Don't expect Florida Panthers to jump the Edmonton Oilers this time
There haven't been many times in Stanley Cup Finals history that a teams wins three of the last four games and doesn't lift the trophy.
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Unfortunately for the Edmonton Oilers, last year's final was over before it started. Florida got the jump on them and by the time the Oilers recovered they were down 3-0.
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Credit them for pushing back to turn a sweep into a dramatic seventh game, but that slow start was a killer and it can't happen again.
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Now that the Oilers know what it's like to be in a Stanley Cup Final — perhaps the last piece of experience this ever-evolving team ever need — there is good reason to believe things will be different this time.
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'There is obviously a sense of calm having gone through this scenario last year,' said defenceman Darnell Nurse. 'That said, (Florida) is here for a third time, so they're going to have that sense as well.
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'I know for our group it's definitely a different feeling than going into last year. Going through it the first time, there were a lot of moments where you were really exited. For us this year, the level of excitement isn't as heightened as before. We know the task and the job that needs to be done.'
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They might not win it all, but getting caught flat-footed out of the gate doesn't seem likely for a team that's thought about little else for the last 11 months than Game 1.
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'Our makeup of the team is a bit different than last year,' said defenceman Mattias Ekholm, who'll be in his third career final when the Oilers host Florida Wednesday night at Rogers Place.
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'Not a lot of guys had been that far in the playoffs before. So it's good to have that and to be calm with that, guys being calm in situations that are pretty stressful and being able to deliver under pressure. When you've been there and seen it there are no real surprises along the way.'
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These aren't a bunch of wide-eyed first-timers anymore. This is a group that's weathered every storm there is to weather in this game, faced every possible stressor. It's a team that's 12-2 in its last 12 games against Western Conference heavyweights Los Angeles, Vegas and Dallas.
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'We have a different mood,' said head coach Kris Knoblauch. 'Last year was new to us, we didn't know what the Stanley Cup Final was going to be like.
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Winnipeg Free Press
14 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
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CTV News
19 minutes ago
- CTV News
McDavid: Oilers' goalie Skinner ‘gave us a chance to win' Game 1 over Panthers
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Toronto Sun
31 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Edmonton Oilers send Florida Panthers loud and clear message in Game 1
Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29), Evan Bouchard (2) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) celebrate Draisaitl's game winning overtime goal against the Florida Panthers during NHL Stanley Cup playoff action at Rogers Place, in Edmonton Wednesday June 4, 2025. Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia When somebody shows you who they are, believe them. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account It's an age-old truth that must be chilling the Florida Panthers to their core right now. The Panthers discovered Wednesday night in the 110-decibel circus at Rogers Place that what the Edmonton Oilers have been saying all along is true — this is a very different team than the one they beat last year. They're bigger, stronger, deeper, more mature and more determined. And this time they weren't going to be spooked by the enormity of the situation when the puck dropped in Game 1. This time the Oilers delivered a loud and clear message, showing their playoff mettle by overcoming a 3-1 deficit to force overtime and then winning it on Leon Draisaitl's goal at 19:29 to draw first blood in the Stanley Cup Final. 'We've done it all post-season,' Draisaitl said of the comeback win. 'We stick with it and we're never going to quit. It was a pretty evenly-played game but we got it done when it mattered most.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It's the first time an Oilers team held a series lead in the Final since 1990. They fell behind 3-0 last year and then 2-0 and 3-1 in 2006. This time they're in the driver's seat, three wins away from a championship. 'It's huge,' said Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner. 'When you look back at it (last year), if we get one win right away it's a completely different story. The way that we showed up right from the get go, and continued to keep going even though we were down by two, it shows a lot of character by us.' The Panthers, making their third-straight appearance in a Stanley Cup Final, are trying to win their way into a dynasty conversation but the Oilers have their own idea of how history is going to remember this season and they got right to it. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Oilers couldn't have asked for a better start, with Leon Draisaitl making it 1-0 just 66 seconds after the opening faceoff. From there, Edmonton controlled the rest of the period, hemming Florida in its own zone and outshooting them 14-7, with Florida's sixth and seventh shots coming in the final five seconds. Unfortunately for the Oilers, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky gave them nothing else and Florida came out of the period with a 2-1 lead on a controversial goal from Carter Verhaeghe at 10:49 and a power-play goal, made possible by Edmonton's unsuccessful goaltender interference challenge, from Brad Marchand at 12:30. Sam Bennett clearly interfered with Skinner on the first goal, but the referees ruled that he was tripped into the Oilers goaltender by defenceman Brett Kulak. A close call that could have gone either way went Florida's and resulted in a quick two-goal swing for the visitors. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I'd challenge that any day,' said head coach Kris Knoblauch. 'I saw him fall into (Skinner) and I didn't think he was tripped. From what I've seen from the NHL this year, I had a lot of confidence in challenging that.' After both teams scored early in the second period — Bennett giving Florida a 3-1 lead at 2:00 and Viktor Arvidsson closing it to 3-2 at 3:17 — Florida took over. They were outshooting Edmonton 17-4 late in the frame until an Oilers power play made it 17-8, and it was Skinner's turn to frustrate the shooters. Which he did. 'Great again,' Connor McDavid said of his goalie. 'He gave us a chance to win and that's all you can ask from your goaltender.' With the Panthers up 3-2 at the second intermission, Game 1 came down to 20 minutes. The Oilers, now 4-3 in the playoffs when trailing after two periods, needed just 3:33 to tie things up on Mattias Ekholm's goal. And then Game 1 came down to one shot. Draisaitl took it for his third overtime winner of the playoffs and the Oilers are up 1-0. 'I know these guys have it in them to come back like that,' Skinner said of his veteran teammates. 'The timing of it, too, a minute left. I've seen them do it many times. Hopefully I see them do it a lot more.' E-mail: rtychkowski@ Celebrity Canada Columnists Canada Toronto & GTA
