Last season ended in heartbreak for the Edmonton Oilers after they clawed their way back from a seemingly insurmountable three-game deficit against the Florida Panthers, only to drop the final in Miami.
But the Oilers are getting a second kick at the Stanley Cup final this year as they once again face off against the Panthers in a hotly-anticipated rematch starting Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
And unlike last year, Edmonton has home-ice advantage, with the puck set to drop at what will surely be a raucous Rogers Place for the first two games, before the series shifts to Florida.
The Panthers are in the final for a third consecutive year, having lost to Las Vegas in 2023 before their franchise-first win in 2024.
The speedy team has dominated in the post-season since head coach Paul Maurice took over and winger Matthew Tkachuk arrived in a trade from Calgary. They’ve also now added the firepower of Seth Jones and Brad Marchand to the core led by Tkachuk and captain Aleksander Barkov.
Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are still at the top of their games, and now bring the experience of having played for the Cup. With Trent Frederic, Jeff Skinner, John Klingberg and Jake Walman, this year’s team is bigger and more seasoned.
The fact that this year’s Stanley Cup final is a rematch — only the fifth since the league expanded in 1968 — will only add to the heated competition between the tightly matched clubs.
“I don’t think there’ll be any weeding out or wading into that series,” former NHLer and sports analyst Jason Demers told The Associated Press. “I think it’s going to be gun shot, explosions right off the bat.”
