All the sights, sounds from Rogers Place in Edmonton
© Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Welcome to the 2025 Stanley Cup Final from Rogers Place in Edmonton.
NHL.com Senior Director of Editorial Shawn P. Roarke is in the arena and will provide all the sights and sounds from Game 1.
We are half-way through overtime. Florida has had the better of the play early but Edmonton rallied. But this has been played more conservatively than the first three periods.
Although Kasperi Kapanen did hit the post seven minutes into the period.Trent Frederic had a chance in the ninth minute.
Numbers and trends mean nothing in overtime. It’s about heart and will.
But, while we wait for the moment that will go into Final lore, here are some things to consider
This is the 98th game in Stanley Cup Final history to go into overtime. Road teams own a 51-43-3 advantage (.526 percentage) in the previous contests.
Edmonton has eight players with an overtime winner on the resume; Perry (5), McDavid (2), Draisaitl (2), Adam Henrique (2), Kapanen (2), Arvidsson (1), John Klingberg (1) and Evan Bouchard (1).
Florida has four players in the lineup who have scored a playoff overtime goal: Verhaeghe (5), Marchand (4), Tkachuk (3) and Reinhart (2). Verhaeghe and Perry are the only ones to get a sudden-death goal in a Final.
The Oilers are 32-29 (.525) in overtime, including a 15-17 (.469) as the home team. The Panthers are 15-10 (.600), including a 9-5 (.643) as the road team.
We’re off.
There’s a hero among us. When will he reveal himself. This is the central question that remains on an unforgettable night.
For the first time in eight head-to-head matchups during the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers and Panthers are off to overtime. This the first time since 2022 that Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final has gone to overtime and 21st time overall.
Road teams have won 11 times, home teams eight and there has been one tie. That draw was between the Bruins and original Senators to open the Final in 1927, the first after the NHL took over control of the Stanley Cup competition.
Overtime.
That’s what this game deserves and what it is going to get. It’s 3-3 after 60 minutes and we get free hockey until someone scores.
Edmonton outshot the Panthers 14-2 in the third, but could only get the one goal.
Sam Bennett has two goals and Brad Marchand one for the Panthers. Leon Draisaitl, Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm have scored for Edmonton. Sergei Bobrovsky has 33 saves for the Panthers; Stuart Skinner 23.
With about 50 seconds left, the chords of “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC played and when the band screams thunder, the crowd here got so loud, maybe as loud as it’s been since Draisaitl opened the scoring in the second minute.
It was a clear attempt at transferring energy, providing the players in blue and orange a bit of extra oomph as they head into the dressing room to contemplate sudden death.
The players have 15 minutes to rest and recuperate. Use the time wisely. Get rehydrated.
I’m going to put my pointer fingers — the only ones I type with — in an ice bath and I will be back with you for the free hockey.
With about 7 minutes left, during a stoppage, game ops played “Zombie” by the Cranberries.
Not only is it a great song, it’s a great song for this moment. Listen to the chorus:
“In your, head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie
What’s in your head, in your head?
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie”
These players aren’t zombies. Far from it.
But what is in their head 55 minutes into a tied game to open the Final?
Each team has thrown its best at the other and the margins remain so razor thin that is there is no separation.
How long will it stay this way? Do they have the stomach for the fight? Can they be the hero? Can they push themselves further than the player across from them for the next four minutes? For the next 24 if necessary? The next 44 god willing?
Zombie-ie-ie
It’s nail-biting time. It’s 3-3 with 10 minutes left.
The crowd is rabid, willing their heroes to glory.
The players have been through 50 minutes of asking questions of their bodies that they are unsure can be answered.
Simply put, this game has been played at a pace so fast and so furious that the legendary speedster Dom Toretto would have trouble handling it.
But, that the beauty of a playoff hockey. A hero is hidden in the mayhem. He will rise up when least expected and put paid to this instant classic.
Let’s watch and find out together.
We are tied. It’s Mattias Ekholm with a slap shot at 6:23 to make it 3-3.
