Oilers vs Panthers is a Rematch Sure to Deliver

The Oilers trio will be up against the Panthers’ fantastic five, including elite talents Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, and Sam Reinhart. All five forwards bring something different to the table. Tkachuk will set the tone. He is the power forward on the wing who is tough to prepare for. Barkov is the two-way center leading the team in playoff points and quietly making his case for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Reinhart is the scorer who is having a remarkable season on defense. Bennett is the physical center to complement Barkov’s speed. Then there’s Verhaeghe, one of the great scorers who is often overlooked, yet he has 30 goals in his last 72 playoff games.

The question is, which team has the edge in terms of star power? Last season, the Panthers did, as Barkov and Tkachuk matched up well against McDavid and Draisaitl. Also, having five difference-makers is better than three. That said, McDavid is good enough to make up the difference. No one else can single-handedly flip a series like McDavid can, something he’s done a few times, including in the Western Conference Final.

McDavid won the Conn Smythe in a losing effort a year ago by giving the Oilers a chance. The Panthers have the stars to try to stop the best player in the game, but even when they are playing the right system, he can still beat them, and he might this time around.

Oilers & Panthers Play The Right Way

The rest of the league will enter the 2025-26 season trying to emulate these two teams. They are not only model franchises, appearing in the Final in back-to-back seasons, but they’ve provided a blueprint or two to becoming a Cup winner.

The Panthers don’t have the best offense, and don’t play fast. They did in 2021-22, but moving away from that style is one of the reasons they are a perennial Cup contender. Instead of playing a high-flying brand of hockey, they play physical, defend, and when needed, they can run up the score.

The Oilers made it to the Final doing the same thing. Yes, they have an explosive offense that averaged 4.06 goals per game in the first three rounds. That’s not what brought them to the Final in back-to-back seasons. The star players set the tone by stepping up on defense, and the entire team buys in on both ends of the ice, making the difference even against teams that appear to have deeper rosters.

The Coaching Chess Match

It’s hard to think of two more opposite coaches than Kris Knoblauch and Paul Maurice. Knoblauch is 46 years old and came from the American Hockey League as an up-and-coming coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack (and before that, he was a coach at the junior level and an assistant in the Philadelphia Flyers organization). Maurice is closing in on 60 and has coached in the NHL for 27 seasons. The Panthers are the fourth team he’s coached and the fifth stop (the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes early in his coaching tenure). Maurice is the definition of a retread.

Yet, both coaches have their teams in the Final and playing their best hockey at the right time. Knoblauch and Maurice will want to establish the forecheck and generate pressure, especially early on in the series. Both coaches will have their teams playing a structured defense to help out their goaltending. At the same time, both coaches will be willing to pivot if needed to win games and the Cup.

What makes this matchup fascinating are the coaching adjustments. Knoblauch must replace Zach Hyman, the scorer on the wing, who will miss the Final due to injury. He also must ease Mattias Ekholm, the Oilers’ best stay-at-home defenseman, who only just returned from injury, into the lineup. Maurice, meanwhile, will look for the line that’s finding the back of the net and keep it on the ice, which isn’t easy when there are three to choose from. Likewise, he must match up Barkov’s line against McDavid’s and Reinhart’s against Draisaitl’s, especially if the Oilers split up the duo.

Both coaches have already been great in the playoffs. Knoblauch’s management of the lineup, most notably the goaltending duo of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, stands out. He pulled Skinner after two terrible starts in the first but had the confidence to return to and keep him in the lineup, a move that’s given the team elite play in net. Maurice made a series of adjustments that made the difference in the series, notably, the pivot against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 2 to play fast, and they took over the series. Now, the two decision-makers can make a big move or two that will likely decide the Final.

How This Rematch Mirrors The Previous Stanley Cup Final Rematch

The hockey historian can’t help but think back to the 2008 and 2009 Cup Finals when the Detroit Red Wings faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Red Wings were the team of the decade, entering the 2008 Final with three titles in 12 seasons, and they aimed to end a great run with another Cup. The Penguins were the up-and-coming team, with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang just entering their primes and looking for a title to cement themselves among the league’s elite.

In 2008, the Red Wings won the Cup in Game 6 after the Penguins came up just short in the final seconds. Led by Niklas Lidstrom and a cast of Hall of Famers, Detroit won the Presidents’ Trophy that season and then won the Cup, something no team has done since in a full 82-game season (the Chicago Blackhawks did it in 2012-13 in a strike-shortened season). Their 2001-02 team is considered the best of the 2000s, yet this team was right up there.

