Stanley Cup Rematch: Will the Panthers Repeat or Will the Oilers Prevail?

Published: Wednesday, June 4, 2025

by Ryan Nelke

The Panthers and Oilers are set to meet once again in the 2025 Stanley Cup after battling it out last year, which saw Florida win in an exciting seven games.  The Panthers won the first three games, before the Oilers responded by winning the next three.  However, with game seven in Florida, the Cats came out on top with a 2-1 win.

This time around, the stakes are even higher for both of these squads.  Can Edmonton break Canada’s 32-year cup drought?  Can Florida cement the building blocks for a dynasty with a second straight cup?  Will Connor McDavid finally take home the Stanley Cup?  It should be interesting to see, so it is time to preview and predict chapter two of Panthers-Oilers.

These two teams are built very differently, with Florida having arguably the deepest roster with talent up and down the lineup, while Edmonton boasts two of the best players in the sport, being McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.  The Panthers have 10 players in this playoff run with 10+ points, while McDavid and Draisaitl are the only two players to have posted 25+ points.

Speaking of McDavid, this year’s Stanley Cup Final will have a massive impact on his legacy.  He is the unquestioned top player in the NHL, with many considering him the best player in North American sports, but he lacks the biggest prize in his trophy room.  

With this being the 10th year of his career, and the caliber of a player he is, one would expect McDavid to have brought home the Cup to Edmonton by now.  That said, there is a lot resting on his shoulders this time around as he looks to avenge last year’s loss.

It is also crucial to note how interesting the battle between the netminders will be in this series.  Florida presents Sergei Bobrovsky who is a 2-time Vezina winner and Stanley Cup champion, while Edmonton responds with Stuart Skinner, who is known for his inconsistent performances in net.

This year’s playoff run got off to a rocky start for Skinner, as after two horrid performances in the first two games of the first round versus the Los Angeles Kings, he was benched for backup Calvin Pickard.  However, Pickard would go down with an injury during the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights, and Skinner would reclaim his role.

Since Game 3 against Vegas, Skinner has essentially been Jekyll and Hyde, with five outings with a save percentage of .966+ (including three shutouts), but three outings below .835.  Therefore, this author predicts that the deciding factor of this Stanley Cup rematch is Skinner.

If Skinner is on his game like he showed for the majority of the series against the Golden Knights and Stars, it will be enough to get the Oilers to the holy grail.  If not, this series might be over quickly with the Panthers repeating as champions.

If Florida were to win their second straight Cup, it would come on the backs of an elite offensive core, consisting of Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and many more as this team is just so deep.  Barkov leads the way for the Cats with 17 points, while Bennett leads the team with 10 goals during this playoff run.

With that in mind, while this is a tough call to make, this author is putting his faith behind a McDavid-led squad and believing that Skinner will do just enough to allow the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup Final in seven games.

Ryan Nelke can be reached at nelkerya@shu.edu.

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