Derrick Brown: No rush returning from knee injury, want to be ready for September
Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown didn't make it past Week One in 2024 and he hopes to be back to speed for Week One of this year.
Brown tore the meniscus in his knee during Carolina's season-opening loss to the Saints and said on Wednesday that he's still not sure exactly when in the game he suffered the injury. That answer is unlikely to come now, but the more important question for the Panthers is how Brown is faring for the 2025 season.
Brown said he got cleared to kick his rehab into high gear early this year and that he's planning to do whatever it takes to make sure he's ready to go at the start of the regular season.
'I'm here with the team right now, participating,' Brown said. 'Just doing what the doctors and the trainers are allowing me to do at this point. No rush, so just trying to get back. I would like to be able to be there when the team gets ready to play in September, so I'm following the protocol as is.'
Losing Brown contributed to a defense that wound up giving up the most points in a single-season in NFL history and getting him back would be a good step toward better results this time.
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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Leon Draisaitl's fiancée kicks off bachelorette party with Game 1 overtime winner
The celebrations for the Oilers' overtime triumph against the Panthers Wednesday night extended well beyond Edmonton. Celeste Desjardins, the fiancée of star Edmonton center Leon Draisaitl, kicked off her bachelorette party in Greece with fellow Oilers WAGs, as Draisaitl put Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final away with a goal in extra minutes to seal the 4-3 victory over the reigning champions. Lauren McDavid, the wife of Oilers captain Connor McDavid, chronicled the ladies' journey overseas on her Instagram Stories, where they watched the action from Rogers Place while in the air. 6 Celeste Desjardins, who is engaged to Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, kicked off her bachelorette party in June 2025 as the Stanley Cup Final began. Instagram 6 Connor McDavid's wife, Lauren, chronicled the group's travels as Game 1 got underway in Edmonton. Instagram 'PSA – when the bachelorette falls on less than ideal timing but we will be back for the good stuff!!' Lauren wrote Wednesday night. 'Go Oilers!!!' Desjardins also shared an in-flight snap of Mikayla Nurse, the wife of Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. 'We're reaaaaady!' the bride-to-be exclaimed in an Instagram Story. 6 Leon Draisaitl and Celeste Desjardins revealed their engagement in 2024. Instagram 6 The bride-to-be sported a custom Mrs. Draisaitl top. Instagram Desjardins, who revealed her engagement to Draisaitl, 29, in July 2024, later posted a selfie with Mikayla while rocking a custom 'Mrs.' top. The bachelorette crew is hoping to keep the victory lap going as the Oilers are now three wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1990. Edmonton fell to Florida in seven last year. 6 Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates his game-winning goal against the Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 4, 2025. AP 'Last year, I was kind of looking at it with googly eyes,' Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner said. 'This year seeing it, it's: 'I was here last year, I saw it. It's time to get back to work and do my thing.' It definitely felt completely different.' Draisaitl put up two goals in Wednesday's victory, including the overtime winner on a power play. 'He's invaluable,' McDavid said. 'He does so many good things: clutch, faceoffs. You name it, he does it.' 6 Edmonton now holds a 1-0 series lead against Florida. Getty Images Draisaitl, the third overall pick by the Oilers in 2014, has tallied nine goals in the playoffs so far. He's also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, which honors the league's most valuable player. Game 2 is set for Friday night before the series shifts to Florida for Games 3 and 4 starting Monday.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'They cheated y'all': Panthers hockey world reacts to Edmonton Oilers beating Florida in Game 1
How is Florida Panthers hockey country taking Edmonton's 4-3 OT win over their favourite team? What are they blaming the loss on? The mainstream media, social media and podcasts were full of theories. Here are some of the highlights, with some neutral commentary included as well: Bill Horosz of the On the Prowl: Florida Panthers Den podcast Too many players were MIA last night. Barkov, Tkachuk are two that come to mind. There were a lot of others. Barkov with several mistakes. Very uncharacteristic. Florida fan *WADDLEVILLE* @WADDLEVILL61682 They cheated y'all. It's all good though. Only win they'll have. Florida fan Jacob Winans @JacobWinans8 Nico Sturm in for Nosek next game. My goodness what a costly mistake. I miss Kevin Stenlund. Florida fan kyle @Kylepuck16 We didn't lose the game because of the penalty in overtime so stop blaming Nosek. Florida fan Adam @AGBRSports I've got nothing good or positive to say. Florida fan Erik 😺🏆🐀 @erik_on_hockey The good news is, this is among the worst Florida has looked this postseason, so I expect a big response from them. It ain't over yet Florida podcaster T.J. Peterson, the Panther Pourri podcast I thought that it was a very even game until Edmonton just seemed to have gas at the end of the game that the Panthers didn't have. The only real explanation I have for that is the fact that the Panthers just flew