For the second consecutive season, the Edmonton Oilers have been defeated in the Stanley Cup Final by the Florida Panthers. This season, it was in six games. A 4–0 loss in game six gave the Panthers the Cup on home ice once again.
An absolute lack of fight and battle in the final game of the season, capped off with atrocious plays from defenders and goaltenders alike, sealed the deal for this disappointment. The Oilers started game six strong, but a questionable pass from Mattias Ekholm sent at Evan Bouchard’s knees found it’s way into the back of Edmonton’s net and quashed any momentum they had gotten early on. Then, a lapse in defensive coverage in front of the net near Bouchard gave the Panthers a second goal. And the game was put out of reach late in the second period after Stuart Skinner dropped a rebound directly in front of himself, which ended up behind him immediately after.
The story of the series
The series was full of ups-and-downs, highs-and-lows. A wild start to the series with a split in both opening homestands turned things into a best-of-three. Two consecutive overtime games in games one and two set the stage for a lengthy, hard-fought battle between these two teams.
The vibes were high after an Oilers overtime win in game one. Immediately the series was off to a better start than game one of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately, questionable officiating plagued the first few games of this series. Game two’s overtime was won by the Panthers, who scored in double overtime shortly after a sixth Florida Panther was on the ice playing the puck.
Game three featured a mental breakdown of the Oilers’ composure as everything boiled over in the third period. Countless fights, penalties, and undisciplined play all game turned into a blowout loss in Florida. The Oilers did, however, rebound after that and win another game in overtime in game four.
That was all the Oilers had in them. The Panthers took games five and six with little to no pushback. Early goals plagued Edmonton all series, with these two games being no exception.
All of this said and done, this will be a monumental offseason for the Edmonton Oilers as they face countless questions and criticisms regarding the roster and have important players, like Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid, to be working on next contracts with.
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