EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The second incarnation of the Florida Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final opens in the opposite corner of North America from a year ago.
Game 1 is Wednesday night in Edmonton, where fans in the hockey-crazed capital of Alberta get to see their team start a series at home for the first time during this playoff run.
“To be able to start the Stanley Cup Final on home ice, you can just feel a buzz in the city and these people deserve it,” NHL MVP finalist Leon Draisaitl said. “They’ve waited a long time for this and, obviously to us, it’s all about finishing it.”
Starting at home last year, the Panthers went up two games to none and won the first game in Edmonton to take a 3-0 series lead. They lost the next three before winning Game 7 to capture the first title in franchise history.
Florida is in the final for a third consecutive season and is four wins away from becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back champions since cross-state rival Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21.
“It’s why we’re here: We’re playing hockey in June for the third straight year and a chance to be a part of history,” standout winger Matthew Tkachuk said. “We’ve had two kicks at it so far, and they’ve been very different summers, so we’re hoping for the good one.”
The Panthers have won 10 of 11 playoff series since Tkachuk joined in a trade from Calgary in 2022 and coach Paul Maurice took over that same offseason.
As one of those 10 opponents who ended up on the wrong side of the handshake line against the burgeoning hockey powerhouse in South Florida, the Oilers don’t want history to repeat itself. But veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm, back from an extended injury absence, doesn’t want to load up too much pressure on Game 1.
“You ask every single guy in our locker room, we want to come out flying, we want to play great and we want to win Game 1,” Ekholm said. “You go to their locker room, they’re probably saying the same thing. One team’s going to win it and one team’s not.”