across the country and the Oilers didn't have to. The flight from Dallas is just not as far and they (the Oilers) get to sleep in their own beds for all the subsequent days. And they also did it like five days ago, whereas the Panthers flew to Edmonton like two days ago… A team that is as top heavy as Edmonton should not be the one that looks like they have the gas, as opposed to the Panthers having nothing left in their tanks, when the Panthers are supposed to be the deeper team. Florida Panthers Insider George Richards @GeorgeRichards The Florida Panthers had never lost a playoff game under Paul Maurice when leading after the first or second. Until tonight. Leon Draisaitl scores the first and final goal as the Oilers take Game 1 of the Cup Final in OT. Florida player Brad Marchand Have to move on. It's one game, can't get stuck in the past. We'll regroup, refocus and move on to the next one. Panthers fan Jacob Winans @JacobWinans8 The overtime mistakes and dead legs were bad. But it never has to get there if the Panthers play with an ounce of urgency in the third. To come out at only get two shots on goal the entire third period was completely unacceptable Bill Horosz of the On the ProwlL Florida Panthers Den podcast Panthers were taken off guard by the Oilers being physical last night. That won't happen again. With that they also need to establish a consistent forecheck. It was almost nowhere to be found in Game 1. Florida fan Dylan @miamiguydylan The Oilers beat Bob on the glove side for all 4 goals tonight. Just something worth fan mathias @MathiasMejia_ panthers had an off night and still were able to take a fiery edmonton team to OT. they'll be ok Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky There were lots of good things. We put it behind us and get ready for the next game. The next game is a big game. ESPN's ᴀʀᴅᴀ Öᴄᴀʟ @Arda Leon Draisaitl in the Stanley Cup Final: 2024: 0 goals in 7 games on 16 shots on goal 2025: 2 goals in 1 game on 4 shots on goal Florida fan @VinMasiDylan @miamiguydylan Panthers played a fantastic second period and then something just changed. Played terrible the rest of the game. Florida fan Jacob Winans @JacobWinans8 (Fourth line players) Nosek, Greer, Gadjo needs to be a package. If they're not all in the game, none can be in the game. That line was god awful tonight Florida fan Dylan @miamiguydylan Stupid penalty by Nosek leads to that. Going to cry The Athletic's Pierre Lebrun What we saw Wednesday night was two heavyweights trading punches and counter-punches, the margins razor-thin between two teams so used to dominating their opposition for longer stretches in these playoffs… An opening win meant a lot to an Oilers team that dug an 0-3 series hole a year ago. But believe me when I say this is going the distance between two unbelievably evenly-matched teams. Game 1 told us that. Panthers fan Adam @AGBRSports Like there was no need for that Nosek penalty. Time running out in the period He had time and space. Just play it up the ice, clear the zone. Don't throw it into the stratosphere. Vancouver hockey commentator Thomas Drance @ThomasDrance Brilliance from Draisaitl and McDavid. Wow. Probably a pretty good sign for the Oilers in the big picture of this series that they were able to comeback and win in a game that was largely dictated by the Florida forecheck. Bill Horosz of the On the ProwlL Florida Panthers Den podcast Players seemed very calm and matter of fact during postgame interviews. A little too calm for my taste. Paul Maurice was heaping praise on Nosek for what he did in Game 3 vs. Toronto and said we wouldn't be here (Finals) if it wasn't for him. Panthers fan TONY-O @MojoFilter64 Seth Jones with the overplay on the side boards near the blue line on RNH caused this play (the winning OT goal) to happen ….. should have forced him inside toward Marchand but he didn't. Panthers fan Koby Doran @Lyteskin_Prince Reinhart, Barkov, Ekblad all being ghost in the most important games lol. Might as well play Bennett line and Marchand line 60 minutes. Panthers fan Robbie @GVGC1970 Panthers were the better the team. Never easy on the pp when they've got McDavid and Drisital. Panthers in six. 👊 Cat 'N' Rats podcaster Kirby Lupul— 😼 🏆 😼 @KJ_Lups Draisaitl performance along with depth scoring / Dman scoring. Really felt FLA needed Game One in this series. A split in Edmonton is essential. First pairing (Ekblad and Forsling) really bothers me vs EDM in playoff matchup- speed and power of Edmonton eats them up. Florida podcaster T.J. Peterson, the Panther Pourri podcast The Arvidsson goal. That's the individual mistake that I feel like was the most costly in the entire game. I know that Bobrovsky was slightly screened, but there was at least one and probably several other times where Stuart Skinner had a partial screen on him and he still managed to make a save. Stuart Skinner outplayed Bob tonight. That can't happen. Bob makes $10 million…(But) that's not repeatable. What happened with Bob giving up the weird goals? We haven't really been seeing him do that. So there's no real reason to think it's going to happen again. Panthers fan Dr. Debunker@doctordebunker Tkachuk @TKACHUKycheese_ lost this game for us. Watch this guy on the ice. Slow as molasses. He's clearly hurt. Not the same player. Give someone else a shot and sit this one out big guy…Get Tkachuck off the ice . Guy is clearly playing hurt and it shows. Not skating. Put someone else in who gives us a chance Florida fan Jacob Winans @JacobWinans8 Boy there's nothing I love more than a Matthew Tkachuk Great Clips commercial after he just spent the evening doing absolutely nothing of value in