It was a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers won the first three games of the series. The Oilers were victorious in the next three contests. Florida won the decisive Game 7 in Sunrise and captured their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history.
The Oilers have not won a Stanley Cup in 35 years, after winning five Stanley Cups in a seven-season period. No Canadian-based team has captured a Stanley Cup title since 1993.
The Cats had their four-game home winning streak snapped on Saturday. The Oilers now have a five-game losing streak.
Florida(36-21-3) got out to a 1-0 advantage with 7:32 left in the first period. Anton Lundell won the faceoff in the left circle and Uvis Balinskis placed in a wrist shot from the left wing past Stuart Skinner for his fourth goal of the year.
Edmonton(34-21-4) tied it up 1-1 with 5:19 to go in the first. John Klingberg pushed the puck ahead from the blue line and Vasily Podkolzin poked a backhand pass from the left wing. Brett Kulak snapped a shot from the left-circle dot by Sergei Bobrovsky for his seventh goal in 2024-25.
In the second period, the Panthers increased it to 2-1 with 4:30 remaining. Aaron Ekblad snapped a shot from the top right circle and Anton Lundell redirected it from low slot for his 14th goal this season.
The Oilers responded with 2:30 left in the second to even it up 2-2. Klingberg sent a lead pass in the neutral zone. Leon Draisaitl carried it through the right circle and lifted a shot from the right of the crease for his 44th goal of the season.
The Cats made it 3-2 with 8:52 to go in the third period. Lundell zipped a cross-ice pass from the right wing. A.J. Greer tapped a back pass from high slot and Nate Schmidt scored his fifth goal of the campaign on a snap shot from top left circle.
It became 4-2 for Florida with 6:09 left in the third. Ekblad cleared the puck from his own goal line and Sam Reinhart steered it ahead in the center-ice circle. Carter Verhaeghe found the net on a second-chance forehand shot from the low slot for his 16th goal of the season.
Edmonton pulled their goalie for an extra attacker and closed it to 4-3 with 3:25 remaining in the period. Connor McDavid passed from the left circle and Zach Hyman scored his 20th goal this season on a wrist shot from the blue paint. It turned out to be McDavid's 699th NHL assist.
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