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Edmonton Oilers win epic Stanley Cup Final opener in overtime

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Jun 5 2025, 3:48 am
Edmonton Oilers win epic Stanley Cup Final opener in overtime
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images

The Edmonton Oilers started the Stanley Cup Final with a bang ā€” and a lead.

Leon Draisaitl was the overtime hero on Wednesday night, giving the Oilers a 4-3 Game 1 win over the Florida Panthers.

Finding the back of the net with his second goal of the evening, Draisaitl converted off a feed from Connor McDavid to give the Oilers a massive win.

The Oilers picked up the power play in the final two minutes of the first overtime period, with the Panthers picking up a delay of game call after shooting the puck in their own net.

How’d we get to the ending?

The first game of the series definitely wasn’t short of drama.

Draisaitl got the scoring started early in the first period, putting a goal in just 1:06 into the game.

The excitement didn’t last all that long, though, with Florida’s Sam Bennett scoring a tying goal that the Oilers unsuccessfully challenged for goalie interference.

Per NHL rules, the failed challenge led to a Panthers power play, which Brad Marchand capitalized on to give the Panthers their first lead of the series.

Bennett scored again two minutes into the second to make it 3-1, but Edmonton’s Viktor Arvidsson stopped the bleeding a bit with a goal a second later.

In the third period, Edmonton’s Mattias Ekholm scored his first goal of the postseason in his second game of the playoffs to even the score at three goals apiece.

Throughout the last 10 Stanley Cup Finals, the team that has won the opening game has gone on to win the series eight times. In last year’s Stanley Cup Final featuring the same two teams, the Oilers dropped the first three games before storming back with a trio of wins of their own to force Game 7, though they were unable to complete the comeback.

The two teams return to Rogers Place for Game 2 in Edmonton on Friday night.

2025 Oilers-Panthers Stanley Cup Final schedule

Friday, June 6: Florida at Edmonton
Monday, June 9: Edmonton at Florida
Thursday, June 12: Edmonton at Florida
*Saturday, June 14: Florida at Edmonton
*Tuesday, June 17: Edmonton at Florida
*Friday, June 20: Florida at Edmonton

*if necessary

All games are set for 5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT/8 p.m. ET.

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