Stanley Cup Preview
241 Days Ago, the Devils and Sabres kicked off the 2024-25 Season in Sweden. Shortly after, the rest of the NHL kicked off a grueling journey. 82 regular season games, disrupted by an incredible Four Nations Face-Off Tournament, the 32 Teams went through the grind, managed through the trade-deadline, and the final sprint to the NHL Playoffs. 16 Teams faced-off to open the playoffs nearly 7 weeks ago. And now, after intense battles in the corners, wars in front of nets, and in some cases, bare knuckle fights in center ice, we have our final 2. Granted, they are our familiar final 2…
Welcome back to Florida vs Edmonton, Pt. 2. Yes, that’s right, we have a rematch folks. This is the first rematch in the Final since 2008/09 and the 5th rematch in the NHL Expansion Era (1967-68.) The Florida Panthers seemingly controlled nearly every single game against the Hurricanes in their rematch from 2023. It was a gentlemen’s sweep but for not the law of averages, could have easily been a full-on sweep of the Hurricanes. The matchup wasn’t as close as I anticipated and maybe that was because I didn’t fully appreciate what this Florida team still is. Edmonton, shockingly, should have swept the Dallas Stars. They were the better team in nearly every single period aside from perhaps 3.5 of the 15 periods played. The Oilers put on a master class of defensive structure and it helps when goaltending steps up.
So here we are, a rematch from the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. These two teams are probably better than their 2024 versions, but the key difference this year, the Edmonton Oilers will be the host…Let’s get into it.
2025 Stanley Cup Final
Edmonton Oilers (3rd Pacific Division)
vs Florida Panthers (3rd Atlantic Division)
The Oilers 12-2 since the LA Kings took games 1 and 2 in the first round. The Oilers have outscored their opponents 58-33. Every single forward who has played a game for the Oilers have scored a goal, including the prince Jeff Skinner in his 2nd ever playoff game, after getting scratched for 12 straight games. The Oilers made quick work of the Dallas Stars, and it was apparent it was going to be a short series after period 1 of game 1. The Dallas Stars depth, the ”deepest team” on paper, looked shallower than the Santa Ana River. They had nothing to meet the Oilers relentless play. The Oilers held the Stars to 4 shots on goal in the final frame of both games 4 and 5, which is incredible considering how desperate Dallas should have been. Dallas had moments of pressure, but only for short periods of time and couldn’t take advantage when they had the puck. During good stretches, the Oilers put on a master class of how to nurse a lead. You don’t sit back and let the game come to you, like our friends down in Southern California. No, they continued the forecheck pressure, they kept all play to the outside, and moved the puck into safe areas when they had the chance. McDavid took advantage of key moments to ice games, something that the best players in the world do. That goal in game 5 shortly after the Oilers let one in is one of those moments that stick with you when you think about key goals/moments of a legend’s career. Offensively, this team is clicking on all cylinders. Every player is contributing to the cause and there are next to no passengers. Corey Perry is as wormy as ever, and even Jeff Skinner got his. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, this writers favorite Oiler, might be playing the best hockey of his entire career. This guy is as old as I am, so his draft in 2011 meant a lot to me. He has played every single year of his career as an Oiler. After spending most of his early years playing in the decade of darkness, playing through seemingly an endless amount of coaches, and never asking for too much in return, he is finally showing the world just how valuable of a player he is. 18 points in 16 games is quite the feat for this veteran and his defensive play is something to behold. He’s the blueprint of how to change your game to remain a force in this league. Defensively, this team is pulling all the right levers. The group went on a 11-4 run without the likes of their best defender in Mattias Ekholm. He finally was drawn into the lineup in Game 5, way ahead of schedule. The additions of Jake Walman and John Klingberg have been incredible as they have elevated their game to a new height. The D core is a significant upgrade from last year’s team, even with the loss of Broberg. Now they get to bring in Ekholm to help finish the job. This is all before even mentioning Evan Bouchard, who elevates his game in the playoffs for a 2nd year in a row and is showing just how valuable he really is, despite his tendency to make ghastly mistakes. He sits with 6 goals and 17 points, 4th in line for his team. The pairings have shut down good scoring players in Jack Eichel, Jason Robertson (until the end), Mikko Rantanen ( not a single goal since last series), and Adrian Kempe. I would have thought this team would be dying without Ekholm, but the aforementioned alongside the amazing but undersized Stecher has kept this team not only afloat, but in the drivers seat most nights. And last, the Oilers goaltending has stepped up in ways I couldn’t have imagined. For a 2nd year in a row, Stuart Skinner has outplayed Jake Oettinger. Over the course of his 2nd half of the playoffs, after a miserable start, he has saved over 6 goals above expected. When the Oilers defense broke down, Stu was there to save the day. He had 1 bad goal in the entire Dallas series and it showed as the Oilers played their hearts out for him. We are seeing what Stu Skinner can really do when he has the rest and reset. The Oilers always have Cal Pickard sitting on the bench to take on some of load if it comes to it. The Oilers one major weakness has not been the weakness we thought. Better defensive structure has helped but the goalies ability to shut out the noise has been all the story. This Oilers team is better than the last years’.
