7 storylines heading into 2025 Stanley Cup Final rematch between Panthers, Oilers

The rematch is on.

The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will go head-to-head in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year. It's the 12th time in NHL history, and the second time in 40 years, that the same two teams are meeting in the Cup Final.

It's the first time it's happened since 2009. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008, and the reverse happened the following year.

Similarly, in 1983 the New York Islanders defeated the Oilers in the Cup Final, and the next year Edmonton defeated New York to win the Stanley Cup.

The Oilers are banking on the same thing happening again after the Panthers won their first Stanley Cup championship last year, outlasting Edmonton in seven games after taking a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Game 1 is at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX, CBC, SN, TVAS).

The Panthers are trying to become the third team this century to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, joining the Penguins (2016, 2017) and Tampa Bay Lightning (2020, 2021).

Prior to the Penguins, the last team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions was the Red Wings in 1997 and 1998.

The Oilers are trying to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1990. They're also trying to become the first Canada-based team to win the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

The Vancouver Canucks (1994 and 2011), Calgary Flames (2004), Oilers (2006 and 2024), Ottawa Senators (2007) and Canadiens (2021) have all had a chance to end the drought, but none could do it.

It's hard to imagine fans in Calgary are rooting for the Oilers, but Canada has not held a Stanley Cup championship parade since the Canadiens brought the trophy down Rue Sainte-Catherine 32 years ago. The Oilers can change that.

Beyond the rematch and the Panthers repeat bid, there will be plenty of storylines to follow as the series unfolds. Here are seven to keep an eye on going into Game 1.

McDavid and Draisaitl looking to cement legacies

In 1983, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier got the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time. They went up against the Islanders, who were going for their fourth straight championship. By the end of that series, a four-game New York sweep, Gretzky and Messier had a much better understanding of what the Oilers had to do to become champions.

They did the next year, winning their first Stanley Cup and ending the Islanders' dynasty in a five-game series.

In 2008, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final. They went up against the Red Wings. They lost in six games, but they learned a lot.

The next year, Crosby and Malkin got the Penguins back to the Cup Final. Again, the Red Wings stood in their way. This time, they won the Stanley Cup, going seven games to get it done.

History could be repeating itself.

Oilers forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl experienced the heartbreak of losing in this round last season playing against the same team that has become a perennial contender (the Panthers are in the Cup Final for the third straight season).

McDavid and Draisaitl have led the Oilers back to the brink of a championship again. They are the top two leading scorers in the postseason, McDavid has 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) and Draisaitl has 25 (seven goals, 18 assists), but like Gretzky and Messier in 1984, and Crosby and Malkin in 2009, McDavid and Draisaitl have a better idea of what it takes, and what it means.

Championships turn generational stars into legends. That's part of what is on the line for McDavid and Draisaitl, following in the footsteps of Gretzky and Messier, and Crosby and Malkin.

In the nets

Goaltending consistency is arguably the biggest reason why Florida is in the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season. In fact, it almost seems unfathomable that Sergei Bobrovsky was not Florida's starting goalie when it opened the playoffs against the Boston Bruins in 2023.

It was Alex Lyon for the first three games of that first-round series until he was pulled in the third period of Game 3. Bobrovsky started Game 4 and hasn't looked back. He will make his 60th consecutive postseason start on Wednesday.

In the streak, which began April 23, 2023, he has 40 wins with six shutouts, a 2.40 goals-against average and .911 save percentage. This postseason, Bobrovsky has won 12 of 17 starts with a 2.11 GAA, .912 save percentage and three shutouts.

The Oilers haven't had the same consistency in the net as the Panthers, but when Stuart Skinner has been on his game, he has been almost unbeatable. And Skinner has been on his game of late.

He went 4-0 and allowed five goals on 105 shots in Games 2-5 against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final after giving up five goals on 27 shots in Game 1.

He ended the second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights with back-to-back shutouts after allowing four goals on 24 shots in Game 3. That was his first start since his struggles in Games 1 and 2 of the first round forced the Oilers to go with Calvin Pickard.

Skinner has allowed 30 goals in his 20 wins in the past two postseasons, including five in six wins this year. He has also allowed 51 goals in his 13 losses, including 20 in four this year.

The series could be determined by which version of Skinner shows up.

Marchand's presence and impact

There's zero doubt that at some point in this series Panthers forward Brad Marchand will be a big part of the story.

Whether it's for something he does off the ice or just his presence in front of the media off the ice, the 37-year-old Marchand has brought energy, personality and fun to the Panthers since they acquired him from the Boston Bruins on March 7.

