Depth shines in Oilers' Stanley Cup Game 1 win
Edmonton Oilers' Viktor Arvidsson (33) celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final in Edmonton, Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
The depth of the Edmonton Oilers showed through as Game 1 wore on Wednesday night.
Kasperi Kapanen, a waiver wire pickup by general manager Stan Bowman in November, nearly stole the show when he almost scored on an overtime breakaway.
He gets two assists while playing among the team's top six forwards on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane.
Highlight reel stuff, that split-the-defence-for-a-scoring-chance-alone move usually reserved for the likes of National Hockey League stars such as Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon.
But the depth contributions to the Oilers' 4-3 OT win over the Florida Panthers Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final were also front-and-centre in the form of the fourth line, sometimes known as a team's 'energy line.'
On Wednesday night, they were energetic alright. Electrifying might be a better way to describe the trio of centre Mattias Janmark and wingers Viktor Arvidsson and Vasily Podkolzin.
They provided a blend of speed, toughness and savvy that the Panthers didn't have much of an answer for as the clock ticked away.
Arvidsson, the Swedish winger who the Oilers signed as a free agent last summer, told media Thursday morning he thinks he and his linemates 'play a straight line game and not too fancy.'
Oilers vs. Panthers
Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett (9) checks Edmonton Oilers' Viktor Arvidsson (33) during the first period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final in Edmonton, Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
(JASON FRANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Well, OK. But they sure kept the Panthers guessing at times, and their chances came from the hard work trying to win puck battles and from being aggressive on the forecheck, taking a page out of Florida's own playbook.
'That fits into all three of us, and we can read off each other well there,' said Arvidsson, who scored the Oilers' second goal early in the second period as the team started to claw back down 3-1 after a Sam Bennett goal just 1:17 earlier. 'I think (Janmark) is a really smart player and unappreciated in that way. Pods is the hard worker, plays the body hard and fits well.'
As has been a mantra of the Oilers not just this post-season but since the puck dropped on the 2024-25 campaign in October, captain McDavid said Wednesday night after the game 'it takes everyone' to win in the NHL.
Oilers vs. Panthers
Florida Panthers' Seth Jones (3) and Edmonton Oilers' Vasily Podkolzin (92) battle for the puck during the second period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final in Edmonton, Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
(JASON FRANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
They've come to know that, particularly this season, after years of relying on McDavid and Draisaitl to provide most of the Oilers' playoff scoring.
Sure, the dynamic duo are nos. 1 and 2 in league post-season scoring, McDavid with 28 points and Draisaitl with 27.
But Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have 18 each in a tie for fourth, the now-injured Zach Hyman has 11 as does Evander Kane and Corey Perry. Connor Brown has eight points.
Podkolzin has seven, Arvidsson six and Janmark four.
It's taken everyone, indeed. One game into this year's Cup final, seven players have reached double digits in points. The playoff scoring drop-off from McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard was steeper just last season, when six players scored 10 points or more.
Oilers vs. Panthers
Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk (19) is checked by Edmonton Oilers' Mattias Janmark (13) during the first period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final in Edmonton, Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
(JASON FRANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
'I thought the whole Janmark line was dangerous all night,' McDavid told media at the podium. 'They were a big difference maker. Especially in overtime, I thought they were the only line that was generating. Arvie was a big goal. Pods makes a great play, Janmark is doing what he does.'
Head coach Kris Knoblauch said the trials of the team late in the season with a spate of injuries to top players -- including McDavid, Draisaitl, winger Trent Frederic and defenceman Mattias Ekholm, not to mention Kane's season-long recovery from surgery before his debut in the second game of the playoffs -- actually helped him and his staff sort out who meshed best heading into the playoffs and into the first round against the Los Angeles Kings.
'It was good for us in the long run because I probably wouldn't have understood or knew how good that line of Podkolzin, Janmark and Arvidsson was,' he said of the April stretch on injuries while also pointing out the contributions of Brown.
'Other guys had to step up ... (Knowing) exactly where the pieces all fit (didn't come) until somewhere in the later half of the L.A. series.'
Throughout the post-season, Knoblauch has emphasized rolling all four lines as much as possible, something that's not lost on Arvidsson.
'That's been the whole playoff run,' Arvidsson said. 'We have been relying on all four lines and all three 'D' pairs, so I think that's been a huge contribution to our success.
'I think we've just got to keep doing that.'
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