Oilers vs. Panthers: Game 1 Information, Line Combinations, Starting Goaltenders, and More

Here we go again.

It’s the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers in a Stanley Cup Final rematch.

Last year, the Oilers fought back after dropping the first three games of the series with three wins of their own. They nearly became the second team in NHL history to complete a 3-0 series comeback in the Stanley Cup Final, but the Panthers were able to hold the fort in a Game 7 victory at home.

There are a handful of differences in this year’s rematch, with the biggest being Edmonton holding home-ice advantage. The Oilers need to capitalize on what’ll be a raucous crowd at Rogers Place to flip the script on how things went last time.

Let’s get set for Game 1.

Oilers vs. Panthers Game 1 Information

• Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2025
• Start Time: 6:00 PM MT
• Location: Edmonton, Alberta
• Venue: Rogers Place
• Watch: CBC/SN (Canada), TNT (USA), Fubo (Stream)

Projected Line Combinations

• Oilers: Head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed on Monday that winger Connor Brown will be available for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Brown was injured in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final on a hit by Dallas Stars defenceman Alex Petrovic and didn’t suit up for the rest of the series. Viktor Arvidsson drew into the lineup in Brown’s absence, and then Jeff Skinner came in when Zach Hyman was injured later in the series. With Hyman out for the playoffs and Brown back, Arvidsson will remain in the lineup for Game 1, while Skinner will be a scratch. Defenceman Mattias Ekholm also made his playoffs debut for the Oilers in their series-clinching win against the Stars. Ekholm logged just under 16 minutes in his return from injury and was skating on the team’s top pairing with Evan Bouchard at practice.
• Panthers: Depth has been key to Florida’s success throughout their third consecutive run to the Stanley Cup Final. Sam Bennett leads the league with 10 goals in the playoffs, but 18 different skaters have also combined for 56 goals for the Panthers. The team’s third line of Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell, and Eetu Luostarinen has been very effective, with the trio combining for 13 goals. Florida’s top line with multi-time Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov and Selke finalist Sam Reinhart will see plenty of time against Connor McDavid, while Leon Draisaitl will likely have a lot of matchups up with Sam Bennett, Carter Vergaeghe, and Matthew Tkachuk. The Panthers have Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad as their top defensive pairing, Niko Mikkola and Seth Jones on their second, and Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Kulikov on their third.

Projected Starting Goaltenders

• Oilers: Stuart Skinner was excellent in Edmonton’s five-game series win over the Stars. Even after allowing five goals in a Game 1 loss, Skinner posted a .924 save percentage over the five games, winning Games 2 to 5 with only five goals against. Skinner struggled in the first three games of last year’s Stanley Cup Final and then played very well in the final four games. The Oilers need Skinner to be at his best from the start this time around.
• Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky has played every minute for Florida during their first three rounds in the playoffs. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner has posted a .912 save percentage over 17 games, going 12-5 in the process. Bobrovsky was the opposite of Skinner in 2024. He played very well in Games 1 to 3 and then struggled in Games 4 to 6. The Panthers never wavered in their confidence in Bobrovsky, and he came through with 23 saves on 24 shots in Game 7.

Thoughts and Notes Going into Game 1

• Though neither the Oilers nor Panthers tore things up during the regular season, this is the Stanley Cup Final rematch that’s always felt inevitable, even dating back to last June. Florida won their first Stanley Cup and came back with an even stronger team. They let go of Vladimir Tarasenko, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Brandon Montour, among others, in the off-season, and eventually added Brad Marchand, Nate Schmidt, and Seth Jones to fill their spots. Edmonton also came back with a stronger team despite seeing a handful of players leave over the summer. Trent Frederic, Vasily Podkolzin, and Kasperi Kapanen have added size up front, Jake Walman and John Klingberg have made the blueline deeper than ever, and a healthy Evander Kane has given the Oilers a punch they missed late in last year’s series. Both the Oilers and Panthers are teams that save their best for the playoffs, and the best two teams are in the Stanley Cup Final.
• There haven’t been very many cracks shown by Florida throughout this year’s Stanley Cup Final run, which was their third consecutive Eastern Conference Crown. They cruised past the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes in five games, and their most difficult series came in the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs, as the Panthers had to go on the road and win in Game 7. The weakness exposed by the Leafs early in the series was the Panthers being caught flat-footed by skilled Toronto forwards on the rush. Toronto scored nine goals in wins in Games 1 and 2, with William Nylander chipping in three at even-strength. The Panthers took Game 3 with a 5-4 victory in overtime and then completely shut down Toronto’s offence the rest of the way, only allowing four goals between Games 4 and 7. The Oilers can look to jump on the Panthers early in this series with their speed and skill at home before the games get tighter when the series shifts to Florida.