He has also brought his high-end skill to the ice and has filled out Florida's third line, which could be one of the Panthers' biggest advantages going into the series.

Marchand has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 17 games playing with Anton Lundell (five goals, seven assists) and Eetu Luostarinen (four goals, nine assists). The line has been dynamic on the road, averaging more than three points per game with 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) in 10 games. Marchand has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in Florida's road games.

Marchand won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011. Since then, he played in and lost the Cup Final in 2013 and 2019. He will be heard from one way or another in this Stanley Cup Final.

Perry looking for a different outcome

Oilers forward Corey Perry will be playing in the Stanley Cup Final for the fifth time in six seasons. He has been on the losing end of the past four he's been in; 2020 with the Stars, 2021 with the Canadiens, 2022 with the Lightning and last year with the Oilers.

The good news is that Perry at least has one Stanley Cup championship ring, won with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, when he was 22 years old and in his second NHL season.

Perry is 40 years old and is the 17th player, and first since Petr Sykora in 2012, to appear in the Stanley Cup Final at least six times since the NHL went to the 16-team playoff format.

Perry has appeared in 231 NHL playoff games, which is tied with Guy Carbonneau for sixth all-time. If the series goes at least six games and Perry doesn't miss a game, he will move up to third all-time behind Chris Chelios (266) and Nicklas Lidstrom (263).

Messier (236), Claude Lemieux (234) and Scott Stevens (233) are all ahead of him too.

Perry is also clearly aging well. He has seven goals, tied for the team lead with Draisaitl. He has scored in Edmonton's past two games, becoming the first 40-year-old to score in back-to-back playoff games since Daniel Alfredsson did it with the Senators in 2013.

Cats (and rats) on the road

Something will have to give when it comes to Florida's road success and Edmonton's home-ice advantage.

The Panthers have bucked a significant trend this postseason. Road teams have won 31 of 80 games, 38.7 percent, but they've been dominant away from home, going 8-2 through the first three rounds, including 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes were 5-0 at home in the first two rounds before going 0-3 against the Panthers at Lenovo Center, where some Florida fans were able to smuggle plastic rats into the building and throw them on the ice after games, traveling the tradition from home to road.

Florida has a plus-27 goal differential on the road (48-21). Its power play is 42.9 percent. Its penalty kill is 88.6 percent.

This matters, of course, because the Panthers' road success could negate Edmonton's home-ice advantage, which has been obvious in the first three rounds. The Oilers are 6-1 with a plus-16 goal differential (33-16), a 56.6 percent power play and 83.3 percent penalty kill at Rogers Place.

Games 1 and 2 are at Rogers Place. If necessary, so are Games 5 and 7.

Depth scoring

The Panthers and Oilers have made it back to the Stanley Cup Final as much for their depth as their goaltending, defense and star power. The team that continues to get more of it will likely have the upper hand in the series.

They both have had 19 unique goal scorers, tied for the second most in Stanley Cup Playoff history through three best-of-7 rounds. The 2019 Boston Bruins and the 1984 Oilers each had 19 unique goal scorers. The 1987 Philadelphia Flyers and 1993 Toronto Maple Leafs had 20.

The Oilers have 14 forwards with at least one goal, tied for third most in playoff history through three best-of-7 rounds. The 1987 Flyers had 16 and the 1993 Maple Leafs had 15.

Florida has seven defensemen with at least one goal, tied for the most in best-of-7 playoff history through three rounds with the 2021 Vegas Golden Knights, 1994 Washington Capitals and 1988 Calgary Flames.

Niko Mikkola, Nate Schmidt, Seth Jones and Aaron Ekblad each have three goals.

The last ride

Ekblad has played in 809 games in a Panthers uniform regular season and playoffs combined. He is the franchise's all-time leader in games played among defensemen and second overall behind Aleksander Barkov's 892 games played.

Ekblad is also in the last year of an eight-year contract. He can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Similarly, forward Sam Bennett is in the last year of his four-year contract. Bennett, like Ekblad, can become a UFA on July 1.

Bennett has been with the Panthers since April 12, 2021. Since that time, Bennett has played in 360 games, including 71 in the playoffs. He has become a vital part of Florida's core and currently leads the NHL with 10 goals in these playoffs.

It's hard to envision the Panthers without No. 9 up front and No. 5 on the back end, but their days in Florida could be numbered. They're already champions; this series could turn them into Panthers legends.