Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice is liking where his team is at heading into the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers are looking to repeat as NHL's champions, against the team they defeated last year. That team is the Edmonton Oilers, who are looking for revenge.

Maurice says both teams are bringing an extraordinary amount of passion into the finals.

“I've talked all year, there's different energy sources, right?” Maurice said, per NHL.com. “I can't measure which one's more powerful yet.”

Florida is in the championship series for the third consecutive season. The Panthers made quick work of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final, to push into the Stanley Cup Final.

Maurice expects his Panthers to get the Oilers' toughest punch.

“I think both teams are pretty consistent with their identity and their style of play,” Maurice added. “They're a year further into their program now and so are we. They've had three great years. They just didn't get to the Final three years ago (losing in the Western Conference Second Round to the Golden Knights) but long playoff runs – I think they're better at what they do now and we are as well.”

The Panthers and Oilers play Game 1 on Wednesday in Edmonton.

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The Panthers are closing in on back-to-back Stanley Cups

This year is the first rematch in the Stanley Cup, since the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins played in 2008 and 2009. Detroit won in the first series, then Pittsburgh got their revenge the following year.

The Panthers hope it works out differently for them than it did for Detroit.

“It's definitely going to be a good series,” Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said. “They're going to be ready. We're going to be ready. And it's crazy that — I don't think it happens very often — where you get back-to-back Stanley Cup Final matchups. So, it's going to be a tough series. We know what to expect. Just a lot of excitement going into it.”

The last team to win back-to-back titles was the Tampa Bay Lightning. They won in 2020, and again in 2021. Time will tell if it is about to happen again.