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Panthers' Paul Maurice Raises Eyebrows With Stanley Cup Final Comments

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Levine | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 8:01 PM ET

The Edmonton Oilers came away with a massive win to open the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. The Oilers won the game 4-3 in overtime, which saw multiple ebbs and flows throughout the contest.

Florida led 3-1 at one point in the game before the Oilers came storming back to tie the game. The Panthers have normally been excellent in holding leads, but in this instance, they let their guard down.

However, nobody on the Panthers seems overly concerned with the late-game meltdown. Florida head coach Paul Maurice weighed in on the loss after the fact.

“These games are tight,” Maurice said. “I don’t think that you have domination of the third period in tight games. We were in pretty good shape in 3-1. I think we had some real good pressure. They get it back and then, there were some plays we didn’t complete. Not really particularly worried about those."

Maurice additionally said that this series has the potential to be a seven-game one if the contests are this close.

“It [has] potential to be just a spectacular seven-gamer,” Maurice said.

These two teams played in an epic seven-game series last year, with Florida coming out on top. But this season, Edmonton owns home-ice advantage, potentially giving them a slight edge.

If this series were to go seven games once again, fans would be in for a treat. These are the two best teams in hockey right now, and each matchup seems to be electric.

Game 2 between the two sides is scheduled for Friday, June 6, at 8 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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