Game 1 of the Final Panthers fan ZeroTrust Capo @The_CyberDon You can't make a terrible mistake like that. Nobody was even pressing you Nosek!!! Panthers fan M33 @Moore33Gaming What a stupid way to lose a game. Bill Horosz of the On the ProwlL Florida Panthers Den podcast Don't sit on a lead. When you get a couple of goals past Skinner, dial up the pressure even more. Panthers failed to do that. With that Panthers need to have a net front presence to screen Skinner and deflect shots/handle rebounds. Panthers fan zubic @zubic_eth What an absolute fumble after being up 2 goals 😭 Panthers fan John Ricard @johnricard Could the media gush any more for Edmonton and McDavid? It was gross. Florida fan Big Hits 🇺🇸🎸🏒⛳ @young5skiers Head up… It took a penalty call late in overtime to give the Oilers a chance to win the game. If I'm Florida, I'm feeling pretty confident 😎 4 dubs till B2B Florida Panthers championships! @SazonBailando Woke up feeling like I got stabbed last night. That OT Oilers goal killed me. ESPN's John Buccigross @Buccigross 14 of the previous 18 Game 1 OT winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup Final. Florida fan FL PanthersMuse @flpanthersmuse Bobby last night: — .913 SV% — 42 saves — 4 GA — 11 high-danger saves Kept us in it🙏🏻 Florida fan Adam – 🙀🏆 @FlaPnthrsPunk Bob deserved better. Must win in Game 2. 😾 Florida Panthers player Sam Bennett It was a one-goal game, a tight game. It could've went either way. They had a good push in the third. New York hockey columnist Stan Fischler @StanFischler Game One more than lived up to its billing and then some. The two best teams battle into overtime. A 7 game series would be hockey fan's delight! Florida podcaster T.J. Peterson, the Panther Pourri podcast The only thing that is truly ingrained with me is how much (Florida) fell apart and how much they looked like they were skating in quicksand at the end of the game. A sign of the fatigue of playing 400 games. But it doesn't really feel like that's the right answer when the Oilers have played what, six or seven fewer games because of the fact that they were in the Cup Final last year and how quickly the Panthers got to the Cup Final the year before. And the fact that (Edmonton) are the most top heavy team at this stage… Shouldn't a team like that be experiencing significant fatigue when, you know, they're playing forwards 30 minutes a game? Is it the jet lag? You got to find an explanation. 1. The Grade A shots count tell the story of this game. Edmonton was the better team in the first, seven Grade A shots to four for the Panthers. Florida was the better team in the second, five Grade A shots for them to two for the Oilers. And Edmonton dominated after that, 10 Grade A shots to three for the Oilers. In the end, this game wasn't that close, Edmonton with 19 Grade A shots, Florida with 12. Edmonton deserved this win, full stop. 2. Edmonton came out hitting, showing Florida they will not be pushed around and will be doing plenty of the pushing. The presence of a healthy Evander Kane, who made key physical plays around the net on two Oilers goals, was critical for the Oilers. Kane took up where Zach Hyman left off, throwing nine hits, a few of them punishing ones, including a nasty shot on top Florida d-man Aaron Ekblad early in the game. What Kane brings to the Final — what he couldn't bring last year due to injury — is invaluable. Every Oilers is two inches taller and twenty pounds heavier when they're on the ice with him, but he's got plenty of back-up as well with Vasily Podkolzin, Darnell Nurse, Corey Perry, Trent Frederic and a line-up full of committed, determined veterans. 3. Florida showed in the second that their forechecking can take over a game. The persistent onslaught and aggressive pinching by the Florida d-men at the offensive blueine was unlike anything the Oilers had faced in the 2025 playoffs. But it failed to result in enough greasy goals for Florida. To win, the Panthers needed one more shot to bounce in off someone or something. 4. After the game Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch insisted that he'd make the same coach's challenge again that he did on Florida's first goal. I hope not. Perhaps Knoblauch had yet to see the complete replay, but it was clear that Bennett was tripped up by Brett Kulak's skate and fell into Stuart Skinner due to that. Was Bennett looking for that contact, looking for an excuse to flop into Skinner? Maybe. Likely. But the skate-on-skate happened, it tripped up Bennett and it was an iffy challenge at best. The Oilers should own that. They screwed up. 5. As for any suggestion that the Oilers cheated, I don't get it. Fans of both teams were mad about the referees. I saw a Mikkola slew foot on McDavid that I didn't like. But Florida fans were up in arms about an alleged Oilers too-many-men-on-the-ice situation that they felt the refs missed. Such is playoff hockey. Nosek's penalty was a clear and obvious call to make, and one that the refs couldn't pretend they didn't see. 6. The winning goal was a thing of beauty, a testament to the calm, the cool, the experience and the brilliant skill of the Oilers power players. It started with the trademark Ryan Nugent-Hopkins backhand back pass off-the-boards to Evan Bouchard at the blueline (how many times have we seen that play?), then saw RNH and Perry both make no-look backhand passes, climaxing in Connor McDavid setting up Leon Draisaitl for his Executioner's Shot. The deadliest duo and the most lethal shot in hockey struck again. Draisaitl scores on 34 per cent of his Executioner's Shots that hit the net, something we've been tracking at the Cult since 2019-20.
