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Game 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final checked all the boxes for thrilling playoff hockey featuring elite execution, high intensity and a cardiac finish as the Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit to win 4-3 in overtime on a power-play goal by Leon Draisaitl.
Will Florida respond in Game 2 to even the series, or will Edmonton hit the road with a 2-0 series lead? Follow along below to find out.
Game 1's overtime thriller was a high-scoring affair that saw seven goals (six in regulation).
If tonight is equally as high scoring, we'd be looking at a rare level of offense to start a Stanley Cup Final.
Only two Stanley Cup Finals over the past 42 years have seen teams combine for seven-plus goals in each of the first two games of the series.
Oddly enough, those two occurrences came in the last three postseasons: 2023 between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers (seven goals in Game 1 and nine in Game 2) and 2022 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche (seven in both Games 1 and 2).
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Entering Game 2, here are the goal leaders for the 2025 NHL playoffs, led by the two players who scored two goals apiece in Game 1.
Skaters playing in the Stanley Cup Final are in bold.
Hug B.: That saucer pass right on the tape from Connor McDavid was a thing of beauty!
Kris B.: Edmonton absolutely deserved to win. Besides the second period, they were verging on dominant.
Kevin W.: That blown "goal" call was so ridiculous – directly responsible for a two-goal swing. Kudos to the Oilers for staying focused and playing their game. Was very impressed with the Oilers' physical game, did not back down at all to the big bad Panthers. Hoping this goes seven games – great hockey!
Brian L.: Looks like Leon Draisaitl decided to show up this year. He has almost as many points in one game as he did all of last year's Stanley Cup Final. Panthers will be in trouble if they can't contain him again.
Editor's note: Draisaitl was injured during last year's Final, so it might be fair to cut him some slack, Brian …
Remember, you can send us your thoughts, questions and predictions by emailing us at live@theathletic.com, and if you're a subscriber you can also join the Game 2 discussion page.
The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was in 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five games.
Patrick Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy. Jurassic Park was the highest-grossing movie worldwide that year. Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" ended 1993 atop the Billboard Top 100 list.
That's how long it's been since a Canadian team hoisted the Stanley Cup. The Edmonton Oilers are three wins away from changing that.
In a poll by Angus Reid in late April, 71 percent of respondents who were Canadian hockey fans said they would cheer for any Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup, not just their own. That marked a 16-point increase since 2016.
Is it possible for Canadians to root for a rival? The debate has surfaced many times over the past three decades, but the question is usually dismissed.
Deep-rooted allegiances require equilibrium: disdain for a rival is a formative element of the passion you hold for your team. Being an Ottawa Senators fan requires contempt for the Toronto Maple Leafs; a Calgary Flames fan can’t wear blue and orange.
But if there’s ever going to be a moment for Canadian hockey fans to coalesce under a single NHL team banner, maybe we’ve found it.
Read more below.
GO FURTHER
Amid Canada-U.S. tension, will Canadians cheer for Oilers in Stanley Cup Final?
Brian M.: Miraculous how Sam Bennett has contact with all these goalies every series but the situation room is convinced it’s not his fault every time.
Joey R.: For all the talk of being a "juggernaut," Florida only controlled play in the second period and a few minutes of overtime. Every Florida goal was the result of an Edmonton error. I thought the Oilers did a better job generating chances and they were also just as physical as Florida.
Michael C.: Overtime was unnecessary; the true score in this game was 3-1 Oilers because Sam Bennett clearly sold the fall into the Oilers goalie, thus no goal was the correct call and the resulting Panthers' power-play goal would not have taken place. Bennett is good, but he cheats. Not a good look and, against a healthy Oilers team, will end looking stupid, as they did on this night.
Adam F.: As a Panthers fan, I love this, because nobody is giving my team a chance to come back and win.
Remember, you can send us your thoughts, questions and predictions by emailing us at live@theathletic.com, and if you're a subscriber you can also join the Game 2 discussion page.
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Matthew Tkachuk had one assist and three shots in Florida's Game 1 loss to Edmonton. Speaking yesterday, the Panthers forward didn't seem too worried about his team being down 1-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.
"They're better, we're better, it's going to be a great series," Tkachuk said.
When it comes to special teams, a lot has been said about the Oilers’ play while short-handed in the playoffs. The results have mostly ranged from struggling or being downright putrid. They allowed that Brad Marchand goal after the failed coach’s challenge that saw the Panthers forward left wide open.
The penalty kill went 1-for-2 and is down to a paltry 65.3 percent in the playoffs.
Thankfully for the Oilers, the power play — the backbone of the team for the better part of the last seven seasons — did its thing.
Draisaitl’s winning goal at 19:29, which was the result of passes from Cory Perry and then Connor McDavid, made amends for what was an 0-for-3 showing up to that point. That vaulted the Oilers’ success rate on the man advantage to 29.6 percent in the playoffs — a smidge better than the 29.3 percent efficiency they had through 25 playoff games on last year’s run.
Those on the Oilers’ power play always say it’s about when they score the goals as opposed to how many. Well, Leon Draisaitl’s in overtime couldn’t have been any timelier.
