It’s an Oilers and Panthers Rematch in the Stanley Cup Finals

The Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 on May 28th, winning the NHL Eastern Conference final four games to one. The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers will return to the Finals for the third straight year. The Panthers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 in 2023, and beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in 2024.

And speaking of Edmonton, the Oilers beat the Dallas Stars 6-3 on May 29th to take the Western Conference title in five games and set up a rematch of last year’s final with the Panthers. It’s the fifth back to back rematch in Stanley Cup history since the Expansion Era beginning in 1967.

Florida was dominant in its series with Carolina, outscoring the Hurricanes 21-7 in the four Panther victories. Edmonton had an embarrassing Game 1 loss, allowing five unanswered goals in the third period. But the Oilers put that behind them, scoring 19 goals in their four wins while allowing just five on the way to eliminating Dallas in the West finals for the second year in a row.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals is in Edmonton on June 6th. Florida won both regular season games against the Oilers, a 6-5 win in Edmonton on December 16th and a 4-3 win in Florida on February 27th.