What a thrilling start to the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. The Edmonton Oilers really showed their resilience, coming back from a two-goal deficit to take down the Florida Panthers 4-3 in overtime during Game 1 at Rogers Place. Leon Draisaitl stepped up as the hero, netting both the first goal and the game-winning power-play goal in overtime, which was his ninth goal of the postseason. Connor McDavid was a key player, helping out with both the game-tying and winning goals, and goaltender Stuart Skinner made a big impact with 29 saves.

Edmonton’s win not only put them ahead 1-0 in the series but also showed just how determined they are, especially after coming up short in last year’s final against the same team. After the game, Florida’s clear issue was pointed out by NHL legend Wayne Gretzky and former NHL player now media personality, Paul Bissonnette. Liam McHugh, the studio host for NHL on TNT, mentioned, “Edmonton takes it down in OT. They take game one of the Stanley Cup final. And as Kenny had said before, 77% of the time, it’s either we just gave one goes on to win the final.”

So, here’s the stat that could finally break Canada’s Stanley Cup drought, which has been ongoing since 1993. Gretzky mentioned, “I was really surprised. And we talked about it watching the third period and watching the overtime. I’ve never seen Florida ice the puck so many times and give the puck back to Edmonton, whether it be faceoffs in their own zone or Edmonton setting up and coming back five against their five. I’ve never seen Florida do that. Now, maybe they’re a little bit tired. They traveled yesterday. Game one in the finals. I don’t know. I just I’ve been to a lot of Florida Panther games. And that was the first time I could see that. And it happened continuously throughout the hockey game.”

The Great One pointed out that the Florida Panthers often iced the puck in the third period and overtime, which was a bit different from their usual style of controlling the puck. This strategy led to several faceoffs in their defensive zone, giving the Edmonton Oilers plenty of chances to put on the pressure. Gretzky thought that things like travel fatigue or the pressure of the finals could have played a role in this unusual performance. “That’s the most I’ve definitely seen,” agreed Bissonnette.

Bissonnette chimed in with, “Yeah, and typically we’ve seen them pump the puck a lot these playoffs. That’s one of their go to’s, alleviate pressure. But definitely the icings were adding up, adding up. They kept rolling over shift after shift and really all the momentum in the third period in overtime at Edmonton’s favorite boys.” The Panthers are usually all about that aggressive puck movement and clearing strategies, so it was pretty interesting to see them icing the puck so much during the third period and overtime.

This strategy really threw off their offensive flow and gave the Oilers several chances to take back control and keep the pressure on. Bissonnette pointed out that this pattern helped Edmonton keep their momentum going since the Panthers’ defense had to stay on the ice without any opportunity for line changes. The Oilers kept up the pressure and took advantage of a late-game power play, which set up Draisaitl for the overtime goal that clinched a 4-3 win for Edmonton.

It seems like Florida’s strategy took a strange turn, maybe because of fatigue or the pressure of the finals, and that really worked out well for the Oilers. So, what did Panthers coach Paul Maurice have to say about his star player who caused that late-game power play in the OT?

Florida Panthers’ coach defended his star player from criticism

When Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice was asked about what he plans to say to Tomas Nosek after that important penalty in overtime, he responded firmly, saying, “You remind him after the game of being down 0-2 to Toronto (in the Eastern Conference semifinals) and that his line came in and changed everything. We’re not here without Tomas Nosek. It’s a tough break. We’ll make sure he doesn’t eat alone tonight. He has got lots of people eating at his table and reminding how good he’s been to us.”

So, what went down? At 18:17 in the extra period, Nosek accidentally sent the puck over the glass from his own defensive zone, which led to a two-minute penalty. The Oilers got a power-play chance from that infraction, and it ended up helping them win Game 1. But you know what? Maurice isn’t really worried about any of that.

Nosek has really stepped up for the Panthers during the postseason, racking up 3 assists and 3 points in 11 games, all while boasting a +5 plus-minus rating. Maurice highlighted Nosek’s contributions to the team, reminding everyone how important he was in past playoff successes and showing confidence in his ongoing value to the team’s efforts. We’ll just have to wait and see if the Panthers can turn things around in the series.