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
With margin for error thin in Cup Final, Panthers need to regroup after Game 1 overtime loss
The Florida Panthers know the margin for error at this point is thin, if not non-existent. Any mistake can be costly in the Stanley Cup Final, any blunder the potential difference maker in which team wins it all. And it was Florida that made too many mistakes down the stretch in Game 1 on Wednesday. A poor third period opened the door for the Edmonton Oilers to win in overtime, capitalizing on a power play that came from a delay of game penalty when Tomas Nosek flipped the puck over the glass with 1:43 left in overtime. Leon Draisaitl buried a feed from Connor McDavid past Sergei Bobrovsky a little over a minute later to seal the Oilers' 4-3 win at Edmonton's Rogers Place to begin the best-of-7 series. 'It's a game of mistakes and who can capitalize on it more,' veteran forward Brad Marchand said. Edmonton did that on Wednesday. Florida was up 3-1 two minutes into the second period on a pair of goals by Sam Bennett and one by Marchand. Normally when the Panthers get a lead — a multi-goal lead at that — they are able to run away with the game. They can go heavy on their forecheck and their puck possession to grind opponents down the rest of the way, tighten their game up defensively to limit opportunities. Not in this game. Edmonton got back within a goal just 1:17 after Bennett's second goal when fourth-line forward Viktor Arvidsson took a drop pass from linemate Vasily Podkolzin and fired a shot from just beyond the left circle that got above Bobrovsky's left pad. Florida dominated the rest of the period, leading 17-8 in shots on goal, but couldn't get anything else past Stuart Skinner. And then things went awry in the third. Edmonton tied the game 6:33 into the frame on a Mattias Ekholm shot from the left circle and became the aggressors the rest of the way. Through the third period and overtime, the Oilers outshot the Panthers 24-8 — including 14-2 in the third period — before finally wrapping things up with Draisaitl's game winner with 31 seconds left in OT. 'Obviously we put ourselves in a tough spot,' McDavid said. 'We just hung in there. And I think that is experience. It's knowing that you don't have to open it up. You have to hold them at three and find a way to get one and push, and we did.' That's not how this Panthers team usually operates. Florida entered Wednesday a perfect 31-0 in the playoffs over the past three years when leading after either the first or second period. It's now 31-1. 'We've been really good all year at not sitting back with the lead,' Bennett said, 'and for whatever reason we sat back.' Florida will learn from this entering Game 2 on Friday (8 p.m., TNT, truTV, Max). It has no choice if it wants to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Adjustments will need to be made. Mistakes will need to be corrected. Both teams have improved tremendously since they met in the Cup Final last year, with Florida's depth improved from last season and Edmonton's defensive structure much more sound. Both teams have stellar goaltending at their peak, which was also on display Wednesday. Bobrovsky stopped 42 of 46 shots he faced for Florida — including 11 of 14 high-danger shots — while Skinner went 29 for 32 in net and turned aside three of five high-danger chances. The series last year went the full seven games, with Florida winning it all in the end. This series, if each team plays the way it knows how, has the makings for another long one. 'It has potential to be just a spectacular seven gamer right up and down the ice,' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. 'There isn't any casualness and there's no BS in either team's game. The pucks go deep that are supposed to go deep. I think we had one all night we didn't like, maybe two all night that we didn't like our decision of the line. They didn't fool around with it, either. It was honest, it was hard, it was fast and it was tight.' It makes every moment oh so important. It makes every mistake so potentially costly. It makes the need to have a short memory and turn the page all the more important. 'Just move on,' Marchand said. 'It's one game. You can't get stuck in the past here. We'll regroup, refocus and get ready for the next one.'
