Stanley Cup Final Preview Oilers looking to end Cup drought

The Stanley Cup Finals are set with the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers facing off to find out who will hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The Florida Panthers, now back-to-back champions of the Eastern Conference, return to the cup finals with a compelling playoff run. Meanwhile, the West’s Edmonton Oilers have reached the finals for the first time since 2006, with Connor McDavid on the cusp of his first Stanley Cup.

Match-up

On their way to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Florida Panthers have faced some of the best goaltenders in the NHL. That list includes Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jeremy Swayman, and Igor Shesterkin, while the Edmonton Oilers have sometimes struggled against goaltenders of lesser pedigree.

If the Panthers can keep up their scoring from committee, it will be much tougher for the Oilers to stop. Let alone score on the other end against a white-hot Sergei Bobrovsky. Yet, players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can only be contained so much. This will put more pressure on players like Sam Bennet and Sasha Barkov to slow them down as much as possible.

The Florida Panthers are considered heavy favourites but never count out the Edmonton Oilers.

Regular Season Match-up

Nov 20: Edmonton 3 @ Florida 5

Dec 16: Florida 5 @ Edmonton 1

Playoff Statistics

The Edmonton Oilers’ Path to the Stanley Cup Finals

The Oilers started their playoff run against the Los Angeles Kings for the third consecutive year. For the third year in a row, the Oilers won. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for 22 points in a dominant performance, while Evan Bouchard showed that he can be a number-one defenseman in the NHL. The 2024 Kings did not look nearly as strong as in previous years, especially with their defence being unable to stop the Oilers’ relentless attack. Alongside the inability to score once on the powerplay, it made it easy for Edmonton to quickly dispatch the Kings in five games.

Their second-round matchup against the Vancouver Canucks proved a bigger challenge for the Oilers. This was despite both Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith suffering season-ending injuries. Causing 23-year-old Arturs Silovs to step into the net for the Canucks. Edmonton played well enough, but Stuart Skinner had difficulties in net early on in the series. This caused backup Calvin Pickard to play in both games four and five. In a game six elimination game, Skinner returned to the net and has played lights out since then. Since game four, the Oilers clamped down on defence and completely neutralized the Canucks attack. From game four onwards, the Oilers limited the Canucks to two goals or less for the rest of the series. It’s not controversial to assume that Leon Draisaitl and company would be able to score three goals. Which they did, winning the series in a nail-biting seven games. Six of which were decided by one goal.

The final challenger in the Western Conference was the Dallas Stars. A team that most assumed would make quick work of the Edmonton Oilers with their solid and well-rounded team. However, Edmonton proved they can also be that with their bottom six playing very oppressive hockey. As a result, the Stars struggled to get scoring chances and failed to score on the powerplay in six games. The Oilers’ special teams were able to rip the Stars apart with a 36% powerplay. Additionally, players like Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz were quiet when they needed them. And veterans Joe Pavelski and Matt Duchene failed to record a point. It was a very tight series, but the difference between the special teams played a large part in Edmonton winning the series in six.

The Florida Panthers’ Path to the Stanley Cup Finals

The Panthers didn’t have to go far in the first round of the playoffs, playing against the state-rival Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a closer series than expected, with the first three games being one-goal games (game three ended with an empty net goal). The scoring depth of the Panthers proved to be way too much for the Lightning, who have been steadily losing pieces of their Stanley Cup championship roster. The Panthers are not the kind of team that will lose four games in a row. And the Lightning are no longer the kind of team that could reverse sweep.

The second round was time for Florida to get serious. After getting hit in the mouth in game one by the Boston Bruins 5-1, they proved to the league just how resilient they are by beating the Bruins 6-1 and 6-2 in the following games. This series had the second most total hits out of every series, with Florida taking out key players like Brad Marchand being taken out in game three. Games four to six were defensive masterclasses by both teams, with Boston being suffocated offensively and only being held to two goals a game for the rest of the series. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was outstanding in the Panthers’ wins and matched Boston’s Jeremy Swayman, who was on fire during the playoffs. Florida won the defensive battle and the series in six games.

The final boss of the Eastern Conference was the New York Rangers. What an intense series it was. Both sides were evenly matched in many aspects, and Bobrovsky faced a very slim margin for error. The Rangers and the Panthers went back and forth, with only one game being decided by one goal. Three of which went to overtime. The series was ultimately decided by the star players showing up. And the Panther’s elite were visible. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart were visible with every shift. Meanwhile, Sasha Barkov and an excellent defensive core limited the Ranger’s offensive talent, like Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin, to nothing. The Panthers only allowed a single powerplay goal against the Rangers. As much as hockey fans likely wish this fantastic series could go on forever, the Florida Panthers showed up and defeated the New York Rangers in six games.