Top standouts from Game 1 of 2025 Stanley Cup Final

The Edmonton Oilers have started off the 2025 Stanley Cup Final in style, erasing a two-goal deficit to win the game 4-3 in overtime.

Edmonton’s win marks the second time the team has opened a series with a victory this year, with Florida losing the first game for the second time.

The Oilers wasted no time waking up the home fans. Leon Draisaitl took a feed from Kasperi Kapanen and fired a wrister past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Edmonton wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum, though. Florida scored three straight goals, with Sam Bennett scoring a pair and Brad Marchand getting one in between. The Oilers answered back with a quick one early in the second, with Viktor Arvidsson scoring at 23:17 to make it a 3-2 game.

The game was as electric of a Cup Final opener as we’ve seen, and we got to see more than the advertised distance. At 46:33, Mattias Ekholm’s snapshot tied the game up and forced overtime. There, it was Draisaitl who scored his second of the game – and on the 46th shot of the night – to give the Oilers the early series advantage.

Here’s a look at the top performers from Wednesday evening:

Edmonton Oilers

#29 Leon Draisaitl, C: Draisaitl struggled in the Cup Final a year ago, but had an explosive start with the opening goal of the game. He then had to fend off a Florida blueline that made it their mission to hit him every time they possibly could. Draisaitl craves games filled with intensity and he was Edmonton’s best playdriver throughout most of the game. It was only fitting that he scored the game-winner in the dying seconds of overtime. Let’s see if he can rewrite the narratives that plagued his performance a year ago.

#33 Viktor Arvidsson, LW: Arvidsson was buzzing early in the game, giving the Oilers some solid energy on the fourth line. He then scored the second Oilers goal to give the team some life after a hard-working shift from the Swedish winger. Defensively, Arvidsson skated well to take space away and battled hard along the boards. It was a great two-way effort for Arvidsson, who could end up being a bigger deal than many expected heading into this series.

#96 Jake Walman, D: Walman was the definition of a warrior in this game. He’s been so good at getting the puck out of the zone and starting the rush. He also blocked shots, including one that roughed him up and forced him to miss a few shifts. Walman had just one playoff game before this season, but his lack of big-game experience clearly hasn’t been an issue for him this year. He loves to start the breakout and gives the Oilers another high-end puckmover on the blueline. Walman will be bruised tomorrow, but the effort was tremendous.

#42 Kasperi Kapanen, RW: What a game for Kapanen, who had a pair of assists tonight. He has four points in his past three games and five points through eight playoff games after spending almost a full month on the sidelines. Acquired via waivers early in the season, Kapanen’s speed and physicality along the boards has proven valuable for the Oil. He plays like he has something to prove – and given his struggles over his career, he likely does. This was one of Kapanen’s best playoff games of his career – he was so involved at both ends of the ice.

#74 Stuart Skinner, G: Skinner had a tremendous second half after allowing the 3-1 goal. It could have easily gone south from there, but he had no issue tracking shots. He made some huge saves in overtime, especially early, to keep the Oilers in it as the Panthers came out flying. Skinner has played some excellent hockey over the past few weeks and tonight was no different.

Florida Panthers

#9 Sam Bennett, C: Bennett was the best player in this game, period. He scored twice today, including one that was a bit controversial after his contact with Stuart Skinner. But that’s what Bennett does – he lays on the line and makes himself a miserable dude to get away from the net. Bennett then put himself into an excellent scoring position on his second goal after breaking past an Oilers defenseman to receive a pass on the rush. He’s now up to 12 goals, good for the most ever by a Panthers player during a single playoffs.

#27 Eetu Luostarinen, LW: Luostarinen had a pair of shots and nearly scored to make it 4-2 in the second. He was involved physically, helped out defensively and rarely lost a battle along the boards. While Anton Lundell handles the two-way game and Brad Marchand gets shots on net, Luostarinen brings the energy and physicality. His block early in overtime on Walman’s slapper might have saved a goal.

#77 Niko Mikkola, D: Defensively, Mikkola had as good of a game as you’d hope to see. He averaged over 70 percent in shots-for percentage at 5-on-5 and led the Florida blueline in blocked shots. His willingness to lay everything on the line makes him so dangerous, and he’s good in transition, too. He makes it difficult for the Oilers to generate chances in close and was a big reason why the Oilers struggled to generate anything in the second frame.

#42 Gustav Forsling, D: Forsling was one of Florida’s most physical players, and he especially was locked in against Draisaitl. He made an excellent block late in the second to save what appeared to be a sure goal had it not been for Forsling. He was great on the penalty kill and many fantastic poke-checks, as well.

#72 Sergei Bobrovsky, G: The Russian goalkeeper was the busier of the two, and he had to be excellent in overtime. The Oilers didn’t take many chances early but every opportunity was high-quality. He allowed a few goals he probably wishes he had back, but Bobrovsky battled back as he always does and was lights out as the pressure started to mount. He didn’t win, but Bobrovsky nearly faced 50 shots and stood tall on most of them.