“Hopefully, we’ll see you next year, yeah?” This was what Matthew Tkachuk had said to Connor McDavid after the Panthers took the 7-game Stanley Cup final series last year. “Appreciate it, yeah,” the Oilers Captain had replied. The interaction almost seems prophetic now that the Oilers and Panthers are set to meet in the finals for the second consecutive year. While the Panthers are looking to do a repeat, the Oilers have a lot more riding on this series. After all, it has been 35 years since they last lifted the Stanley Cup. But with Game 1 of the final series just around the corner, Oilers’ superstar center Connor McDavid has raised some eyebrows.

On June 1, 2025, during practice, Connor McDavid had a brief conversation with the training staff and then left the session early. NHL insider Ryan Rishaug, who wrote on X, reported this: “McDavid had a word with training staff and left practice early today. The rest of the group is still out there.” Following the incident, reporters quickly asked head coach Kris Knoblauch about McDavid’s early exit, and he was scheduled to speak to the media.

When the press conference began, one of the reporters asked about McDavid leaving practice and whether he would be available for Game 1. In response, the Oilers’ head coach shut down any rumors regarding McDavid’s status. Knoblauch said, “Yeah, he will be fine. No issues.” McDavid’s presence in Game 1 and the series will be crucial. He currently leads the NHL in points through the first three rounds of the playoffs, with 26 points in 16 games, including a league-best 20 assists, and a team-leading 9 points in the Western Conference Finals win against the Dallas Stars. Any sort of question mark on his fitness would have rung some seriously loud alarm bells for the Oilers, considering Zach Hyman is out for the entirety of the series.

Hyman, who has a whopping 111 hits and 11 points to his name this postseason, had to undergo surgery on an upper-body injury that he suffered in Game 4. However, Connor Brown, who was ruled out of the final two games of the Conference Finals, thanks to a hit by Alexander Petrovic in Game 3, was seen practising with the team on Sunday and is expected to be ready to go in Game 1. Edmonton sport radio host Reid Wilkins reported, “Knoblauch says he’s confident Connor Brown will be fine for Game 1.” The confidence was echoed by Brown himself, as Inside Sports host Brenden Escott reported, “Brown confirms he’s ready to return for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.”

Brown has 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists) in 14 games this postseason, and with Hyman out, Edmonton Journal’s David Staples thinks he may need to step up big time in that top 6. Meanwhile, both Kasperi Kapanen and Vasily Podkolzin have had impressive two-way showings and will certainly be kept tabs on by the Panthers, who are far from complacent heading into the Finals.

The Panthers expect some serious competition from Connor McDavid and Co.

In her interaction with Panthers head coach Paul Maurice told NHL reporter Amalie Benjamin that, despite their win last year, Panthers view Connor McDavid’s team as a formidable opponent. “I’ve talked all year, there’s different energy sources, right?” he said, speaking about how the two teams will be rolling in, driven by two different emotions—one to win the Cup for the second consecutive year, and the other to exact revenge.“I can’t measure which one’s more powerful yet.” And while the head coach was finding out what gonna work, the Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said, “They’re going to be ready. We’re going to be ready. And it’s crazy that — I don’t think it happens very often — where you get back-to-back Stanley Cup Final matchups. So, it’s going to be a tough series. We know what to expect. Just a lot of excitement going into it.” So, the Panthers are on their toes, but what does statistical history show? 

Since the teams met last season in the Final, they played two regular-season games, with the Panthers winning both. The 1st game was on December 16, where the result was 6-5 in Edmonton. And the Oilers lost the 2nd one at home 4-3, on the scoreboard on February 27. The Panthers went on to win Game 7 of the Cup Finals last year after the Oilers came back from a 3-0 deficit in the series. This year, the Oilers registered an NHL record by clinching 6 back-to-back comeback wins. Both teams have had 19 different skaters score postseason goals for them this year. And while the Panthers’ Sam Bennett holds the lead for most playoff goals this year, Connor McDavid has his own scary little playoff stat, too.

McDavid has more multi-point games in the Stanley Cup playoffs than he does games where he gets one point or less. So, this lethal weapon stays sharp when it’s needed the most. And it’s safe to say the Oilers will need him pretty bad come June 4.