The 2025 Stanley Cup Final is just the third final-series rematch in back-to-back seasons in 40 years. And, when you look at the previous two, the similarities smack you in the mug like a Brad Marchand facewash — especially as it pertains to the best player on planet earth.
In 2024, the Florida Panthers stormed out to a 3-0 Cup Final lead on the Oilers, only to see Edmonton claw back and force Game 7. Finally, in that decisive contest on home ice, the Cats closed things out with a 2-1 victory.
Now, 12 months later, the Oilers and Connor McDavid are back for revenge — just like Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 16 years ago and Wayne Gretzky and these very same Oilers four decades ago in 1984.
Crosby’s Pens had fallen to the battle-tested Detroit Red Wings in 2008 during the young Penguins’ first trip to the final. Pittsburgh made it all the way back in 2009, lost the first two games of the final in Detroit, then managed to win four of the next five contests, including a classic 2-1 road victory in Game 7.
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With the Stanley Cup within reach, the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are set to battle once again for hockey’s ultimate prize. Watch every game of the Final on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
The early-’80s Oilers made their first trip to the final in 1983 and got schooled by the dynastic Islanders, who claimed their fourth straight title with a sweep that year. The rematch, though, was all Edmonton. After the teams split the first two games on Long Island, the Oilers won the next three contests — all on home ice, thanks to a 2-3-2 format — by a combined score of 19-6.
With that, Gretzky and Co. had their first title.
The obvious overlap is two generational superstars — Crosby and Gretzky — getting their first ring in their second straight trip to the final. Though they were early-20s players at that point in their career, as opposed to late-20s like McDavid, the template is clearly there.
Another potential historical echo? Amazing as they were, neither Crosby nor Gretzky claimed the Conn Smythe the first time their teams won the title. In both cases, it was unreal running mates — Mark Messier in ’84, Evgeni Malkin in ’09 — who were named playoff MVP.
Could that be Leon Draisaitl in 2025 with a fantastic final series?
Of course, similarities are also on Florida’s side of the puck.
The Red Wings, led by Pavel Datsyuk, Nick Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg, were not as physical as the Panthers, but were every bit as smothering. Meanwhile, the Islanders may be an even better comparison for the present-day Panthers thanks to their all-time mix of talent and toughness.
By the time New York saw Edmonton in the 1984 final, the former had won 19 consecutive playoff series. Florida has now taken 10 of 11 series dating back to the start of the 2023 playoffs. Do some nebulous era-adjusting for how hard it is to win any series these days, and the Panthers are basically living right in the Isles’ neighbourhood. As it stands, the Cats are just the second team — along with their rivals from Tampa — to make the final three straight years since the Isles did it with that powerhouse early-’80s club.
Florida, naturally, wants nothing more than to flip the script from the past two rematches and make the second chapter one where the defending champs retain the belt. If McDavid and the Oilers are to follow the blueprint set by Crosby’s Penguins and the Gretzky Oilers, they’ll have to snatch victory from the claws of an incredible opponent.
And that is why — for the second straight spring — we’re almost surely headed for another fantastic final between these two clubs.
With that, let’s dive into a preview.
PLAYOFF TEAM STATS
ADVANCED STATS
Playoff 5-on-5 numbers via Natural Stat Trick
Oilers Storylines
1. McDavid on a Mission
It’s just easy to believe this is Connor McDavid’s time.
The defending Conn Smythe Trophy winner is at it again, leading the playoffs in scoring with 26 points. Our Conn Smythe power rankings will drop Tuesday and — SPOILER ALERT — No. 97 is going to be No. 1.
McDavid’s breakaway goal in the Game 5 series-clincher against Dallas — which restored a two-goal Oilers lead two minutes after the Stars had closed the gap to one — was a prime example of how it just feels like this guy is unwilling to let his team let this prime opportunity slip away.
McDavid was held pointless in three of the seven Cup final games last season, including Games 1 and 7 in Florida when Cats coach Paul Maurice could do his best to have Aleksander Barkov — who just picked up his second straight Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the league — on the ice whenever McDavid was. Of course, McDavid had an incredible 11 points in the other four games last spring, three of which were Oilers wins.
(Maybe this is a good time to remind you the Oilers will have home-ice advantage this time out, versus the Cats having it in 2024.)
Four months after McDavid finally got his long-awaited international moment with Canada — scoring the overtime winner versus Team USA to take the 4 Nations Face-Off — is it finally time for his Cup?
2. Major injuries: one in, one out
There’s no question losing Zach Hyman is a tough pill for Edmonton to swallow. The gritty winger was injured in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final versus Dallas, had surgery for an upper-body injury and is ruled out of the series with Florida.
Tough.
That said, Mattias Ekholm made his playoff debut the very next — and, ultimately, final — game versus Dallas, and you could argue his reinsertion into the lineup is as much a boon to the Oilers as Hyman’s loss is a blow.
Ekholm had not played a game since April 11 thanks to an undisclosed injury. This almost seems like the perfect return for him because he got to shake some rust out in 15:52 of play versus the Stars, then basically got another week off to further practise and heal.
The 35-year-old Swede should be a huge factor for Edmonton against this tough, deep Florida squad. Ekholm — at six-foot-five and 225 pounds — has the battle-tested frame to stand up to the Cats’ relentless forecheck.
3. Kane and Corey
Florida — with its chirpy, murders’ row of mean guys — gets all the headlines, but don’t forget about Edmonton’s edgy contingent.
Evander Kane was essentially a shadow of himself in last year’s final — he played the first two games, but just couldn’t be effective and came out of the lineup — thanks to hernia and abdominal issues he eventually had surgery for. After missing the entire regular season, Kane debuted in Game 2 of the first round and has 11 points in 15 outings since.
