Dmitry Kulikov
Goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
Florida is back on the road for the postseason, and to call them road warriors is an understatement. TNT hockey analyst Paul Bissonnette asked Panthers forward Sam Reinhart in a pre-game interview about being on the road, once again, and in an environment like Edmonton.
Florida is 8-2 on the road this postseason, with both of its losses coming at Toronto to start the second round of the playoffs. Outside of that, just about every road win has been dominant.
“We’re certainly comfortable on the road,” Reinhart said during the interview. “We’re excited for the test.”
South Florida’s major professional sports teams are all in on the Panthers ahead of tonight’s Game 1 in Edmonton.
The Dolphins’ team account posted images of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle as well as defensive standouts Bradley Chubb and Zach Sieler with the phrase, “Vamos Gatos.”
The Heat posted images of former standout Udonis Haslem rallying Panthers fans with a pregame drum roll.
Hockey Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist previewed the Stanley Cup Finals with the NHL on TNT pre-match show, heaping praise upon the Panthers front office for their work over the past three offseasons.
“To come back now for Florida, three Finals in a row, that’s wild, that’s impressive,” Lundqvist said. “Watching the players they’ve added the last few years, they’re so smart.
“They were already a good team but they went from good to great with all these different additions. And they’ve created this incredible culture to where maybe even they’re not playing the best hockey but they understand what they need to do to win. And that’s what matters.”
Anticipation is riding high for the Stanley Cups Finals with the NHL on TNT releasing a hype trailer for the upcoming series.
View the trailer, which focuses on the history of the Stanley Cup and features actor Taylor Kitsch, below:
Paul Maurice told reporters in the afternoon that AJ Greer, who missed Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final and only played a handful of minutes in the series-clinching Game 5, will not suit up for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton. He’s currently considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Jesper Boqvist, who has five points in 11 games this postseason, will take his spot on the fourth line.
Where: Rogers Place; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: TNT/truTV.
Stream: HBO Max and Sling TV
Game 1: June 4 in Edmonton, 8 p.m. ET
Game 2: June 6 in Edmonton, 8 p.m. ET
Game 3: June 9 in Sunrise, 8 p.m. ET
Game 4: June 12 in Sunrise, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 5: June 14 in Edmonton, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 6: June 17 in Sunrise, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 7: June 20 in Edmonton, 8 p.m. ET
*if necessary
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