The 2025 NHL season is wrapping up, as they play the final round of games over the next few days. The Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers played at Rogers Place in Edmonton on June 4, at 8:00 p.m. It is the 12th rematch in Stanley Cup Final history. The Panthers defeated the Oilers in seven games winning their first Stanley Cup championship last year.
Oilers center Leon Draisaitl started off strong only 66 seconds in, scoring, giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead. Draisaitl hit the rebound off of Sergei Bobrovsky, the goaltender for the Panthers. Draisaitl started the game with the fastest goal to start a Stanley Cup Final since 1976.
“He’s invaluable,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who set up the tying and winning goals, said to ESPN. “He does so many good things, clutch, and faceoffs. You name it, he does it.”
After the Oilers’ First goal the Panthers scored three straight to take a 3-1 lead with just two minutes in the second period. Center Sam Bennett deflected a shot past Stuart Skinner, the goaltender, for the Oilers after falling into him.
The Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch unsuccessfully challenged for goaltender interference. It was ruled that his own player, Jake Walman, tripped Bennett into Skinner. The resulting penalty allowed Florida’s Brad Marchand to score the goal on a power play.
It appeared for a little while that the Oilers might lose game one, but fourth-liner Viktor Arvidsson scored in the second period to bring the score 3-2. Mattias Ekholm from the Oilers defense then scored in the third period tying the game.
Leon Draisaitl took the game to OT and scored with help from Connor McDavid and Corey Perry, who all work well together.
“It’s a special feeling,” Draisaitl said to CBS. “It’s great for right now but we’ve got to look ahead and get ready for game two.”
The next game is Friday, June 6, at 8:00 p.m in Edmonton before the series shifts to Florida for games three and four.
