The defending champion Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers are meeting for the second consecutive year in the Stanley Cup Final.
Same old, same old, right?
Not quite.
Though the core players, coaches and goaltenders are the same, both teams have made important additions, most notably the Panthers.
They were aggressive at the trade deadline, adding All-Star forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Seth Jones to join their offseason depth acquisitions. The Oilers have surrounded their stars with a few different depth players and the team has honed its defensive game.
‘It’s going to be an incredible battle again,’ said Panthers forward Sam Reinhart, who scored last season’s series-clinching goal.
Here’s what’s intriguing about the Stanley Cup Final, which opens on Wednesday in Edmonton, Alberta (8 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV).
Last year’s Final was exciting
It didn’t start that way with the Panthers taking a 3-0 lead in the series and needing one more victory to clinch their first championship. But the Oilers didn’t make it easy. They crushed the Panthers 8-1 in Game 4 and scored five goals in both Games 5 and 6 to tie the series. Just when it seemed the Panthers might be reeling, they found their way again in Game 7 and picked up a 2-1 victory for the title.
Can Connor McDavid win his first title?
The Oilers star has become the NHL’s best player after he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2015. Three MVPs, five scoring titles, one goal title, seven All-Star appearances, the game-winning goal in the 4 Nations Face-Off. The only thing missing is a Stanley Cup ring. He came close last year. He broke Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record with 34 assists in a playoff year and totaled 42 points. That made him a rare Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) winner from the losing team, but he stayed with his teammates rather than accept the individual award. That Game 7 loss has driven him and the team. He’s leading the league in playoff assists and points again and had a crucial goal in the series clincher vs. the Dallas Stars.
Aleksander Barkov is a shutdown star
The Panthers captain is one of the top defensive forwards in the league and is favored to win his third Selke Trophy. Linemate Sam Reinhart is also up for the award. That line could be deployed against McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, though Edmonton will have the last line change in four of the games. Barkov had his own special move in the Panthers’ series clincher vs. the Carolina Hurricanes.
Will Canada’s Stanley Cup drought finally end?
No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. A Canadian team has been to the Final eight times since then, including this year. The Oilers pushed the series to seven games in their last two visits. Edmonton won the Stanley Cup five times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990) before the Canada drought began.
Panthers can achieve dynasty status
The state of Florida has become a hockey hotbed with the Tampa Bay Lightning reaching the Final from 2020-22 (winning the first two years) and the Panthers reaching from 2023-25. Win a second consecutive title and the Panthers dynasty talk could start. They’re deep and have multiple-time All-Star Marchand on the third line. It might be hard to keep the team together because Sam Bennett (league-best 10 goals), Marchand, Aaron Ekblad and others are pending unrestricted free agents, and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has one more year left on his deal. But the salary cap is going up, giving the Panthers flexibility.
Rematch doesn’t mean the same result
The Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 and the Penguins returned the favor the following year to give Sidney Crosby his first title. The same thing happened in 1983 and 1984. The New York Islanders swept the Oilers for their fourth title in a row. But Edmonton won in 1984 as Wayne Gretzky and company began their own dynasty.
Jeff Skinner gets his chance in playoff spotlight
The 2010-11 rookie of the year never made the playoffs in his first 13 NHL seasons. But he did this season after signing with the Oilers in the offseason, only to be a healthy scratch after suiting up in the playoff opener. However, an injury to Zach Hyman gave him an opportunity to play again. He scored in his return to the lineup.
Stuart Skinner can build up his reputation
The netminder got to Game 7 of the final last year but goaltending wasn’t considered an Oilers strength heading into this postseason. Skinner was benched after two playoff games and backup Calvin Pickard won six in a row. But an injury to Pickard put Skinner back in the net, and he finished off the Vegas Golden Knights with back-to-back shutouts. He also outplayed Stars goalie Jake Oettinger in the conference final.
Both coaches are masterful
Florida’s Paul Maurice has made the Final in his first three seasons with the Panthers. Edmonton’s Kris Knoblauch has done it his first two seasons as an NHL head coach. Both are strong at adjustments. Witness how last year’s series had such wild swings. Those adjustments have continued his year. Maurice switched out his fourth line after losing the first two games in the second round before his team won in seven games. Knoblauch benched Skinner to give the goalie a chance to reset. Both coaches are highly quotable.
You’ll see many of these players at the Olympics
Nine Panthers took part in the 4 Nations Face-Off, with Matthew Tkachuk (USA), Bennett, Marchand and Reinhart (Canada), Barkov and others (Finland) and Gustav Forsling (Sweden) leading the way. Edmonton had three players, led by Canada’s McDavid. Draisaitl will play for Germany in 2026 and other players from these teams could make the Olympics.
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