Meanwhile, 40-year-old Corey Perry is tied with Leon Draisaitl for the Oilers’ goal-scoring lead with seven tallies this spring. Perry’s 61 career playoff goals are more than any active NHLer save Alex Ovechkin (77), Sidney Crosby (71) and Evgeni Malkin (67). Perry, of course, has been on the losing side in the Cup Final an astounding four times in the past five years with four different clubs (Dallas, Montreal, Tampa, Edmonton). Eighteen years after he lifted the 2007 Cup as a 22-year-old sophomore on the Anaheim Ducks, the wily veteran is still after his second ring.
Both Kane and Perry get in your face and under your skin. Unlike last year, Florida will not have the market cornered on aggravating guys who can also hang a goal on you in this series.
Panthers Storylines
1. Big boys on track?
While everyone has to pull on the rope for a team to make the conference final, through two rounds, Florida’s top point-getters were disproportionately from the club’s third line.
Then came the five-game win over Carolina.
Matthew Tkachuk — who had had just one goal in 11 games from the second contest of the first round through the entire second round — had three multi-point outings versus Carolina and wound up with seven points in five games.
Barkov, after a big conference final, suddenly has nine points in his past six outings, dating back to a Game 7 win over Toronto in Round 2.
Barkov is always contributing, no matter what his offensive numbers are. But if Tkachuk — who didn’t play from late February until the start of the playoffs, thanks to a groin injury — is back to being his old, unicorn self, it’s a huge boost for Florida as it tries to grind out four more victories.
2. “Marshy” and the Finns
Florida obviously felt Brad Marchand had something to contribute when GM Bill Zito acquired him from the Bruins ahead of the deadline. That said, could Zito and his staff envision 14 points through 17 games? Heck, Marchand was tied for the team scoring lead with Eetu Luostarinen after two rounds with 12 points. And remember how Perry is fourth among active playoff goal-scorers? Marchand is right behind him at No. 5 with 60.
Marchand’s production really just speaks to how good the Cats’ third line of Anton Lundell between Marchand and Luostarinen has been this spring. If the top two units are producing, the offence Florida gets from that trio really is an incredible cherry on top of the sundae. For two rounds, though, it was necessary for that third line to be cooking and it more than delivered.
While we’re on the topic of Marchand, let’s just note that Zito’s other major deadline acquisition — defenceman Seth Jones — has been critical to Florida’s success, too.
Nobody is playing more per night on the Panthers than Jones (24:59) and he’s only been a minus player in three of Florida’s 17 outings.
With Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad on one pair and Jones — who’s six-foot-four— paired with six-foot-six Niko Mikkola on another, the Panthers’ top-four is very formidable.
3. Playoff “Bob”
Through his first eight post-season games in 2025, Sergei Bobrovsky had an .875 save percentage. In his past nine, he’s posted a .944 SV% to go along with a 7-2 record.
At 36, Bobrovsky is still more than capable of being the backbone of this Florida team.
If you’re an Oilers fan, maybe you just pray that — after 60 playoff games combined in the past three springs — the veteran wears down a little in this showcase series.
Without turning this into a theological conversation, though, the guess here is that prayer goes unanswered.
4. Date with history?
Florida really has a chance to do something special by winning back-to-back Cups. While Pittsburgh (2016 and ’17) and Tampa (2020, ’21) have both done it relatively recently, recall the league went nearly 20 years between the Red Wings repeating in 1998 and the Penguins doing the same in 2017. Teams as good as the Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks and Drew Doughty/Anze Kopitar Kings never did it in consecutive years.
Florida is 41-21 since the start of the 2023 playoffs for a remarkable .661 winning percentage. If that percentage improves after another date with the Oilers, we’re going to be talking about this crew as one of the best we’ve seen this century.
Oilers key stat: .944
Stuart Skinner started the first two games of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Edmonton and lost them both to the L.A. Kings, which resulted in him losing his job to Calvin Pickard. When the latter got injured, Skinner went back in for Game 3 versus Vegas and dropped that contest 4-3.
Since that defeat, though, Skinner has posted a .944 save percentage in seven outings. As you’d expect, that’s the best SV% in that time of any goalie in the playoffs, just ahead of Bobrovsky’s .938.
Goaltending has long been viewed as a soft spot — or, at least, an area of uncertainty — for the Oilers. Skinner is by no means a perfect puckstopper, but he’s put his best skate forward and then some in a difficult spot.
Should he falter, Pickard — now healthy — has proven he can be a steadying influence.
If the Oilers can saw the goalie battle off to a wash, it will be a big boost to Edmonton’s overall chances.
Panthers key stat: 11
If it feels like the Panthers are coming at you from all angles, it’s because they are. Florida has a playoff-high 10 skaters with at least 11 points this spring. Edmonton has the next-highest amount with six.
The Cats’ ability to produce offence up and down the lineup — including from the back end — is their calling card and something they’ll be counting on to get the better of Edmonton in a close series where every goal figures to count.
Schedule
Game 1, FLA @ EDM: Wednesday, June 4, 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT (Sportsnet/CBC)
Game 2, FLA @ EDM: Friday, June 6, 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT (Sportsnet/CBC)
Game 3, EDM @ FLA: Monday, June 9, 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT (Sportsnet/CBC)
Game 4, EDM @ FLA: Thursday, June 12, 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT (Sportsnet/CBC)
Game 5, FLA @ EDM: Saturday, June 14, 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT (Sportsnet/CBC)*
Game 6, EDM @ FLA Tuesday, June 17, 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT (Sportsnet/CBC)*
Game 7, FLA @ EDM Friday, June 20, 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT (Sportsnet/CBC)*
*If necessary
