For a second consecutive season, the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. While both series were exciting and entertaining, the Panthers’ victory this time around was much more of a statement. The Oilers looked like a broken, helpless team by Games 5 and 6, fully worn down by the relentless pressure and depth of the Panthers.
1: Dominant Starts
Getting off to a good start is a point of emphasis for every team at every level, and the Panthers were able to consistently blitz the Oilers at the start of games. They finished the series having outscored the Oilers 13-4 in first periods, including a resounding 9-0 tally in the first periods of Games 3 through 6. Quite frankly, it took a spectacular comeback from the Oilers in Game 4 for this series to even have been extended to six games.
While the Oilers are a dangerous team when their risk profile changes, there is perhaps no team in the NHL more comfortable and stingy with a lead than the Panthers. Playing with a lead allowed them to roll four lines and overwhelm Edmonton with their depth, while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl had to be leaned on heavily by head coach Kris Knoblauch.
2: Superior Depth
The Oilers made several moves last offseason and at the 2025 Trade Deadline to improve their depth, with Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, Jake Walman, John Klingberg, Kasperi Kapanen, and Trent Frederic being the highlights. But when the going got tough, it was abundantly clear that the Oilers’ team makeup was no different than last year’s: a top-heavy team reliant almost entirely on McDavid and Draisaitl to overwhelm teams offensively. The Oilers scored 17 goals over the course of the six games, but even beyond the simple dearth of goals, they were unable to generate consistent offensive pressure without McDavid and Draisaitl on the ice.
Related: 3 Takeaways from Panthers’ Game 6 Stanley Cup Clinching Win Over Oilers
On the other side, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice had the luxury of having three lines that he trusted. All three lines played physically, had scoring ability, and were strong defensively. The Panthers had eight players score 18 or more points this postseason, while the Oilers had just four. Even in the defensive end, all six of the Panthers’ defensemen were, for the most part, sound defensively and able to contribute positively to the Panthers’ system.
3: Superior Goaltending
Goaltending has been a point of concern for the Oilers for several years now, and it reared its head in an ugly fashion this series. Stuart Skinner had an abysmal .861 Save Percentage (SV%) in his five games played this series, while Calvin Pickard had an .878 SV% in the three games he played. There were several game-defining moments from Skinner that eviscerated any chance the Oilers may have had in that particular game. The third goal in Game 6, in which Skinner failed to corral a harmless wrister from the blue line, was a great example.
On the other side, Sergei Bobrovsky was solid and dependable, even sprinkling in the occasional spectacular save now and again. He finished the series with a .919 SV% and the playoffs overall at a .914 SV% in 23 games played. The biggest compliment he can receive is that he was never particularly noticeable at any point in the series. He rarely gave up bad goals, rarely misplayed the puck, and made all the saves he needed to make.
4: Suffocating Style of Play
Games 1 and 2 were exceedingly close by almost every metric. But in Games 3 through 6, the Panthers looked like the faster, stronger, and more experienced team. By the end of Game 6, the Oilers looked like a shell of the high-flying offensive juggernaut that they had been for the first three rounds of the playoffs.
There are several reasons for this shift from the beginning to the end of the series. One is that, as mentioned, the Panthers were a deeper team than the Oilers. They got stronger as the series went on, while the Oilers’ best players got more and more worn down. The mental aspect may have also played a factor. The Oilers could likely feel the series slipping away from them, and that seemed to snowball into riskier choices and a less sound style of game.
But the biggest reason, in my opinion, is the difference in styles of play. The Panthers made very few mistakes in their neutral zone coverages, their defensive zone assignments, and in identifying open men on the backcheck. They had a consistently relentless forecheck and always maintained a smart F3 high to prevent odd-man rushes. They also made it a point of emphasis to be chippy and physical — they finished every hit, they got extra cross-checks in after the whistle, and they put a body on McDavid any chance they got.
The Oilers, for all their offensive firepower, just seemed looser with their overall playstyle. They lost men on the backcheck, with Matthew Tkachuk’s game-winning goal in Game 6 is a great example of this. They were inconsistent with their physicality. They had lapses in their defensive zone coverage.
Overall Thoughts
The Oilers have been able to outscore their flaws and inconsistencies throughout the last two seasons against every team except the Panthers. But the Panthers proved to be too disciplined, physical, deep, and experienced for this version of the Oilers. Looking ahead, the Panthers are not going anywhere: their salary-cap situation is relatively good, and they will likely return the bulk of this season’s team. If the Oilers want any chance of winning a cup with McDavid in the next few years, it is time to come to terms with the fact they need to make some serious changes.
