We are currently witnessing true NHL déjà vu! The Edmonton Oilers battle the Florida Panthers once again in the Stanley Cup final after a thrilling battle last year where the Oilers ended up pushing the Cats to a 7-game series before ultimately conceding the victory. Things are a little different this year, though. For starters, the Panthers have a changed roster that has been outperforming their previous years, with nearly all players on the team having scored a goal this playoff season. And secondly, because the Oilers seem to have learned from the past and some players, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl primarily, are set on not repeating it!

McDavid has been on a roll this postseason, having scored a total of 26 points (6 goals and 20 assists) to date. And the legend, though a three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner, has not yet won a Stanley Cup, so maybe, just maybe, he is looking to make it happen this time. Likewise for alternate captain Leon Draisaitl, who has also not won a championship title yet and is just a point behind McDavid in terms of his contributions this series; however, the two may not really see eye to eye on where they currently stand in relation to winning the title, advantage-wise.

In a recent interview, Leon Draisaitl was asked to comment on something Connor McDavid had previously said with regard to the Oilers having an advantage this season because it has been less physically taxing on them; they knocked the Stars out in 5 games in the semifinals rather than 6 games like last year, and further, they’ll have surely gained some experience in terms of emotions after last year’s heartbreaking 7th game loss.

While Draisaitl seemed to have agreed with the facts of it, he, unlike McDavid, didn’t necessarily see it as an advantage. “Uh, I don’t know about an advantage,” the Oilers center said. “But we’ve certainly, you know, handled those situations really well this year through experience, through the last couple years.”

The Oilers haven’t actually won a Stanley Cup since 1990, so that’s 35 years of experience. “And,” Draisaitl continued, “I think we’ve done a really good job of putting ourselves in those situations and, you know, not making it as stressful maybe as in the past. So we’ll see how much it’s going to help us, but I think we got a lot of guys in here that, you know, have their legs and, you know, feel really good about themselves.” So rather than crediting the team’s experience with loss, Draisaitl shifted the focus to the confidence the current Oilers roster seems to be feeling, and rightly so!

Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers are heading into the Stanley Cup final confident despite the Panthers’ dominance last year

Leon Draisaitl made a comment heading into the final series of the playoffs that may even be called a threat by some. “We know what they’re about,” Draisaitl said of the Florida Panthers. “It’s nice to get a shot at getting some revenge,” he added, indicating that the Oilers have more at stake here than just a cup; pride is also on the line. Draisaitl, however, then finished humbly with, “But we’re a long ways from that.”

Connor McDavid hasn’t held back on the show of confidence either, posting a series of photos to Instagram of the Oilers victory over the Stars and captioning it, “Moving on.” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch also commented on his team redoing last year’s final this year, saying of the situation, “We overcame so many obstacles; so much adversity,” and hinting at the fact that the team is stronger this year, which it undoubtedly is.

It all comes down to a matter of chance, actually. Both teams finished in third place in their divisions in the regular playoffs, and both teams are looking pretty evenly matched when it comes to stats right now. However, the Oilers are the ones with the standout stars like Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, and the Panthers are the ones where the entire team is working together like a well-oiled machine, so the Stanley Cup result this year may very well end up being a battle of stardom vs. teamwork.