After eliminating the Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively, the Edmonton Oilers will look for revenge against the Florida Panthers for last season's Stanley Cup Finals defeat.
Witnessing two franchises return to the final stage of each respective sporting league has always provided one of the most polarizing ideas in all of sports, as rewatching the same matchup multiple times can surely become stale for fans. When the two teams are as talented as the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, though, fans may not be as reclusive to the idea of strapping in for yet another exciting Stanley Cup Finals, given the 2023-2024 Finals went to the maximum seven games.
It did not appear that way at first, as the Panthers jumped out to a quick 3-0 series lead before Edmonton completely turned the tide and sent the series back to Florida tied 3-3. Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky was terrific in the final matchup, stopping 23 of 24 shots and helping to clinch the first championship in franchise history, showcasing similar play throughout this year’s Playoffs with a 2.11 goals against average (GAA), .912% save percentage and 12-5 record.
If the Oilers hope to end Florida’s journey to a second consecutive title, the roster will need to find a way to get shots past the two-time Vezina Trophy winner, something the Eastern conference’s elite have failed to accomplish in back-to-back postseasons. One thing working in Edmonton’s favor, however, is the fact the Oilers house Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two of the most potent offensive forces in all of hockey.
McDavid, despite the losing effort last season, was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy, handed to the best overall performer of each year’s postseason, but notably didn’t come back onto the ice to accept the honor as he was too emotional in the Oilers locker room following the game seven result. The path for revenge on the part of McDavid and Draisaitl has been the main storyline of this year’s postseason, as Edmonton started out with a 2-0 series deficit against the Los Angeles Kings but have gone 12-2 in the games since.
Edmonton was completely dominant in the second round and Western Conference Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars, as the only losses sustained by the Oilers stemmed from a last-second goal by Vegas and a power play infused comeback from Dallas in game one. Outside of the two results, Edmonton has used improved play from its own goaltender, Stuart Skinner, to easily reach the Stanley Cup Finals for a second consecutive season. McDavid will look to return the franchise to the glory seen during the days of Wayne Gretzky, as the Oilers have failed to win a Stanley Cup in nearly 35 years.
On bet365, the Oilers are currently seen as -130 favorites to win the series given the dominance the franchise displayed in its series with Vegas and Dallas, while the Panthers are +110 to knock off Edmonton once again. The wild card of the series is most definitely Skinner, as his performance heavily caters in losses as compared to Oilers’ victories, having accumulated three shutouts in his past eight starts. When things go awry, however, Skinner has allowed the competition to score four, five or even six goals at a time, helping to exemplify his 2.53 GAA, .904% save percentage and 6-4 record this postseason.
Backup netminder Calvin Pickard replaced Skinner in the first round series with Los Angeles, rattling off six consecutive victories before an injury sustained against the Golden Knights forced Skinner back into action. Perhaps the change could result in a positive for Edmonton, as the coaching staff can now be assured Pickard is more than capable of performing as a Playoff-worthy netminder if Skinner were to regress from the past two rounds.
It will be mainly up to McDavid and Draisaitl to provide enough offense that Edmonton’s play in net is a non-factor, but this is easier said than done with a roster as talented as Florida’s staring back at them. Panthers center Alexsander Barkov was recently awarded with the 2024-2025 Selke Trophy, given to the best defensive forward in the NHL season. Between Barkov, a strong defensive core that includes Seth Jones and Aaron Ekblad along with Bobrovsky in net, McDavid and Draisaitl may be up for an even greater challenge that was seen during 2023-2024. The two have been incredible all postseason, though, and have never had a stronger group of role players surrounding the two superstars.
A major blow for Edmonton came when it was reported winger Zach Hyman would be out for the remainder of the postseason with an upper body injury, but the Oilers showed no worse for wear with a 6-3 victory over Dallas to clinch the Western Conference Finals. No matter how the Stanley Cup Finals shakes out this season, fans getting to see part two of Oilers-Panthers should not be a disappointment in the slightest, as it is fair to say the two best teams in the NHL from day one are still playing in the ultimate stage come June 4.