The Penguins used that loss as fuel to even up the score the next year. They played the Red Wings again, and the series went the distance, with the Penguins taking Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena. Crosby, Malkin, and Letang were all in their early 20s, thinking the sky was the limit, and little did they know that it would be seven seasons before they hoisted the Cup again (it was still before Alexander Ovechkin won his first in 2018).

The 1983 and 1984 Finals, when the New York Islanders faced the Oilers, are also worth noting. In 1983, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and the rest of the team saw firsthand how hard it was to win it all when they saw the Islanders icing up and recovering after they won the Cup. The Oilers knew they had to reach another level to get the job done, which they did in 1984. The series, in many ways, was a passing of the torch as it ended one dynasty and started another.

Both of these rematches feature one team getting revenge on the other after losing their first matchup, something the Oilers hope happens in this Final. Of course, there’s a rematch that favors the Panthers. In 1977 and 1978, the Boston Bruins were a good team that had the talent to win the Stanley Cup, but they ran into the dynasty of the 1970s. The Montreal Canadiens were unbeatable, and they always found a way to win, taking both matchups as part of a run that featured five consecutive titles.

Edmonton vs Florida: Hockey Market vs The New Destination

It’s fitting that these two teams will face off in the Final. To be fair, those covering the series with boots on the ground would prefer easier travel, as the flight is over 2500 miles between cities. Yet, the contrasts between the cities as hockey markets are hard to ignore.

The beaches and sunshine of Miami vs the snow and cold winters of Edmonton. The intense media coverage every day that the Oilers receive contrasts with the small media contingency covering the Panthers. A city where a star can blend in and go unnoticed (Tkachuk might not be the fifth most popular athlete in the state) goes up against a city where everyone knows even the depth players when they casually walk around the West Edmonton Mall. The state of Florida and the province of Alberta are very different, but they prove that any market can be a great one when the franchise in it is run well and is winning.

For decades, the Panthers were a punchline. Hockey in the South was a joke and an easy critique against Gary Bettman. Opponents would travel to South Beach and take care of a bottomfeeder while sometimes playing in front of a “home crowd” (some fan bases travel well). The Panthers were always a sleeping giant, and now that they’ve woken up, they are a destination. The right people are in charge across the board and are spending to win. Suddenly, everyone is talking about the advantages of playing in a tax-free state.

Canadian markets have suffered becuase of the high taxes and the value of the Canadian Dollar against the US Dollar. Yet, Edmonton doesn’t make these excuses. On the contrary, the Oilers have become a destination, a place where veterans like Corey Perry and Adam Henrique are willing to take less to play. They not only win, but they also have the fans behind them. The pressure is ramped up, but the glory of winning in Edmonton is tough to beat (if Toronto figures it out someday, they’ll be at the same level).

This series embodies how opposite cities have unique advantages. It’s a reminder that every market has its benefits, and the right people in charge can do that. Yes, there’s nothing like playing hockey in warm weather, where players can golf on off-days or hang out at the beach. There’s also nothing like playing for a fanbase that wants to build a statue for every skater who wins them a Cup (and provides a lifetime supply of beer).

McDavid Had His Moment This Season Already. Can He Have Another?

People are still talking about the Four Nations Face-Off. It speaks volumes to how big the event was when few expected it. In the gold-medal game between the USA and Canada, the best player in the world scored the most important goal in overtime to give Canada the win.

McDavid fired the puck past Connor Hellebuyck to secure the 3-2 victory. It was the highlight of his career and mirrored Crosby’s golden goal from the 2010 Olympics – when the best player in the tournament proved himself to be the best player. Yet, there’s one thing still missing from McDavid’s remarkable career: the Stanley Cup. This is another huge moment when he can deliver and come through in the clutch.

On the other bench is Tkachuk, who also had a defining moment in the Four Nations when he dropped the gloves following the opening puck drop against Canada in their first matchup, setting the tone of the game and the rest of the tournament. However, he wasn’t on the ice for the most important moment. Tkachuk was battling an injury and could only watch as McDavid stole the show and put the dagger into the USA’s hearts. The Stanley Cup Final is where he can even up that score.

Who do you think will win the Stanley Cup? Let us know in the comments section below.