The Florida Panthers have been far and away the best team in the east all playoffs, and it hasn’t been close. The Panthers completely dominated the Hurricanes. You wonder what Toronto was feeling as they were the only team that gave them any trouble at all. And if you are a Capitals fan at all, you are sitting here feeling even worse as you were stomped by Carolina…who were completely stomped by Florida. Florida is the class of the East. I have said this all year folks. They have the right guys that know what it takes to win when it matters most. They sacrifice their offense and game in the regular season, get enough wins to get in and turn on their games. They are nastier than your team, they are grittier than your team, and they are willing to do what most other teams would do to get their names on the Stanley Cup. The offense has been very deep in their own right. Carter Verhaeghe has a playoff mode to him that is on par with some of the best in the league. Sam Bennett is going to ink a huge contract because of his ability to muck things up around the ice and score a league leading 10 goals in the process. Matt Tkachuk is a moment away from taking over a game at any point. This is all before talking about probably the best 3rd line in hockey, led by none other than King Rat Brad Marchand. Barkov, your Selke winner, sits with runner up Sam Reinhart as an incredibly talented 1st line. They are capable of taking on even the best lines in the game. Even Arron Ekblad is contributing at a crazy pace on the blue line. This brings me to what the Panthers are known for, their defense. Florida forechecks in ways that no other team does, and it forces defenders to make decision quickly, usually bad ones. The blueliners are very strong and having incredible seasons. Niko Mikkola and Seth Jones are emerging as top tier D-men, yes that Seth Jones. It’s amazing what moving to a good team does to a guy. Forsling and Ekblad are as formidable as they come and that third pairing is quite the duo as well. The Panthers will run you into the ground with relentless attack and incredible defending in front of Bobrovsky. There’s a reason they sit 2nd in the playoffs for expected goals against per 60. They are masters at wearing teams down and taking liberties on their way. They are very opportunistic. They have little injury worries and looking to show the world that the Stanley Cup runs through the Panthers. Goalie Bob has been sensational who’s the only goalie to post a better SV% and better GAA in this last 8 starts his opponent Stu Skinner. There is nothing behind backing him up of value, so this is on Bob to bring it home. Despite moments of bad play, he has been very quick to respond, sometimes within the same game. For the 3rd time straight, the Florida Panthers will be at the dance, but this time with a familiar partner.
It was always these two teams, wasn’t it? My good friend Mike Brown knew it, and after much thought, it was always these teams. The dynasty seeking Florida Panthers were always going to be back. They are built for this type of game. The Team of Destiny Oilers were destined to come back. Hyman said it and Tkachuk said it following Game 7. The NHL runs through these two teams…we shouldn’t be shocked by this rematch. It’s going to take a lot for the Oilers to overcome their loss of Zach Hyman, but they will need to bring their best to beat the best. They have a healthy Frederic and Kane to match that nasty play that you know the Panthers will bring. The Panthers will need to match the incredible desperation of the Edmonton Oilers. They managed to stop the comeback last year but at times it looked like Florida couldn’t match the Oilers play. The Panthers will need to be opportunistic because the Oilers have been the most opportunistic team in the playoffs. Special Teams will be a story as well. Overall, it will come to who wants it more. There are clear strengths in the Panthers lineup, their 3rd line, their willingness to get dirty, and their goaltender. There are strengths on the Oilers side, their depth is clicking, the McDrai effect, and the utter desperation of finishing the job this time. The Conference Finals weren’t great…but they set up for a highly anticipated Stanley Cup Final. This is going to be incredible. Every inch will be earned and the team who gives that much more will reign supreme. Gretzky won his first cup in a rematch with the Islanders and Crosby won his first cup in a rematch against the Red Wings…its time folks. My prediction is we will see Connor McDavid hoist his first Stanley Cup, on home ice on Friday, June 20th on the 7th and last game of the series and final game of the 2024-2025 Season. Have fun folks!