'They have our complete focus': Oilers embrace new mindset for Panthers rematch

Joshua Clipperton · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 03, 2025 6:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Connor McDavid stood on the boards and waited for his teammates.

The Oilers had fixed everything successful the Stanley Cup final.

McDavid rewrote the NHL's playoff grounds publication with a jaw-dropping show arsenic portion of a memorable post-season tally that yet ended successful Florida's sweltering vigor wrong Amerant Bank Arena.

The gutsy effort — Edmonton forced Game 7 with a trio of victories aft trailing the rubric bid 3-0 — wasn't enough.

Wiser and much balanced astir 12 months on, McDavid and Co. are hoping for a antithetic closing section with the aforesaid opponent.

The Oilers unfastened this year's best-of-seven showcase against the Panthers connected Wednesday astatine Rogers Place arsenic a calmer, much confident, grounded bunch.

Edmonton rode a roller-coaster of emotion to past year's final. After a horrendous commencement to the regular play that resulted successful a coaching change, the nine went down 3-2 successful the 2nd circular and 2-1 successful the Western Conference last earlier surging to victory.

WATCH | We asked if the Oilers are Canada's team:

This mentation trailed the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 successful the opening circular and has hardly looked backmost since. The Oilers, who are 12-2 implicit their past 14 contests, won 4 consecutive to instrumentality that bid earlier disposing of the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars successful 5 games apiece.

"Just support giving yourselves opportunities to beryllium successful this position," McDavid said Tuesday. "Keep giving yourself chances to win, and yet it happens. We've done that. We've enactment ourselves successful different bully spot.

"Learned a batch of lessons past twelvemonth successful that period that we tin usage this year."

Last year's playoff propulsion saw McDavid registry 42 points — the astir ever by a subordinate successful a azygous post-season not named Wayne Gretzky oregon Mario Lemieux — portion his 34 assists were besides a record.

"Winning successful the playoffs takes everything you've got," said McDavid, whose interrogation presumption astatine NHL media time was situated not acold from a representation of Florida winger Matthew Tkachuk hoisting the Cup.

"We're successful the past series, and it takes adjacent much … they tin beryllium draining physically and emotionally, but it's expected to be."

The Oilers superstar skipper and his partner-in-crime, chap stud centre Leon Draisaitl, person again been fantabulous this spring, but Edmonton possesses a much balanced attack, with goals from nary less than 19 antithetic players connected the mode to the final.

"The maturity origin of it," Draisaitl said of what feels antithetic this clip around. "The acquisition of having been done the travel, the media attention, knowing what it's each about, knowing the details that spell into a game.

"It's breathtaking to person worked ourselves backmost into the situation."

Edmonton is besides comparatively healthy, prevention for grinding, heart-and-soul guardant Zach Hyman's upper-body wounded suffered against Dallas that apt ended his campaign.

Top-six winger Evander Kane was acceptable successful clip for the playoffs aft missing the full regular play with abdominal surgery, portion minute-crunching defenceman Mattias Ekholm returned to the lineup successful Game 5 past circular pursuing a agelong lack owed to a lower-body issue.

"We're much diligent and much trusting successful our game," Draisaitl said. "We look to person an knowing of erstwhile to pounce and erstwhile to bash the close moves and marque the close plays, and the plays that are needed successful definite moments."

Stuart Skinner has done the occupation successful extremity for the Oilers aft concisely losing the crease to backup Calvin Pickard for a 2nd consecutive playoffs, for a radical that moves the puck quicker compared to past season.

"There's decidedly much of a consciousness of calm," said defenceman Darnell Nurse. "It's decidedly a antithetic consciousness wrong the group, knowing however overmuch enactment has to come. When you spell done it the archetypal time, there's a heightened level of excitement, a heightened level of everything.

"We're focused connected the moment. Our radical decidedly has small spot of a antithetic mindset."

The Panthers, meanwhile, are successful the last for the 3rd consecutive June. They disposed of the Tampa Bay Lightning successful 5 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs successful 7 contempt falling down 2-0, and the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1.

Led by skipper Aleksander Barkov, who won his 3rd Selke Trophy arsenic the NHL's apical antiaircraft guardant this week, and always-quotable caput manager Paul Maurice, Florida plays a hard forechecking benignant that wears down opposing defence corps.

A talented, tough-as-nails unchangeable of forwards that includes Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart added Brad Marchand astatine the commercialized deadline, and the erstwhile Boston Bruins skipper has embraced beingness alongside his erstwhile Atlantic Division rivals.

Apart from winning for themselves, their teammates, fans and city, the Oilers person the other load — similar it oregon not — of Canada's Cup drought that stretches each the mode backmost to Montreal's triumph successful 1993.

Edmonton mislaid successful 7 games successful 2006 earlier besides going the region past year, portion Vancouver (1994, 2011), Calgary (2004), Ottawa (2007) and Montreal (2021) besides came up abbreviated astatine the last hurdle.

McDavid said his squad is amended prepared for the emotions of the last a 2nd clip around.

"It tin consciousness similar it's larger than it is," helium said. "At the extremity of the day, it's different series. We're playing different large team. You've got to bushed them earlier thing other happens. They person our implicit focus. All of our vigor is successful going into beating the Florida Panthers.

"There should beryllium thing other connected anyone's mind."