Edmonton Oilers beat Panthers – Stanley Cup Final Game 1 was thrilling!
The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Florida Panthers 4-3 in the first match of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Leon Draisaitl scored the decisive goal in overtime, giving the Oilers this important win.
Match Summary
Early in the first period, Leon Draisaitl scored in the 66th second of the game to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. The Panthers’ Sam Bennett then scored at 10:49 to level the score. Brad Marchand scored during the power play at 12:30 in the first period to put the Panthers ahead 2-1.
MCDAVID TO DRAISAITL, THE OILERS TAKE GAME ONE IN OVERTIME 🤯🚨 pic.twitter.com/fh0LTyjRPl
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 5, 2025
Early in the second period, Sam Bennett scored his second goal at 2:00, increasing the Panthers’ lead to 3-1. However, the Oilers’ Viktor Arvidsson scored at 3:17 to make the score 3-2.
The Oilers played strongly in the third period and Mattias Ekholm scored on a pass from Connor McDavid at 6:33 to level the score at 3-3. In the third period, the Oilers put pressure on the Panthers with 14-2 shots on goal.
Overtime thrill
In overtime, Tomas Nosek of the Panthers got a penalty at 18:17 of the game, giving the Oilers a power play opportunity. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Leon Draisaitl scored on a pass from Connor McDavid at 19:29 to give the Oilers a 4-3 win.
Player performance
Leon Draisaitl: Two goals, including the game-winning overtime goal.
Connor McDavid: Two assists, including the assist for the decisive goal.
Sam Bennett: Two goals for the Panthers.
Mattias Ekholm: One goal and one assist, including the equalizing goal in the third period.
Goalkeepers’ performance
Stuart Skinner (Oilers): 29 saves, especially a crucial one in overtime.
Sergei Bobrovsky (Panthers): Several crucial saves, but ultimately couldn’t guide the team to victory.
Upcoming matches
The second game of the series will be played in Edmonton on Friday night, after which the series shifts to Florida.