The Stanley Cup playoffs is one of the most grueling postseason tournaments in sports. So it’s no wonder that a team appearing in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years is something of a rarity. It’s rarer still that both teams meet up again in consecutive Cup Finals.

But that’s exactly what happened in 2025. Following a thrilling, seven-game series in 2024 in which the Florida Panthers went up 3-0, lost the next three to the Edmonton Oilers and won Game 7 for the franchise’s first Cup, the two teams are back at it again starting with Game 1 on Wednesday.

How are the teams different than the 2024 editions? How confident should each team be in its goaltender right now? And what are the X factors and big questions for each club heading into the rematch?

Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton reveal the tale of the tape before this heavyweight sequel.

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Key stats, matchups
ESPN experts’ picks
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How are these teams better than last season’s versions?

Oilers

Edmonton appears to be more ruthless — likely because of what happened last postseason against Florida in the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers nearly pulled off one of the the greatest comebacks in NHL history, only to lose Game 7 after falling into a three-game deficit to start the series.

This postseason has seen them master the comeback, while also sensing how to stop an opponent from doing the same. They lost the first two games of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings before winning four straight. They opened Game 1 of the second-round series versus the Vegas Golden Knights by giving up the first two goals before setting a Stanley Cup playoff record with their fifth consecutive comeback victory. Even with the Golden Knights grabbing a last-second goal to win Game 3, the Oilers shut them out for the final two games of the series.

That trend continued when they played the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals. The Stars scored six straight goals to take Game 1, only for the Oilers to give up five goals total over the next four games to advance to the Cup Final. — Clark

Panthers

Florida had good depth a season ago. The Panthers have great depth this time around.

They’ve had 19 different players light the lamp this postseason compared to 15 in the 2024 playoffs. Florida is also averaging more goals (3.88 per game) and giving up fewer scores (2.29) than before, while their power play has been markedly more productive (23.2% vs. 18.5%) and their penalty kill (87.9%) is the best in the playoffs.

The Panthers’ collective buy-in on defense has been noticeable. They’ve given up fewer shots this go-around and have been able to shut down some of the league’s hottest offensive teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning led the NHL in regular-season scoring but managed just 12 goals in five games during their first-round series against Florida. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky‘s numbers are stronger now than a season ago (more on him later).

GM Bill Zito made key additions to the Panthers’ roster in Brad Marchand, who has been a sensational third-line asset, and Seth Jones, a productive force on the back end. Florida found the right mix of physicality and skill that has made it a terror for every opponent so far. — Shilton

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How are these teams worse than last season’s versions?

Oilers

The Oilers had a penalty kill that was one of the best in league history but now struggles at times. Part of their run to the Cup Final last season was due to a penalty kill that had a 94.3% success rate. The Oilers are back in the Final again, with the reality that their short-handed performances have succeeding just 66% of the time, which ranks as the third-worst rate this postseason.

So what’s different? Namely, it’s their personnel. Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais and Ryan McLeod were integral players who were also in the top eight of short-handed minutes for the Oilers last postseason. All three played elsewhere this season.

Then there’s the circumstances around Mattias Ekholm. He led the Oilers with 68:49 in short-handed ice time last postseason, and it was more than 12 minutes ahead of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who was second. The good news for Edmonton? Ekholm returned to the team in Game 5 against the Stars after missing the entirety of the playoffs to that point recovering from an undisclosed injury. — Clark

Panthers

Frankly, it’s tough nitpicking the Panthers. But there have been some lapses when Florida looked less than championship-worthy.

The early games in the second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs showed Florida’s vulnerabilities defending off the rush against top-flight talents. That issue resurfaced in Games 4 and 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes when Florida looked more flat-footed and turnover prone against faster forwards.

That’s an area the Panthers didn’t struggle with as much last season — Florida is averaging more giveaways per 60 minutes this postseason (12.23) compared to a season ago (9.67), and Edmonton is capable of forcing errors with their speed and skill. Puck management — and protection — will be paramount for the Panthers. — Shilton

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Goaltender Confidence Ratings

Oilers: 8.5/10

May 10 is the day everything changed for the Oilers and Stuart Skinner. That’s the day Kris Knoblauch returned to Skinner for Game 3 against the Golden Knights.

Knoblauch had benched Skinner after he allowed 12 goals in the first two games of the previous series against the Kings, which led to Calvin Pickard taking over. Pickard, however, sustained an injury in Game 2 against the Golden Knights, which led to Skinner’s return for Game 3.

In the time since Skinner’s reentry, he has become one of the Oilers’ most important players. Skinner shut out the Golden Knights for the final two games and also had a shutout against the Stars in the conference finals.