This place is once again a cauldron of noise, sound waves crashing atop one another.
What a story by Ekholm, who missed the entire playoffs until Game 5 of the Western Conference Final with what many thought was a season-ending injury. But, Ekholm fought and believed, suffering through an arduous rehab to make it back last week.
Now, he has his reward.
Connor McDavid had the primary assist, his first point of the Final.
FLA@EDM, SCF Gm1: Ekholm sends a laser into the net off McDavid’s feed to knot it at 3
There’s 20 minutes remaining in Game 1, a final sprint to dictate how the rest of the series will play out over the next two weeks.
Can the Florida Panthers hold the lead they have fashioned through two periods?
Can Edmonton plot another escape from tough situations, or will they lose for the first time in five games?
Will either team survive the sickening physical toll? There have been 61 hits through 40 minutes and many have been slobber-knocking, board-rattling affairs.
So much can and will happen during the next 20 minutes of game action, starting with the 47 seconds of Edmonton’s carryover pp.
Stay right here with me.
After two periods, the Florida Panthers lead 3-2. The Edmonton Oilers have 20 minutes remaining to try to fashion a comeback or lose Game 1 of the Final for the second straight season.
During a stoppage with 3:52 remaining in the period, the PA played the classic rock hit “Lay it on the Line.” The Triumph song blared for a sing along.
But the central tenet of that song, the protagonist asking his girlfriend to commit fully to a relationship resonated so forcefully.
“Won’t you lay it on the line?”
The answer at Rogers Place is yes.
Each team is giving its all, fully committed to trying to win Game 1 and take control of the series.
It’s resulted in compelling and chaotic hockey. There has been no holding back, no feeling-out process. This has been all-out since the drop of the puck a bit more than an two hours ago.
The Panthers have had a push in the second period but couldn’t expand their lead after Sam Bennett gave them a 3-1 lead. Bennett, by the way, is the ultimate road warrior. He has a dozen goals this postseason and 11 have come on the road. He doesn’t need home cooking.
Stuart Skinner settled in for the Oilers and made some key saves in the second half of the period, facing 17 shots.
Sergei Bobrovsky faced less work, seeing eight shots, half on a late penalty kill.
Edmonton had a late power play when Leon Draisaitl — there he is again — drew a high sticking penalty on Evan Rodrigues with 1:13 remaining in the period.
Edmonton will have 47 seconds of PP time left to start the third.
We are halfway through this game and it has delivered all we could ask for.
The League’s two best teams have remade acquaintances 12 months later and are just trading haymakers in an enthralling Game 1 that is already full of countless plot lines.
Skinner, the Edmonton goalie, has not been as sharp as hoped. He has allowed three goals on 11 shots. The Oilers PK has struggled again, allowing the go-ahead goal to Brad Marchand.
Leon Draisaitl has been a menace each time he has been on the ice. Connor McDavid has been quiet offensively, but his 200-foot game has been noticeable.
Speaking of Marchand, the 37-year-old forward now has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) this postseason. He is the NHL’s oldest player with at least 15 points in a single playoff year since Martin St. Louis (8-7—15) of the New York Rangers in 2014.
We are just over three minutes into the second period and we already have two goals, one for each team.
Just 1:17 after Sam Bennett gave the Panthers a 3-1 lead, Viktor Arvidsson makes it 3-2 and this place is alive again.
Bennett has two goals in the game and 12 this postseason, the most ever by a Florida player. Nate Schmidt had his second primary assist.
It’s three goals on eight shots for the Panthers.
Things were a bit quieter than they were at the start of the first, but there is still a strong sense of belief here. The Oilers have shown the ability to come back in these playoffs time and again.
But they have not played a team or a goalie as stout as Bobrovsky and these Panthers.
Bobrovsky is making his 60th straight playoff start and his 13th straight in the Final. The Oilers owned that first period on the shot clock (15-7) and in possession time in the offensive zone, but the Panthers lead in the game.
It’s kind of what the Panthers do.