Game 1 felt like a Grant Fuhr type of performance by Stuart Skinner. He gave up a few early, got down, but kept focusing on the next shot knowing his team can score goals. He made a handful of big saves in the second period to keep the score at 3-2.
After the game, Skinner said he felt completely different before the game than he did a year ago. He said last year he had googly eyes looking at the Cup, but this year he's been there, done that.
I thought he showed that maturity in the game on Wednesday. He obviously felt like he was interfered with on the first goal, but Edmonton lost that challenge and Skinner immediately allowed the subsequent power-play goal. That's such an easy situation in which to lose your composure, but he stayed calm, held his team in it, and they came back to win.
Despite giving up the game-winning goal in overtime, Sergei Bobrovsky played very well in the series opener, making several huge stops. In total, he made 42 saves in Game 1, making him just the third different goaltender in the past decade with a 40-save performance in a Stanley Cup Final game.
The others goalies to do so are Andrei Vasilevskiy (2021) and Martin Jones (2x in 2016).
Oilers 4, Panthers 3 (OT)
Florida outshot Edmonton 17-8 in the second period. The rest of the game, the Oilers outshot the Panthers 38-15.
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Deep into overtime in Game 1, Tomas Nosek committed a costly mental error, clearing the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. After the ensuing Edmonton power play led to Leon Draisaitl's game-winning goal, Paul Maurice was asked what he would say to Nosek.
"You remind him after the game of being down 0-2 to Toronto (in the second round)," the Panthers coach replied. "(Nosek's) line came in and changed everything for us. We're not here without Tomas. It's a tough break."
Last year, the Oilers started the Stanley Cup Final against the Panthers in the worst possible way, losing the first three games.
This time around, Edmonton could hardly have made a better start as Leon Draisaitl scored to put them in front just 66 seconds into Game 1.
Combined with his winning goal in overtime, no player had a bigger impact on the series opener than Draisaitl.
Despite Florida's loss in Game 1, Sam Bennett continues to have a strong postseason for the Panthers.
The 28-year-old scored two goals Wednesday night – his first tied the game in the first period and his second gave the Panthers a 3-1 lead in the second period.
Bennett is now up to a league-high 12 goals scored in 18 playoff games, averaging a point per game. He has set a new franchise record for the most goals in a single postseason, surpassing previous totals of 11 by Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe.
Kasperi Kapanen stepped up for Edmonton in Game 1 and it could not have come at a more critical juncture. The 28-year-old recorded two assists in the Oilers' win, totaling more points in Game 1 than he did for the entirety of the Western Conference Final.
On top of that, he nearly ended the game himself seven minutes into overtime with a beautiful move to split a pair of defensemen, but could only hit the post.
Last year’s Stanley Cup Final didn’t go particularly well for Leon Draisaitl. He recorded just three points in the seven-game series and failed to score a single goal. But there was a reason for that. Draisaitl played through rib and hand injuries that slowed him down to the point where he wasn’t his usual self.
Draisaitl didn’t take long to net his first Final goal of his career in this series.
The Hart Trophy finalist opened the scoring when he ripped home a rebound off a Kasperi Kapanen shot just 1:06 into the game. He was dangerous throughout the contest, too. He drew a high-sticking penalty to Rodrigues late in the second period by driving to the net before unleashing one of his trademark one-timers on the subsequent power play. He was one of the Oilers’ best players, which is why it’s no surprise he was the overtime hero.
Draisaitl’s two goals in Game 1 give him 27 points in the postseason, only one behind McDavid (28).
Draisaitl missed 11 of the Oilers’ last 14 games down the stretch because of two injury stints. That time off has served him well in the playoffs — and was evident again in Game 1. What a difference a year makes, apparently, and that bodes well for the Oilers’ chances of exacting revenge in this series.
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Connor McDavid showed once again that he's an elite playoff performer in Game 1. He recorded two assists, on Mattias Ekholm's tying goal and Leon Draisaitl's game winning goal in overtime.
The Oilers captain is leading the playoffs with 28 points. Should Edmonton win the Stanley Cup, McDavid is likely the frontrunner to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for a second consecutive year.
Leon Draisaitl's overtime goal in Game 1 was his third OT winner of the 2025 playoffs, tying the NHL record for most OT goals in a single postseason.
Four other players have scored three OT goals in one playoff year, two of which happen to also be playing in this series: Mel Hill (BOS 1939), Maurice Richard (MTL 1951), Corey Perry (ANA 2017) and Matthew Tkachuk (FLA 2023).
Draisaitl's goal was also the just the fourth on record (since 1934) scored on a power play in overtime in the Stanley Cup Final, joining Kevin Shattenkirk (Game 4, 2020), Petr Sykora (Game 5, 2008) and Denis Potvin (Game 1, 1980).
Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring in Game 1. He bookended it with the OT winner thanks to fantastic passes from Connor McDavid and Corey Perry.
Draisaitl already has three OT goals in these Stanley Cup playoffs. Last year, he was injured in the Stanley Cup Final against the Panthers and didn't score once. A healthy No. 29 gives the Oilers a huge chance to win this series.