Getting a pair of shutouts answered some questions. There were still concerns about whether the Oilers could win if Skinner wasn’t perfect and didn’t record a shutout. He answered those questions by posting a .920 save percentage over the final three games of the conference finals to slam the door shut on Dallas. — Clark

Panthers: 9/10

Bobrovsky has levelled up in every series Florida has played this postseason — and his most recent numbers are increasingly absurd.

Through five games against Tampa Bay in the first round and the first three games against Toronto in the second round, Bobrovsky was 5-3, with an .875 save percentage and 2.94 goals-against average. Average stuff. Something clicked in the second round, and Playoff Bob went bonkers; in Games 4-7 against the Leafs and the entire Eastern Conference finals, Bobrovsky went 7-2, with a .944 SV% and 1.34 goals against average. Oh, and he had two shutouts in that stretch.

Bobrovsky’s “worst” performance in the past two weeks was Game 5 against Carolina, when he gave up three goals on 20 shots, the most markers he has allowed since Game 3 against Toronto.

Bobrovsky has proven his mettle time and again. He has experienced success and failure on a Cup Final run (remember he was pulled from Game 4 last year, a brutal 8-1 Panthers loss). Bobrovsky is a veteran netminder at the top of his game and will try to get the better of Skinner again in this year’s goaltending matchup. — Shilton

X factors for the Cup Final

Oilers

How will they manage without Zach Hyman for a whole series? Hyman led the Oilers with 16 goals last postseason. He has contributed in a different way this season, in that he has been their most physical player. Hyman was leading the NHL this postseason with 111 hits and added another dimension to what was an already layered team.

The injury he sustained in Game 4 against Dallas means he’ll miss the remainder of the playoffs. It’s a loss that created concerns such as: Who fills that physical void? Who fills in on the top six? Who takes his spot on the power play?

In their first game without Hyman, the Oilers once again relied on their depth to fill that absence. They had five forwards finish with more than five hits, while two of those skaters — Evander Kane and Kasperi Kapanen — scored in the series-clinching Game 5. But that’s not to say Hyman was the only Oilers skater who has a physical edge to their game. Entering the Game 1 of the Final, the Oilers have five players who are in the top 25 in hits this postseason. — Clark

Panthers

How will Florida’s stars stack up against Edmonton’s? The Panthers, as noted above, have 19 goal scorers this postseason. So do the Oilers. There’s depth to spare on both sides of this one.

But, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are first and second in playoff scoring (with 26 and 25 points, respectively). The Panthers’ top two point getters are Aleksander Barkov (with 17) and Sam Bennett (16). And Bennett is also Florida’s goal-scoring leader with 10; he’s the only Panther with a double-digit total.

Florida needs Barkov, Bennett, Sam Reinhart (four goals and 13 points), Carter Verhaeghe (six goals and 14 points) and Matthew Tkachuk (five goals and 16 points) all rolling from the outset in this series. The Oilers are opportunistic, explosive and just as dangerous five-on-five as on the power play. How Florida counters to not only hold Edmonton’s stars at bay but consistently activate its own could be the deciding factor in this matchup. — Shilton

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Big questions before Game 1

The Oilers have made major adjustments throughout the playoffs, such as the ones that helped them rally from an 0-2 series hole against the Kings. Or the adjustments made when they silenced the Golden Knights, who were in the top five in goals per game in the regular season, over the final two games of the series. Plus the way they went from giving up six goals to the Stars in Game 1 of the conference finals to allowing only five goals combined for the final four games of the series.

There’s how they managed to find defensive continuity without Ekholm. There’s the way they went from Skinner to Pickard and back to Skinner to return to the Cup Final — where they’ll be missing Hyman.

Will those adjustments be the difference between a repeat of last season’s defeat and winning it all for the first time since 1990? — Clark

How will penalties influence this series?

Florida toes the line — without going over it — better than any team in the league. The Panthers also spend a significant amount of time in the box. Can the Panthers find the right balance between the two here, knowing the Oilers have a dominant power play that just scored six goals on the man advantage — at least one per game — in the Western Conference finals against Dallas?

Florida is the most penalized team in the playoff field (by a wide margin), and that’s just part and parcel for a physically focused team that’s also averaging the most hits (47.05 per game) in the postseason. Florida has also drawn more penalties than any team.

It’s an intriguing dynamic that could go one of two ways for the Panthers. Will they frustrate the Oilers while staying on the right side of the officials? Or will Edmonton’s dynamism force the Panthers into overstepping their boundaries?

