In terms of year-over-year ratings, a drop is likely this time around despite the repeat matchup, especially if this series doesn\u2019t hit last year\u2019s seven-game run. However, the most significant factor may be the shift from all games being on broadcast ABC to cable channel TNT. (ABC\/ESPN parent Disney and TNT parent WBD trade off having the Final each year under the current media deals<\/a>, which began in the 2021-22 season and run through the 2027-28 one.)<\/p>\n However, there are extra Canadian\/American political tensions this year thanks to tariffs and \u201c51st state\u201d discussions. Those have seen TNT commentator Gretzky particularly spotlighted at times, including by Pablo Torre<\/a>, so that could be an interesting dimension to watch. And those<\/a> moments<\/a> (sometimes involving Canadian player and Panthers\u2019 media firebrand<\/a> Brad Marchand, who has quite the<\/a> history<\/a> with the NHL on TNT crew) proved key to massive<\/a> 4 Nations Face Off ratings.<\/p>\n While this is team-on-team (and both teams have players from the opposing country) rather than country-on-country, if some of that tension shows up here (and some Canadian media outlets are already suggesting it might<\/a>), that could help juice the ratings. An interesting thing to watch will be how the ratings compare to the 4 Nations Final (an average<\/a> of 9.3 million viewers on ESPN and 6.3 million Canadian viewers), and if P.K. Subban\u2019s February comment<\/a> that that new tournament could be \u201cbigger than the Stanley Cup\u201d holds up.<\/p>\n On the ice, many might think that a repeat Final clash shows dynastic dominance. But that certainly wasn\u2019t shown in the regular season. Last year, the Panthers were fifth in the league with a 52-24-6 mark, while the Oilers were ninth with a 49-27-6 record. This year, Florida and Edmonton fell to ninth (43-25-3) and 10th (41-24-5) respectively. However, these teams stepped it up in the playoffs, and both won their conference finals in five games, which is why this series is starting so early.<\/p>\n For the Panthers, a key figure to watch is goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. He\u2019s evolved from the old Jay and Dan<\/a> joke of \u201cthe number-one cop on the force\u201d to actually approaching that level of dominance, making his 60th straight playoff start<\/a> Wednesday night. Since then, he has a 40-19 record with a 2.41 goals-against average, .911 save percentage, and six shutouts.<\/p>\n For the Oilers, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remain key people to keep an eye on. McDavid has thrice won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL\u2019s top player, has five Art Ross Trophies as the league\u2019s top scorer, and earned an extremely rare Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) last year despite the Oilers\u2019 Game Seven loss. (McDavid became only the sixth player to win the Conn Smythe in a losing cause and only the second non-goalie.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Brad](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/brad-marchand-leafs-2025.jpg\")
<\/a>Brad Marchand against the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 18, 2025. (John E. Sokolowski\/Imagn Images.)<\/p>\n
![\"Connor](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/connor-mcdavid-2025.jpg\")
<\/a>Connor McDavid after beating the Dallas Stars on May 29, 2025. (Jerome Miron\/Imagn Images.)<\/p>\n