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For a third straight year, the Florida Panthers will be playing for the Stanley Cup. The Panthers advanced to the 2025 Stanley Cup Final after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. This will also be the second straight year the Panthers will face the Edmonton Oilers. We now make three bold predictions for the NHL's ultimate series as the Florida Panthers take on the Edmonton Oilers.
As noted, this is the third straight year the Panthers have made it to the Finals. They lost in 2023, falling in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights. They then defeated the Oilers in seven games last year. The last time the same two teams faced off in the finals in back-to-back years was in 2008 and 2009, when the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins faced in successive seasons. The Red Wings won in 2008 in six games, but the Penguins would take the 2009 series in seven.
The Oilers have been part of playing the same team twice, facing the Islanders in 1983 and 1984. The Oilers lost the first one and then won the second one. The last time two teams played in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and the same team won both of them was in 1977 and 1978 when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins in back-to-back years. The Florida Panthers will now look to do that this year.
Here are a couple of Panthers bold predictions for the series.
Brad Marchand makes a major impact
Brad Marchand has had his name etched into the Stanley Cup before, winning the Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. He would play for the Cup again in 2013 and 2019, but the Bruins would fall short each time. He will get a fourth chance to play for Lord Stanley now with the Panthers. Marchand was part of a shocking trade during the season when the Bruins sent him to the Panthers. Still, he has been great for the Panthers so far. Marchand had two goals and two assists in 10 games in the regular season with Florida. So far in the playoffs, he has four goals and 10 assists in 17 games.
Marchand will be a major factor for Florida in the Stanley Cup Final. Marchand has played in 20 games in the Finals prior to this year. He has seven goals and five assists in those games, in addition to a plus-one rating. In the playoffs, Marchand is tied for fourth on the Panthers in points, tied for second in plus-minus rating, and leads the team in penalty minutes. If the Panthers are going to win another cup, the physical play of Marchand will be a key.
Sergei Bobrovsky wins the Conn Smythe
Last year, it was Connor McDavid who won the Conn Smythe, and it was nearly unanimous. McDavid played well enough to be the first player since 2003 to win the Conn Smythe from the losing team. Still, it would be a rarity for McDavid to win the award again. First, it would most likely take the Oilers winning the Cup for McDavid to win the Conn Smythe. Since the award began in 1965, the playoff MVP has never come from a team losing the Cup in back-to-back years. Second, it is rare for the same person to win twice in a row. Sidney Crosby is the most recent, winning in 2016 and 2017. Before that, only Bernie Parent in 1974-75 and Mario Lemieux in 1991-92 have won the award in back-to-back years.
Last year, the only vote that did not go to McDavid went to Sergei Bobrovsky. Last year, he was 16-8 in the playoffs with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. He is on track to be even better this year. Bobrovsky is 12-5 so far in the playoffs this year, with a 2.11 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. Further, Bobrovsky already has three shutouts in the playoffs this year, after having just two last season. If he continues this trend, and maybe adds another shutout, and the Panthers win the Cup, Bobrovsky should add some extra hardware to his collection.
The Florida Panthers lift the cup again
The Florida Panthers opened as favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Still, the markets have shifted. According to FanDuel, current odds have the Oilers as the favorite to win this year. Further, they are the favorite in Game 1 of the series. Still, there are a few reasons why the Panthers will be lifting the cup again. First, Zach Hyman will be missing the rest of the playoffs. This cuts into the depth of the Oilers heavily. Hyman is sixth on the team in points in the postseason. The only forwards with more points are Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane. Without Hyman, Draisaitl needs Kane and Kasperi Kapanen to step up on the second line with him.
Second, the goaltending situation for the Panthers is much better. Stuart Skinner has returned to starting for the Oilers, and he has a 2.53 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. Skinner has shown inconsistencies. In his last game, he took the win, but allowed three goals on just 17 shots. Meanwhile, Bobrovsky has improved on his postseason from last year. He already has three shutouts and looks primed to have another big series.
Finally, the Panthers have more depth. Nine different forwards have scored over 10 points in the playoffs for the Panthers. That is three full lines of scoring options for them so far in the playoffs. Meanwhile, only six different forwards have 10 or more points for the Oilers. With better goaltending and deeper scoring options, the series will hinge on Florida's ability to slow down McDavid and Draisaitl. The Panthers have done it before and will do it again in this series as the Eastern Conference juggernauts will lift the Cup in six games.
