The dust has settled. Two teams remain. It’s the same song and dance again. A rematch of last year’s Cup Final featuring two juggernauts in Florida and Edmonton, proving to us that the regular season only matters so much.

How to watch Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers
Venue: Rogers Place — Edmonton, Alberta
Time: 8 p.m. ET, Wednesday
TV (U.S.): TNT, truTV
TV (CAN): Sportsnet, CBC, TVA Sports
Stream: Max
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.
Panthers at Oilers Game 1

Series odds: Oilers -125, Panthers +105

The Edmonton Oilers are favored to win Game 1 and the series despite losing to the Panthers last year. Of course, it helps when you have two of the league’s best on your roster, a supporting cast that has provided depth scoring up and down the lineup, an offensive defenseman catching fire in all four rounds and a reliable goaltender who has shaken off any rust from this year’s opening round.

The Oilers haven’t trailed in a series since that opening round against the Los Angeles Kings, by the way. The Oilers will lean on those attributes mentioned above, in addition to striking with speed on their counterattack and their power play (operating at 30 percent this postseason).

Meanwhile, the Panthers have done an incredible job in dispatching opponents in each round they’ve played, even when they’ve looked down and out. Tampa Bay looked primed to make it a series against Florida in the first round, only for Florida to win. Toronto nearly had a 3-0 series lead if it wasn’t for a Brad Marchand overtime winner in Game 3. Florida turned it around and embarrassed its opponent in Games 5 and 7. The Panthers nearly made short work of the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round, nullifying a comeback attempt in Game 5.

So, if the Panthers start the series behind the 8-ball (as the odds suggest they will), they’ve proven to be inevitable anyway. This year’s Selke Trophy (best defensive forward) winner, Aleksander Barkov, leads the Panthers with 17 points in 17 games and will be relied upon to stop Edmonton’s charge.

Expert picks

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(Photo of Leon Draisaitl and Aleksander Barkov: Joel Auerbach / Getty Images)