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Are Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup bound? Former NHLer weighs in

Former NHL winger Riley Cote explains what he loves about this Edmonton Oilers team ahead of the Western Conference Finals.

Sports Seriously

The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers will face off in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, a rematch of the 2024 Final.The Oilers hold home-ice advantage this year after losing Game 7 in Florida last year.The series begins June 4th in Edmonton and will be broadcast on TNT, TruTV, and Max.Former Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Seth Jones play key roles for the Panthers.

The 2024-25 NHL season is almost complete. 

One more playoff series remains, and it’s a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final won by Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers in seven games over the Edmonton Oilers. This time, home-ice advantage goes to Connor McDavid and the Oilers, who ran out of gas in the previous matchup’s final game in Sunrise, Florida. 

McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the rest of the Oilers now have a chance to even the score against Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and the Panthers in a series that begins at 8 p.m. on June 4 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 

Here’s a guide to watching the 2025 Stanley Cup Final:

This is the 11th Stanley Cup Final rematch in NHL history, second in the past 40 years and first since the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins did it in 2008 and 2009.

The Panthers won the Eastern Conference by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes. The Oilers won the Western Conference by eliminating the Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars.

Florida’s toughest matchup in the first three rounds was a seven-game series against Toronto in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Panthers downed the Lighting in five games in the first round and Hurricanes in five games during the East final. 

Edmonton’s biggest challenge thus far was a six-game series against L.A. in the first round, dropping the first two games before winning four straight games. The Oilers eliminated the Golden Knights and Stars each in five games in the next two rounds.

Edmonton Oilers heavily favored to win 2025 Stanley Cup Final

MoneyPuck gives the Panthers the best chance to win the Stanley Cup with a 55% chance to repeat as NHL champions, but the top three online sportsbooks unanimously favor the Oilers. 

FanDuel lists Edmonton as the favorite at –125 to hoist the Cup, while DraftKings has the Oilers favored at –120. BetMGM also gives the Oilers –125 odds to win.

How to watch the 2025 Stanley Cup Final

The series opens Wednesday, June 4 in Edmonton and will end June 20 in Edmonton, if all seven games are needed. Each game will be broadcast on TNT, TruTV and Max in the U.S. Sportsnet, CBC and TVAS will televise the series in Canadian markets. 

Here is the series schedule (all games starting at 8 p.m. ET): 

June 4 — Panthers at Oilers 

June 6 — Panthers at Oilers 

June 9 – Oilers at Panthers 

June 12 — Oilers at Panthers 

∗ June 14 — Panthers at Oilers 

∗ June 17 — Oilers at Panthers 

∗ June 20 — Panthers at Oilers 

(∗ if necessary)

2025 Stanley Cup Final injury report

Edmonton will likely be without forward Zach Hyman for the entire series after he underwent surgery May 28 for an unspecified upper-body injury and forward Connor Brown (illness) will be a gametime decision for coach Kris Knoblauch prior to the series opener June 4 at Rogers Place. 

Florida forward A.J. Greer is hurt. The exact nature of his injury is undisclosed, and he will be replaced in the lineup for Game 1 by Jesper Boqvist.

Which former Columbus Blue Jackets are competing in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final?

The Oilers don’t have any former Blue Jackets on their roster, while the Panthers have goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Seth Jones playing key roles. Bobrovsky, who won the Vezina Trophy twice in Columbus as the NHL’s top goalie, backstopped the Panthers to the 2024 Stanley Cup title, while Jones is seeking his first NHL championship.

Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social 

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