Rematch of 2024 series won by Florida in 7 games
© Dave Sandford/NHLI
The Florida Panthers will play the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final, a rematch of the 2024 Cup Final, in which the Panthers defeated the Oilers 2-1 in Game 7.
Florida (47-31-4), which is the No. 3 seed from the Atlantic Division, will start on the road against Edmonton (48-29-5), the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division.
The Panthers advanced to the Cup Final for the third straight season on Wednesday by eliminating the Carolina Hurricanes with a 5-3 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. They also defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the first round and the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the second round.
“We’re going to be very prepared,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “It was really different, two years ago it was so new to us. We had a lot of — we had 10 or 11 days off — which this year if we had it, we would be so much different because of it. It was almost like two years ago we needed to play and ride that wave like two days later. … Whenever we start, we’ll be very prepared. Whoever we play, we’ll be very prepared for them. It’s not our first rodeo with this. We’re looking forward to the journey of getting there and then ultimately the series. It’s the time of our lives. So might as well enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it, you probably shouldn’t be here. So we’re going to enjoy every minute of it.”
The Oilers advanced to the Cup Final for the second consecutive season on Thursday by eliminating the Dallas Stars with a 6-3 win in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center in Dallas. They also defeated the Los Angeles Kings in six games in the first round and the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the second round.
“We know what they’re about. We played them seven times,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said of the Panthers on Thursday. “They’re a good team. We’re a really good team as well. Obviously, it’s nice to get a shot at getting some revenge, but we’re a long way from that. We’ll enjoy this tonight and move on and get ready.”
The Panthers are 1-2 in the Final. They defeated the Oilers in seven games last season, lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, and were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.
“We want to win Stanley Cups. We want to compete for Stanley Cups every single year,” Florida captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Obviously there’s 31 other teams in the League and it’s hard every single year, they want to do that too, so it’s not easy. But we managed to do three years in a row, which is, I think, [an] incredible achievement so far.
“But obviously we’re here to compete [for] and win the Stanley Cup.”
Barkov leads the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 17 games. Sam Bennett (10 goals, six assists) and Tkachuk (five goals, 11 assists) each has 16 points, and Carter Verhaeghe (six goals, eight assists) and Brad Marchand (four goals, 10 assists) each has 14 points.
Five other players have at least 10 points for the Panthers, and 19 of their 22 skaters who have played this postseason have scored at least one goal.
Sergei Bobrovsky has played every minute in net for Florida, going 12-5 with a 2.11 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and three shutouts.
The Oilers are 5-3 in the Final. After losing their first Cup Final appearance to the New York Islanders in four games in 1983, they defeated the Islanders in five games in 1984 and the Philadelphia Flyers in five games in 1985. Edmonton defeated the Flyers again in seven games in 1987, swept the Bruins in 1988 and defeated the Bruins in five games in 1990. The Oilers lost in seven games to the Hurricanes in 2006 and the Panthers last season.
“These are the things you dream about,” Edmonton forward Corey Perry said. “There are some guys in here who haven’t been there, and some guys who know that feeling. We said last year right after Game 7 that we’d be back. And we’re back.”
Connor McDavid leads the Oilers in the playoffs with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 16 games. Draisaitl has 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 18 points (five goals, 13 assists). Stuart Skinner is 6-4 with a .904 save percentage and 2.52 GAA and three shutouts in 10 games, all starts. Calvin Pickard is 6-6 with a .888 save percentage and 2.84 GAA in seven games (six starts).
Florida was 2-0-0 against Edmonton during the regular season, winning 6-5 at Rogers Place on Dec. 16, and 4-3 at home on Feb. 27.
Anton Lundell had five points (one goal, four assists) in those two games, and Verhaeghe (two goals, one assist), Sam Reinhart (one goal, two assists) and Aaron Ekblad (three assists) each had three points. Bobrovsky started each game and had a 4.01 GAA and .860 save percentage.
McDavid led the Oilers with four assists against the Panthers. Zach Hyman, who is likely out for the rest of the playoffs with an upper-body injury sustained in Game 4 of the Western Final, scored three goals, and Draisaitl had two goals and an assist. Skinner was 0-2-0 with a 5.10 GAA and .844 save percentage.
“I think the first time you go through it there’s a ton of joy and excitement and there is right now,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said of reaching the Cup Final, “but there is also a hunger in knowing what’s coming and the opportunity that’s ahead. I think we’re all excited to get the next series going.”
NHL.com senior writer Amalie Benjamin and staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report
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