Welcome to the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals

Welcome to the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals

we’re two games into the cup final and this series is already intense from the opening puck drop both teams came out hard no slow start just physical play and non-stop action the hits have been heavy scrums have been frequent and the pace has not let up for a second there’s little space and no easy moments for either side we’ve seen some great end to-end rushes and momentum swings that have kept the outcome unpredictable both teams have had their chances and neither is backing down or giving an inch every shift truly matters leon and Connor are doing what they do best driving offense and creating scoring opportunities whenever they’re on the ice meanwhile Florida’s rats have been causing chaos and making big plays of their own turning up the pressure and keeping their team in it and of course there’s already been controversy missed calls and moments that had both fan bases losing their minds the kind of drama that defines a great final round these two teams needed a full nine periods of hockey just to settle the first two games and if that’s any indication the rest of the series is going to only get crazier welcome to the Stanley Cup final edmonton wasted no time setting the tone in game one and just over a minute in Dry Little scored off a rebound to put the Oilers up one- nothing rogers place was rocking and it looked like the Oilers were ready to take control early the rebound scores Leon 66 mcdavid also came this close to having the roof come off the building but Florida didn’t flinch midway through the first Sam Bennett tied it up with his 11th of the playoffs doing what he always does planting himself right in that crease he’s been in the middle of everything this postseason already catching heat for running into guys like Stallers and Anderson and this time he made contact with Skinner just before the puck went in the Oilers challenged for goalie interference but the goal stood that backfired quick the failed challenge gave Florida a power play and they cashed in martian roofed it to make it two to one and in a blink of an eye the Panthers grabbed the lead and took the momentum with them in the second Florida continued to press with Bennett striking again with his 12th of the playoffs and second of the night that made it three to one and Florida looked firmly in control but Edmonton they answered as they always do arvidson cut the lead in half with a good oldfashioned rip that squeaked by Bob who looked pretty unbeatable all game and that goal gave the Oilers some life and they carried it into the third but TSholm was the one to tie the game just past the halfway mark of the third period thanks to a slick pass from McDavid his 21st of the playoffs the puck seemed to have eyes of its own weaving through traffic and landing perfectly on Ekholm’s stick honestly I’m not totally sure if McDavid meant to hit Ekholm or he was trying to hit Kane in the slot but hey it’s McDavid so let’s pretend it was all part of the plan it was now 3-3 and it was heading into overtime something we didn’t see at all in seven games last year between these two teams and the Oilers were buzzing bob had to come up huge a few times but could only do so much nosik totally blew it with a dumb penalty just flipping the puck out of the zone and handing the fans a souvenir and Wman let him hear it he let Noshik know exactly how bad that was and the Oilers were headed to the man advantage with just 2 minutes left in the first overtime then on that power play Noob cycled down a Perry who threw a slick behind the back backhand pass to McDavid and Connor didn’t waste any time finding the rocket Rashard winner waiting right in front to hammer it home the Oilers completed the comeback and took game one four to three in overtime dryidle finished with two goals mcdavid had two assists and the Panthers let a twogoal lead slip away still both teams showed plenty florida’s forche gave Edmonton real problems and Sam Bennett continued his monster playoff run but Edmonton’s firepower especially up front proved to be the difference in the end it was high-paced physical game with momentum swing star performances and no shortage of drama if this is what game one looked like the rest of the series might be even better game two began and Florida knew they had to come out flying and they did with Sam Bennett striking quick on the power play just 2 minutes in spin across bennett scores sam Bennett with a record setting and it tied an NHL record and set a franchise record for road goals in the playoffs and if Bennett scored you just know that there’s some controversy even though it may not have looked like it he definitely kicked Ekholm stick away from him but the refs are never going to call that especially in the playoffs playoff hockey is full of those gritty borderline moments and Bennett owning that one gave the Panthers a quick lead but the Oilers weren’t about to just roll over vanderhane came back and sniped one from the left circle then barely a minute later Bousard got his own rebound and ripped it home beating Bob Low flipping the scoreboard to two to1 Edmonton but it didn’t take long for Florida to answer right back as Seth Jones caught a perfect feed from Lucinan and put it into the empty cage nodding it at two then Edmonton was sent to the power play not long after Jones’s goal and put together the goal of the playoffs leon threw it over to McDavid who sidestepped Selki winning Sasha Barov then tow dragged number one overall pick Aaron Ecklad and fed it back to Leyon all in one motion who made no mistake and put Edmonton up 3 to2 to end the period mc goal Leon dry they’re at it again from McDavid just absolute filth from 97 and 29 florida came out swinging in the second period dominating puck possession and crashing the Edmonton zone like a storm then Kulakov ripped a point shot through the chaos and Skinner looked to the ref to get a goal interference call as Tchuk bumped him a little bit but no dice three to three edmonton was then back to the power play and after a mishandled bouncing puck during the zone entry it led to the rat on a short-handed breakaway and he makes Skinner look silly putting it five hole scores with the goal the Panthers took their first lead of the game 4 to3 and the momentum swung hard in their favor the third was a back andforth war both teams trading chances and fighting tooth and nail edmonton pulled their goalie late and threw everything they had at Florida with just 18 seconds left on the clock Cory Perry the oldest player in the playoffs slammed home a rebound goal to tie it up at 4-4 perry has tied it the goal was a dagger in the hearts of Florida and set a record for the latest game time goal in Stanley Cup final history pure madness from the 40-year-old Cory Perry and just as insane as the end of that game was overtime was maybe even wilder both teams had chances but Barovsky and Skinner just wouldn’t budge every shot felt like it could end it but nothing got through then double OT hit and it finally cracked ekholm ripped a slap shot that missed the net and kicked around the boards lendell jumped on it and sent Marshy flying the other way backhand five hole lights out scores has won it for the Panthers panthers take it five to four in a double overtime thriller and not the series at 1-1 through two games this final already feels 10 times tighter than last year’s and that one went seven games we’ve had back-to-back overtime thrillers including a double OT classic in game two this isn’t just shaping up to be a good series it has all the makings of a great one maybe even the best we’ve seen in the post salary cap era and now game three in Florida is massive the Oilers they haven’t trailed in a series since their first run battle with the LA Kings but that was weeks ago and this is an entirely different team falling behind two to1 to a Panthers team that punishes every mistake and rarely coughs up leads that’s not the position the Oilers want to be in florida on the other hand they did what they always do they answered and somehow look even more composed more ruthless than they did a year ago game two proved what this series really is a razor thin line between glory and heartbreak one bad bounce one missed stick lift one second too slow and that’s all it takes game three might not decide the cup but it’s definitely going to tilt the entire series one team’s going to take control and the other team’s going to get pushed to the edge and let’s be real there was never going to be a feeling out process not with this much history not after last year these two teams know exactly who they’re up against game one was a comeback game two was a marathon now it’s a sprint into game three this isn’t about momentum anymore it’s about survival florida wants to blow the roof off at home and Edmonton wants to take the air right out of that building the cup is still a long way away but the weight of it you can already feel it

Two games into the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, and we’ve already had two instant classics. A blown lead, a double OT winner, nonstop chaos, and controversy, it’s everything you want from a Cup Final. If this is what the first two games gave us, Game 3 might just break hockey.

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