On Wednesday night, the Florida Panthers played the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. It was a frustrating night for Panthers partisans, to say the least. The game can be best described as a rollercoaster of emotions that worsened as the contest progressed. It didn't start well for the Cats. 66 seconds in, Leon Draisaitl scored to give the Oilers an early 1-0 lead.
However, Florida took the punch and started fighting back. Fortunately, at the 10:49 mark of the first period, Sam Bennett tied the game off a deflected shot that Carter Verhaeghe originally took. There was some controversy surrounding the goal initially as Bennett made contact with Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner. However, replays showed that he was tripped up by Brett Kulak.
So the goal stood. A little less than two and a half minutes late, Brad Marchand lit the lamp to give Florida a 2-1 lead. Two minutes into the middle frame, Bennett scored his second of the game to extend his team's lead. Unfortunately, the momentum evaporated quickly as 1:17 lated, Viktor Arvidsson scored on a slap shit from just inside the blue line.
That was a save that Sergei Bobrovsky should've made. He probably still wants that back, too. In the third, Matthias Ekholm lit the lamp to tie the game, and the teams had to play an overtime session. Late in the overtime period, at the 18:17 mark to be exact, fourth-line center Tomas Nosek incidentally flipped the puck over the glass. He took a minor for delaying the game.
Soon after, with 31 seconds left in the period, Leon Draisaitl scored his second goal of the game on the power-play. Edmonton had jumped out with the first win of the series. Florida wasn't aggressive on the forecheck. They were somehow caught off guard by the physicality of the opposition. Their third period was horrendous as the Cats only had two shots on net.
In overtime, the Panthers had some chances to win it at the start, but couldn't sustain anything. They looked gassed at times as well. Now, the Panthers will move on to Game 2, where a win is needed to tie the series up.
How To Watch Stanley Cup Final, Game 2
Date: Friday, June 6 Time: 8:00 PM ET Venue: Rogers Place TV: TNT, Tru TV, MAX
Panthers vs. Oilers Odds, Spreads, and Total
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Puck Line
Florida +1.5 (-230), Edmonton -1.5 (+190)
Total
6.5 (over +105/ under -125)
Moneyline
Florida +110, Edmonton -130
Florida Panthers Injury Report:
A.J. Greer, LW: Day-To-Day (Lower Body)
Edmonton Oilers Injury Report:
Zach Hyman, LW: Out (Upper Body); Alec Regula, D: IR-NR (Knee)
Florida Panthers Projected Lines:
- Evan Rodrigues- Aleksander Barkov- Sam Reinhart
- Carter Verhaeghe- Sam Bennett- Matthew Tkachuk
- Eetu Luostarinen- Anton Lundell- Brad Marchand
- Jesper Boqvist- Tomas Nosek- Jonah Gadjovich
- Gustav Forsling- Aaron Ekblad
- Niko Mikkola- Seth Jones
- Nate Schmidt- Dmitry Kulikov
- Sergei Bobrovsky
- Vitek Vanacek
Edmonton Oilers Projected Lines:
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins- Connor McDavid- Corey Perry
- Evander Kane- Leon Draisaitl- Kasperi Kapanen
- Trent Frederic- Adam Henrique- Jeff Skinner
- Vasily Podkolzin- Matthias Janmark- Connor Brown
- Mattias Ekholm- Evan Bouchard
- Darnell Nurse- Brett Kulak
- Jake Walman- John Klingberg
- Stuart Skinner
- Calvin Pickard
Panthers Keys To the Game
In Game 1, most of Florida's top players were nowhere to be found. Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov didn't register a point, and it felt as if they were invisible. Despite getting an assist, it felt the same for Matthew Tkachuk as well. Carter Verhaeghe also had two assists in the game, but he needs to start scoring again. Evan Rodrigues needs to get it going on the top line as well.
It's no secret that Florida has one of the most complete lineups in the league. That's how they got here for the third year in a row, in the first place. If the Panthers want to win the Stanley Cup again, more than the bottom six will have to contribute at some point. It should start with Game 2. If everyone is contributing, the Panthers will win this series. Sergei Bobrovsky shouldn't have to save their way to a one-goal win. They need to score and wake up, fast.
Everyone saw what happened on Wednesday night. Rather than continuing to be aggressive, the Panthers preferred to sit back and try to hold onto a two-goal lead when up 3-1. That can't happen. That must not be the mindset, especially against a team that is known for scoring in bunches. No matter if the Cats get a two-goal lead, they need to keep their foot on the gas pedal.
Continue putting shots on net. Continue getting in on the forecheck. Keep trying to generate good looks. Keep trying to score. The Oilers might not have the most talent in the world, but a game is never over when facing them. They can score and come back from any deficit, in a hurry. They need to put pressure on the Oilers from the opening puck drop to the final buzzer.
It feels like a broken record at this point. However, this continues to be a glaring problem. Someone needs to tattoo this key on the foreheads of the players. Florida handed four power-play chances to the Oilers. As discussed earlier, the game was lost thanks to a delay-of-game minor penalty taken by Tomas Nosek. Everyone knows you can't give the Edmonton chances on the man advantage.
If you do, there is a good chance that you'll pay. They have too many dependable weapons that can strike on the power-play. Florida needs to play clean and stay out of the penalty box. This is arguably the most important key for Game 2. The stakes are too high to lose another game due to terrible and dumb infractions.
Notes:
- Sam Bennett set a new franchise record with his 12th goal of these playoffs, posting the second multi-goal performance by a Panthers player in a Stanley Cup Final game (also Evan Rodrigues in Game 2 last year). The last hat trick in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final was by Mike Bossy in 1982.
- Brad Marchand scored his eighth career goal in the Stanley Cup Final, tied for the most among active players (Corey Perry entered Game 1 with eight, deadlocked with Evgeni Malkin and Ondrej Palat).
- Thirty-seven-year-old Brad Marchand boosted his 2025 postseason totals to 5-10—15 (18 GP, through the first period). He became the NHL’s oldest player with at least 15 points in a single playoff year since Martin St. Louis(8-7—15 in 2014 with/ NYR; age based at end of postseason).
- 11 of Sam Bennett’s goals this postseason have come as a visitor, tying the Stanley Cup Playoffs record for most road goals in one playoff year– equaling the mark set by Mark Scheifele in 2018.
- Sergei Bobrovsky became the third different goaltender in the past decade with a 40-save performance in a Stanley Cup Final game. The others: Andrei Vasilevskiy(42 in Game 2 of 2021) and MartinJones(2x; 44 in Game 5 & 40 in Game 3 of 2016).