Draisaitl’s Overtime Winner Lifts Oilers to 4-3 Victory Over Panthers in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers meet again in the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season, with the Panthers coming away victorious in 2024. But this time, the Oilers have home ice advantage. This game lived up to the hype as the Oilers defeated the Panthers 4-3 in overtime in an instant classic. Here’s your game recap.

Game Recap

The Oilers opened the scoring just 66 seconds into the game courtesy of Leon Draisaitl. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped Jake Walman’s point shot, but Draisaitl pounced on the rebound and buried it for his eighth of the playoffs.

Then the Panthers tied the game with 9:11 remaining in the opening frame. Sam Bennett deflected a Carter Verhaeghe shot through traffic and past goaltender Stuart Skinner. Edmonton challenged the call for goaltender interference, but it stood, which sent them to the penalty kill, and the Panthers scored on the ensuing power play. Nate Schmidt’s cross-seam pass found Brad Marchand, and he made no mistake, beating a sprawling netminder. Despite trailing 2-1 after one, the Oilers had a 14-7 shot advantage.

Bennett added another as Florida took a 3-1 lead two minutes into the second period. Schmidt sprung him in off the rush, and the Panthers forward beat Skinner blocker side.

Edmonton answered back a few minutes later to make it 3-2. Viktor Arvidsson walked in and ripped a slap shot under Bobrovsky’s arm. Just like the first period, Florida had a one-goal lead heading into the dressing room, outshooting Edmonton 17-8 in the period, and 24-22 overall.

Edmonton tied the game 6:33 into the third period. Connor McDavid and Kasperi Kapanen got in on the forecheck, and the Oilers’ captain found Mattias Ekholm in the slot, and he ripped a shot past the goaltender’s glove. Despite Edmonton having a 14-2 shot advantage in the third period, this game headed to overtime tied at three, with the Oilers having a 36-26 shot advantage overall.