The 2025 Stanley Cup Finals are set, and we'll have our first rematch since 2008 and 2009. The Edmonton Oilers will face the Florida Panthers for the second year in a row after losing in seven games last June. Both teams won in five games in the conference finals, with the Oilers knocking off the Dallas Stars, while the Cats took down the Carolina Hurricanes.
Game 1 takes place next Wednesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Heading into the series, there's no clear favorite.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel:
Oilers -106
Panthers -114
The Oilers, meanwhile, are a -122 favorite for Game 1 on home ice. Connor McDavid, who leads his squad with 26 points in these playoffs, is the Conn Smythe Trophy favorite at +110 odds. Sergei Bobrovsky (+250), Aleksander Barkov (+430), Leon Draisaitl (+850), and Matthew Tkachuk (+2300) round out the top five behind McDavid.
Article Continues BelowThis series should be absolutely thrilling, as it was last season. The Oilers came back from a 3-0 deficit against the Panthers to force a Game 7 and just narrowly fell short. We have a pair of deep, experienced teams going to battle. Florida is building a modern-day dynasty, while Edmonton is looking to do the same.
The Cats won the 2024-25 season series 2-0, but both meetings were entertaining, ending in 6-5 and 4-3 scorelines. Leon Draisaitl knows how difficult a task this will be, but he expressed that the Oilers are looking forward to the chance at revenge:
“We know what they’re about. We played them seven times,” Draisaitl said Thursday after beating the Stars, via NHL.com. “They’re a good team. We’re a really good team as well. Obviously, it’s nice to get a shot at getting some revenge, but we’re a long way from that. We’ll enjoy this tonight and move on and get ready.”
This is the third season in a row the Panthers have made the Stanley Cup Finals. Buckle in, it will be a ride.