Special teams suddenly loom large. Edmonton has the power-play edge, while Florida has the penalty-killing prowess. The back-and-forth and potential for gamesmanship will be fascinating. — Shilton

Game 1 best bets

Anton Lundell over 0.5 total assists (+210): Historically, the Oilers have preferred Connor McDavid’s line versus Matthew Tkachuk’s when they control last change, which they will to start the series in Edmonton. The Panthers, meanwhile, lean on Aleksander Barkov to check McDavid when they have that advantage. All that top-line jockeying leaves Edmonton with fewer options to contain the trio of Anton Lundell, Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen. That line has been dominant at 5-on-5, with 10 goals scored and just two allowed this postseason.

Vasily Podkolzin over 4.5 total hits (+115): The Oilers have been much more physical in this year’s run, likely a lesson learned after falling to the punishing Panthers last spring. In limited minutes (10:53 per game), Podkolzin has delivered 74 hits over 16 games, and is averaging 5.0 per night at home. He’s a good bet to keep that pace.

Eetu Luostarinen over 0.5 total goals (+650): If you are looking for a longer shot to fuel the payout on a same-game parlay, taking Luostarinen for a goal is a fair gamble. He has the second-most 5-on-5 goals for the Panthers this postseason (four) and second-most high-danger scoring chances (17, per NaturalStatTrick), but has much longer odds than the Panthers leading those respective categories (Lundell at +360 and Carter Verhaeghe at +230). — Sean Allen

BOSTON — Red Sox manager Alex Cora had been proclaiming recently that he didn’t think his team was far from putting good baseball together following a dismal stretch of games.

Those days of optimism appear to be dwindling after Boston’s latest setback.

The Red Sox lost their 17th one-run game of the season on Tuesday, this time falling 4-3 to the Los Angeles Angels in 10 innings filled with missed opportunities, poor defensive execution and another inconsistent night from the bullpen. It was Boston’s eighth loss in 10 games. The Red Sox are now 9-10-1 in series play, including 4-5-1 at Fenway Park.

“We keep making the same mistakes. We’re not getting better,” Cora said after the game. “At one point, it has to be on me, I guess. I’m the manager. I’ve got to keep pushing them to be better. They’re not getting better. They’re not. We keep making the same mistakes. I’ll be honest about it and very open about it.”

Tuesday’s defeat came a night after Boston also lost by a run to an Angels team that had dropped seven of eight games and three consecutive series.

But the contest started out with some promise.

Starter Brayan Bello pitched a scoreless first to snap a four-game streak of Boston pitchers allowing at least one run in the opening inning.

But the Angels took a 3-0 lead in the third inning via an RBI single by Zach Neto and a two-run single by Nolan Schanuel.

Boston got one run back during its half of the inning but failed to further close the gap despite having runners on second and third base with no outs.

The Red Sox outhit the Angels for the second straight game but also committed three fielding errors.

“You get frustrated, but at one point, OK, what are you going to do? What’s going to change? We keep doing the same thing,” Cora said.

MIAMI — The woeful Colorado Rockies have ended their ignominious, record-setting MLB streak of 22 consecutive series losses, which dated to last season.

A nervy 3-2 victory at Miami on Tuesday night, highlighted by Hunter Goodman‘s third home run in two games, gave Colorado two straight victories over the Marlins to ensure the Rockies would leave town with their first series victory since taking two of three games from Arizona in Denver in mid-September.

“That was big time for the boys to get that first series win,” Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “Who would’ve known it wouldn’t come until June. But the time is now. I’m happy for them.”

Colorado, a major league-worst 11-50, won consecutive games for only the second time this year after beating Atlanta on April 30 and San Francisco the next day. They go for a series sweep against the Marlins on Wednesday.

Goodman’s teammates seemed unsurprised by his pivotal role in securing the Rockies’ first series win of the season.

“He’s just raking, and when he’s hot, he’s one of the best hitters in the game,” center fielder Brenton Doyle told Rockies.tv. “I hope he keeps it up. He’s one of my good buddies and that was awesome.”

Rockies reliever Seth Halvorsen earned his third save, but only after Heriberto Hernandez drove his 1-1 pitch about 400 feet to left-center, where Doyle made a running catch at the wall to end the game.

“I’m not going to lie; off the bat, I thought that was a homer,” Schaeffer said. “But it wasn’t, so it’s all good. It’s the best having [Doyle] in center field.”

Excluding one-game series, the Rockies are the fourth team since MLB expansion in 1961 to go 18 series before recording their first series win in a season. The 1987 Padres, 1969 Montreal Expos and 1962 Washington Senators all won their first series of those seasons in their 19th series.

Before the Rockies arrived in Miami, they’d gone 3-28 on the road — the worst road mark at that point of season in more than a century — and had not won back-to-back road games since last Sept. 5-6.

“It’s nice to get a couple wins. It’s good to get that first series win,” Schaffer said. “Now we just move forward.”