The Edmonton Oilers opened the scoring just over a minute into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final Wednesday, with Leon Draisatl finding the back of the net\u00a0at a raucous Rogers Place.<\/p>\n
Last season ended in heartbreak for the Oilers after they clawed their way back from a seemingly insurmountable\u00a0three-game deficit against the Florida Panthers, only to drop the final in Miami.<\/p>\n
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But the Oilers are\u00a0getting a second kick at the Stanley Cup final this year as they once again face off against the Panthers in a hotly-anticipated rematch.<\/p>\n
And unlike last year, Edmonton has\u00a0home-ice advantage, with the puck drop at\u00a0Rogers Place for the first two games, before the series shifts to Florida.<\/p>\n
The Panthers are in the final for a third consecutive year, having lost to Las Vegas in 2023 before their franchise-first\u00a0win in 2024.<\/p>\n
The speedy team has dominated in the post-season\u00a0since head coach Paul Maurice took over and winger Matthew Tkachuk arrived in\u00a0a trade from Calgary. They’ve also now added the firepower of Seth Jones and Brad Marchand\u00a0to the core led by Tkachuk and captain Aleksander Barkov.<\/p>\n
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Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl\u00a0are still at the top of their games, and now bring the experience of having played for the Cup. With Trent Frederic, Jeff Skinner, John Klingberg and Jake Walman, this year’s team is\u00a0bigger and more seasoned.<\/p>\n
The fact that this year’s\u00a0Stanley Cup final is a rematch\u00a0\u2014 only the fifth since the league expanded in 1968\u00a0\u2014 will only add to the heated competition between the\u00a0tightly matched clubs.<\/p>\n