Let’s see what happens across these 20 minutes.
FLA@EDM, SCF Gm1: Arvidsson pounds Podkolzin’s pass by Bobrovsky to trim the lead
So, we head into the first intermission of Game 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at the same place we left Game 7 of 2024, with the Florida Panthers holding a 2-1 lead.
The two goals by Florida in the span of 1:41 have stunned the crowd and put a damper on the party that raged in the game’s first few minutes.
The goal by Sam Bennett was his 11th goal of this postseason, matching the Panthers record for most in one playoff season, joining Matthew Tkachuk from 2023 and Carter Verhaeghe from last season.
Brad Marchand scored his eighth career goal in the Stanley Cup Final, of which he is in his third, tied for the most among active players. Corey Perry, who has played 232 playoff games, Evgeni Malkin and Ondrej Palat each have eight.
The game devolved into a bit of special-teams’ warfare after the Florida goals when the teams combined for three penalties in 24 seconds. Florida’s Anton Lundell took an interference penalty at 12:40. Perry negated it with an offensive-zone tripping penalty six seconds later and then Aaron Ekblad took a holding penalty in the neutral zone at 13:14.
Sergei Bobrovsky made two huge saves on Leon Draisaitl during the 4-on-3 portion of the power play.
After the first goal of the game, on which Bobrovsky had little chance, he made saves on 12 straight shots to end the period, even with the crowd mocking him with sing-song chants of “Ser-Gei!”
Skinner made four saves.
FLA@EDM SCF, Gm1: Bennett and Marchand give Panthers a 2-1 lead in 1st
For all of you wondering, here is the explaination from the situation room on the Bennett goal.
Challenge Initiated By: Edmonton
Type of Challenge: Goaltender Interference
Result: Call on the ice is upheld – Goal Florida
Explanation: Video review confirmed that the actions of Edmonton’s Brett Kulak caused Florida’s Sam Bennett to contact Stuart Skinner prior to his goal. The decision was made in accordance with Note 2 of Rule 38.11 (ii) which states, in part, that the goal should be allowed because “the attacking Player was pushed, shoved or fouled by the defending Player causing the attacking Player to come into contact with the goalkeeper.”
The Panthers have bounced back, with two straight goals.
They tied the game at 1-1 on a goal from Sam Bennett at 10:49.
The goal was challenged by the Oilers for goalie interference by Bennett, who deflected the puck before crashing into Stuart Skinner. After the review, it was ruled a good goal because Bennett was tripped.
Edmonton was assessed a minor penalty for the unsuccessful challenge.
Brad Marchand scored on the power play, wristing a shot past a prone Skinner.
Now we have settled into a game.
Let’s not forget, the Panthers are the heavyweight champions of the NHL for a reason.
They were staggered by the Draisaitl goal, which was a vicious body blow in the game’s second minute, but they have found their footing and the game has settled into the thrust and parry affair we all expected.
Evander Kane plastered Aaron Ekblad into the end boards
Bennett had a breakaway, only to be denied by Skinner.
Corey Perry of the Oilers took a high-sticking penalty in the neutral zone at 6:53 to negate a scoring opportunity for his team.
Connor McDavid, who added an extensive penalty-killing load to his arsenal this season, made three solid plays on this kill to deny the Panthers momentum.
By the way, that was Draisaitl’s first career Stanley Cup Final goal and it came just 1:06 into the first period, the fastest opening goal of a Final in nearly 50 years and the sixth fastest all time.
The Oilers looked to have a power play but Perry took another penalty four seconds in, but then Florida’s Ekblad took one so now Edmonton has a four-on-three.
There’s a statement of intent by the Oilers.
Leon Draisaitl scores on a second rebound just 1:06 into the first period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. The goal was like red meat to a crowd already braying for good fortune for the home team. Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made two saves but was helpless on the third shot by the Oilers’ premier goal-scorer.
And, just like that we are under way.
The Stanley Cup was on the ice. A reminder of what’s at stake across the next four to seven games.
