Oilers, Panthers more alike as Stanley Cup final rematch arrives

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 02, 2025 11:33 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

A twelvemonth ago, erstwhile the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers met successful the Stanley Cup final, they were opposites successful everything from climate, marketplace and franchise past to deep-run acquisition and toughness.

Since Florida won that bid successful 7 games for its archetypal championship, overmuch has changed to marque these opponents overmuch much alike.

The Panthers person added endowment and skill, and the Oilers person gotten older and go harder to play against. Those changes acceptable the signifier for a compelling rematch. Game 1 is Wednesday successful Edmonton astatine 8 p.m. ET.

"These are the 2 nastiest teams left," 2003 Cup victor Mike Rupp said. "They don't look to get rattled, they play with a batch of intensity, sometimes they transverse the line. They conscionable support well. There's a batch of things that they're antithetic than 1 different about, but astatine the halfway of it, they're beauteous akin to each other."

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl haven't gone anywhere, but they've besides been done the heartbreak of forcing Game 7 against the Panthers and falling abbreviated of the extremity they've been hunting implicit the past decennary together. With Trent Frederic, Jeff Skinner, John Klingberg and Jake Walman, the Oilers are bigger and much seasoned for this.

"They're meaner," said retired defenceman Jason Demers, who similar Rupp is present an NHL Network analyst. "They person a small wound to their game, a batch much wound than past twelvemonth wherever they were a small spot much speedy."

Florida tin beryllium speedy, opportunistic and dangerous, and has been implicit the past fewer post-seasons, winning 10 of 11 bid since caput manager Paul Maurice took implicit and winger Matthew Tkachuk arrived aft a commercialized from Calgary.

The Panthers are successful the last for a 3rd consecutive year, losing to Vegas successful 2023 lone aft Tkachuk, defenceman Aaron Ekblad and others were banged up to the constituent that they had thing near successful the tank. They were the underdog backmost then.

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Rough and tumble

With 1 palmy Cup tally implicit and with Seth Jones and Brad Marchand added to the halfway led by Tkachuk and skipper Aleksander Barkov, they present look unstoppable.

"They're a heck of a team," McDavid said aft beating Dallas to triumph the Western Conference Final. "Obviously, it's their 3rd finals. They're a peculiar group. We're a peculiar group. It's going to beryllium fun."

It besides could beryllium physical. The Oilers mislaid hard-nosed winger Zach Hyman to a semipermanent wounded precocious successful the bid against the Stars, but they are much prepared present to play the rough-and-tumble benignant Florida has won with.

The information that it's a rematch successful the last - the NHL's archetypal since Pittsburgh bushed Detroit successful the 2nd of their back-to-backs successful 2009 - lone spices things up. There person lone been 4 rematches successful the Final since 1968.

"I don't deliberation there'll beryllium immoderate weeding retired oregon wading into that series," Demers said. "I deliberation it's going to beryllium weapon shot, explosions close disconnected the bat."

Going down 2 games to nary past twelvemonth led to McDavid's profanity-laced outburst successful the locker room, a infinitesimal caught connected cameras that wasn't rather capable to crook astir the series. The representation of going down 3-0, clawing backmost to transverse the continent again for a Game 7 and not winning is inactive caller successful his mind.

The Oilers person been done that travel to the last and consciousness the symptom now, thing the Panthers endured earlier winning. Now it's clip to spot if they larn the aforesaid acquisition and alteration the result.

"Edmonton now, I deliberation they needed to acquisition past twelvemonth to get to wherever they're astatine present and they're benignant of unflappable," Rupp said. "I deliberation that's a limb for them."