Game One of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final will take place at 8:00 p.m. EDT tonight in Alberta, Canada when the Edmonton Oilers face off against the Florida Panthers in a repeat of last year’s Stanley Cup Final.

After winning their first championship in franchise history last year, the Florida Panthers followed up that performance by making it to the Stanley Cup Final once again. Though the Panthers are a relatively young franchise that was founded just 32 years ago, this marks the organization’s fourth Stanley Cup appearance.

On the other side, we have the Edmonton Oilers, who are gearing up for their ninth Stanley Cup Final appearance. Many eyes will be watching the Oilers as they look to become the first Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens did it in 1993.

TODAY 👏 IS 👏 THE 👏 DAY

The #StanleyCup Final rematch between the @FlaPanthers and @EdmontonOilers begins TONIGHT at 8p ET on @NHL_On_TNT, @SportsonMax, @Sportsnet, and @TVASports! pic.twitter.com/VCS5IF3JKy

— NHL (@NHL) June 4, 2025

How did the Panthers get here?

Even though they are the defending champions, the Florida Panthers did not have an easy path back to the Stanley Cup. In fact, the numbers indicate that they were better last year than they were this year.

Florida finished the regular season with a 47-31-4 record, which was good enough to keep them out of a Wild Card spot and earn them the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.

In the first round of the postseason, they faced a familiar foe in the Tampa Bay Lightning, whom they were able to quickly take care of by winning that series 4-1. In the second round of the playoffs, they faced their toughest task by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they took on the Carolina Hurricanes. Though the Canes won their first Eastern Conference Finals game since 2006, the Panthers overwhelmed them and won the series 4-1.

Now, Florida finds itself on the verge of history with a chance to win back-to-back championships.

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How did the Oilers get here?

Similarly to the Panthers, the Oilers were able to overcome a weaker regular season to make their way back to the Stanley Cup Final.

Edmonton’s standing within their division and conference fell from the 2023-24 season to the 2024-25 season. They finished with a 48-29-5 record, which earned them the third seed in the Pacific division and the sixth overall seed in the Western Conference.

After going down 0-2 against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs, the Oilers were able to storm back and win four straight games to eventually take the series. They had a much easier time in the second round, downing the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 to earn a trip to the Western Conference Finals. Despite losing the first game of that series, the Oilers won four straight against the Dallas Stars to earn a second consecutive Stanley Cup Final berth.

Edmonton is looking to not only break the Canada curse, but a franchise curse as well, because the team hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1990.

My prediction

If last year’s Stanley Cup is an indication of how this year’s plays out, then we are in for a treat! After Florida went up 3-0 in the series, the Oilers won three straight games to force a decisive Game Seven. Both teams exchanged first-period goals, but Sam Reinhart was able to sneak the puck past the Oilers’ netminder for the series-winning goal. I think things will be a little different this time around.

So far in the postseason, the Oilers have had the best offense (4.06 goals scored per game) while the Panthers have the best defense (2.29 goals allowed per game). Conversely, Florida has the third-best offense in the playoffs, while Edmonton is allowing the fourth-fewest goals per game. Simply put, this is a long-winded way of saying these teams are incredibly even.

I think the Oilers have an offensive advantage in this series. They’re led by Connor McDavid, who is unequivocally the best player in this series. He leads all postseason players in points (26) and assists (20). His linemate, Leon Draisaitl, is the second-best offensive player in the Stanley Cup Final as he enters the series with seven goals, 18 assists, and 25 points. Though their top-line guys are incredible, Edmonton will need to find scoring from other places in order to win this thing.

Florida’s offense has been much better this postseason compared to last postseason, but their bread and butter is still their defense, which is led by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. He has a .912 save percentage, which is actually better than his save percentage from last year’s Stanley Cup run, where he was absolutely lights out. Against an offensive juggernaut like Edmonton, he will need to be near-perfect.

𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒: The Florida Panthers defeat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 and hoist their first #StanleyCup

𝟑𝟒𝟓 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫: The rematch between the two clubs gets underway in Edmonton. #TimeToHunt | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/2NwBWneT4B

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) June 4, 2025

This series will ultimately come down to two things: can Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner continue to play well, and can the Oilers’ top-line score goals? I am not worried about the latter because Draisaitl and McDavid combined for 14 points in last year’s Stanley Cup Final. I think they’ll have even more points this time around, considering the Panthers lost key defensive pieces this off-season like Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour.

Meanwhile, Stuart Skinner has been playing much better since taking over as Edmonton’s full-time starter. In his last eight contests, he has only allowed 1.75 goals per game while putting up a save percentage of .931. That would be the highest save percentage of any goalie in the postseason!

I think the Oilers were a little skittish last season when they made the Stanley Cup Final, which is why they went down 0-3 early in the series. I believe they will be much more prepared this time around and ready for what the Panthers will try to throw at them.

Oilers win 4-2