Every single person in the arena was singing “O ‘Canada,” a stunningly beautiful display of national pride.
It was the perfect backdrop for the sports biggest game.
FLA@EDM, SCF Gm1: Draisaitl pins the loose puck into the twine for the game opener
We’re minutes away from puck drop and this place is building to a crescendo. You can feel the pent-up enthusiasm and excitement at Rogers Place as the houselights broke.
When Hunter, the most intimidating mascot in the League (just ask NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin) took the ice, the chants of “Let’s Go Oilers” started in earnest. When the building was referred to as a “terror dome” in the hype video the chants got louder and when the clip from the dressing room after last season’s Game 7 when Zach Hyman said that he knew in his heart they would be back here, it became absolutely bizonkers.
After the hype video, “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses broke out as highlights played. Big goals, big hits and big fights stuttered and strutted across the Jumbotron. Welcome to the jungle indeed! You can have anything you want, but you better not take it from these inhabitants of Oil Country.
And, then, when there was seemingly no higher level to be reached, Metallica entered the fray. With flags waving and lights flashing, the Videotron panned to the dressing room doors of the Oilers and they pushed open.
There was no hearing “Enter Sandman.” There was no hearing anything. There was no thought. Just utter bedlam.
“Take my hand, we’re off to never neverland!”
Enjoy the ride. Puck drop is moments away after the anthems.
The players are on the ice for warmups, the Oilers led out by goalie Stuart Skinner and the Panthers by goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as few seconds later.
Right before the players filed onto the ice, the speakers blared with “Live It Up,” by Australian metallers Airbourne (conveniently spelled correctly for our Canadian friends here).
There was a message there for players and fans alike for tonight.
“Can’t get enough of a good time
“Gonna live it up, while I’m a still alive
“I’m a hell raiser, risk taker, full-speed ahead
“Till I’m dead in the fast lane
“Live wire, wild fire
“I’d rather burn up in flames then fade away
“You gotta live it up.”
By the way, Wes McCauley and Francis Charron are the referees for Game 1. It should be an entertaining show on that front as McCauley has never met a stage too big for his personality.
There were no surprises in the warmup. Connor Brown is in for Jeff Skinner for the Oilers and Jesper Boqvist is on Florida’s fourth line in place of A.J. Greer, who has a lower-body injury and was ruled out in the morning.
We are about 40 minutes from the start of Game 1 of this best-of-7 series between the defending Cup champion Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).
This city is already alive for the rematch of last season’s Cup Final, which the Panthers took with a dramatic 2-1 victory in Game 7.
We pulled into Edmonton on our bus almost three hours before face-off and the streets were lined with fans outside screaming, “We want the Cup!” over and over. Other fans were getting selfies with the statue of franchise icon Wayne Gretzky raising the Cup above his head that stands in front of the arena.
The Moss Pit, the area across the street from Rogers Place where fans who aren’t able to get inside gather together to watch the game, was jammed with fans ready for the latest attempt by the hometown team to win its first Stanley Cup since 1990.
The 35-year drought has left the fans here, in what was once known as the City of Champions after winning the Cup five times in a seven-season period, thirsty for a taste from Lord Stanley’s chalice.
They aren’t shy about letting it be known to anyone within earshot and they believe after the Game 7 heartbreak last season that captain Connor McDavid and his mates can wrest the trophy from the dastardly Panthers, who feature Public Enemy No. 1 in Matthew Tkachuk.
The Oilers got some good news in the morning when forward Connor Brown declared himself ready for Game 1 after sustaining an upper-body injury in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. Brown has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 14 games this postseason.
FLA vs. EDM
FLA vs. CAR | EDM vs. DAL
FLA vs. TOR | CAR vs. WSH | DAL vs. WPG | EDM vs. VGK
OTT vs. TOR | FLA vs. TBL | MTL vs. WSH | NJD vs. CAR
STL vs. WPG | COL vs. DAL | MIN vs. VGK | EDM vs. LAK
