The five burning questions that will tilt the series between Bruins, Panthers
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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
If the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers showed us anything in Game 1 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series Monday — a 5-1 win by the B’s — it’s this:
Expect the unexpected from this one.
The Atlantic Division rivals clashed again amid fraught recent history that will add another stimulating chapter with this postseason matchup. The Bruins fell in infamous fashion to the Panthers last spring, with the Presidents’ Trophy winners blowing a 3-1 first-round series lead to see their playoff run end early in a Game 7 overtime loss.
Then Boston went 4-0-0 in the regular season against Florida, which still won the division with one more point than the Bruins.
The Panthers breezed through their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games, and had been out of action since April 29. Meanwhile, Boston was battling its demons again, having gone up 3-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round only to land back in a Game 7 overtime — which it won 2-1, just two days before the second round was set to begin.
That set the stage for a return to South Florida, where the well-rested Panthers awaited a battle-weary Boston brood. But surprise! It was the well-traveled Bruins who came out on top in Game 1 with a blowout victory.
Suffice it to say, the Bruins have everyone’s attention now — most especially the Panthers’. So, what will Florida do in response to the rout?
Before the puck drops for Game 2 on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), we’re breaking down five burning questions for the series based on what happened in Game 1.
Can the Panthers rattle Swayman?
There’s not a more unbothered postseason player than Jeremy Swayman.
Case in point: The Bruins netminder was buried under no fewer than six bodies during a goal-line scrum in Game 1, all of them searching frantically for the puck, and Swayman had it under him all along. The cackle he delivered while nonchalantly tossing the disk out from his glove to the bemused displeasure of the surrounding Panthers? Priceless.
And also, a problem.
Toronto learned the hard way how backbreaking it can be getting stymied by Swayman, what with his .950 save percentage and 1.49 goals-against average in the first round. Now the Panthers have seen up close the challenge that beating Swayman will present, as he made an individual playoff-best 38 saves in Game 1 to reach a postseason record of 5-2, with a .955 SV% and 1.42 GAA. He’s also the eighth goaltender in league history to allow two or fewer goals in each of his first seven starts in a postseason.
Florida didn’t do enough to get in Swayman’s face Monday. Sure, the Panthers fired 39 shots on net, but they clocked just four quality, high-danger chances through the first two periods and weren’t truly testing Swayman until the third, when he had a three-goal cushion.
Boston kept Florida’s best skaters to the outside or chasing their own tails behind the net. The Panthers weren’t getting bodies in front and just peppered Swayman with shots he could easily track. That strategy didn’t work for the Leafs; it doesn’t project to go any better for Florida.
What could work is making Swayman uncomfortable — if, at this point, that’s even possible. Swayman’s confidence is rightfully sky-high after masking many Bruins blemishes in the first round and then putting on a show in Game 1 against Florida.
It’s up to the Panthers now to adjust how they attack Swayman in Game 2. Part of that falls on Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky — who made 24 saves in Game 1 — improving substantially at the other end to match Swayman’s excellence.
Getting through Swayman will require the Panthers to establish a consistent net-front presence, battle down low for loose pucks and seek out greasy goal opportunities. All of those are clichés for good reason — because they work, especially in the postseason, when open ice and rush chances are richer than Swayman’s next contract will be.
Who’ll win the special teams battles?
If the Panthers and Bruins have anything in common, it’s knowing how to shut down an opponent’s power play — and how to leverage their own.
Boston silenced Toronto on the man advantage in the first round, when the Leafs were a woeful 1-for-21 with the extra man to the Bruins’ 6-for-17. Florida stifled Tampa Bay there, too, leaving the Lightning at 4-for-20 while it went 3-for-13 (and added a short-handed goal to boot).
Game 1 offered both Florida and Boston opportunities to capitalize on special teams that netted, well, nothing.
The Panthers were 0-for-3 with the extra man. Boston was 0-for-2.
Who’s going to break the stalemate there?
Boston and Florida entered their series with the same number of 5-on-5 playoff goals (11), although the Bruins had played two more games than the Panthers to get there. Boston held the power-play edge overall, hitting 35.3% to Florida’s 23.1%. Boston also had the better kill, sitting at 95.2% versus 80% for Florida (again, through additional games on Boston’s end).
If Game 1 was a feeling-out process, and the series expectedly tightens up from here — particularly as the Panthers get their legs under them again — then special teams should become a larger factor in success (or failure). Given how both sides have generated scoring at even strength, those openings on the power play start to loom large in determining outcomes.
Will Florida’s depth eventually shine?
Game 1 had star power — but it was the Bruins’ depth stealing the spotlight.
The early 1-1 score came courtesy of goals from two top-line skaters — Matthew Tkachuk for Florida, Morgan Geekie for Boston — and then the sides settled in. Some fringe scorers emerged for the Bruins in Mason Lohrei (with his first of the postseason), Brandon Carlo (notching his second) and Justin Brazeau (also with his first).
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Justin Brazeau beats Sergei Bobrovsky for a Bruins goal
Justin Brazeau scores a third-period breakaway goal to put the Bruins up 4-1 vs. the Panthers.
Boston exemplified the importance of having contributors throughout the lineup. It’s on Florida to respond in kind come Game 2 and beyond.
The Panthers are a formidable team up front and proved it in their first-round series against Tampa Bay. Through those five games, Florida earned incredible contributions from Carter Verhaeghe (five goals), Tkachuk (three goals) and Sam Reinhart (three goals), among others.
The Bruins showed in Game 1 how they deny genuine scoring chances and can be difficult to penetrate defensively. In a series like this, top lines can cancel each other out. So who is going to produce from among the Panthers’ bottom six to help them keep pace with what Boston can offer throughout its own lineup?
Granted, the Panthers are missing Sam Bennett, who hasn’t played since suffering an upper-body injury against the Lightning on April 23; he’s considered day-to-day, and coach Paul Maurice estimates he’ll return by Game 4. When Bennett can get back, it will undoubtedly boost the Panthers offensively.
But even still, Florida should expect contributions from the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko and Evan Rodrigues to start punctuating the score sheet if the Bruins manage to hold Verhaeghe, Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov off it more often than not in this series. And if the Panthers could see some goals flying in from the blue line — defensemen have accounted for just three of Florida’s postseason scores thus far — all the better for them.
How will the coaching matchup play out?
It was five minutes into the third period of Game 1. Boston was up 3-1, and Jim Montgomery had to call a timeout.
Florida had sent 11 shots on Swayman in the final frame, and Boston looked lost.
Montgomery saw his group headed for trouble and asked for a breather.
“I could tell our players were hurried, a little frantic with the puck,” Montgomery said. “I just wanted us to relax.”
The Bruins took a pause. Play resumed. And two minutes later, Brazeau found the back of the net to ice Boston’s victory.
“After that timeout, you could tell the momentum shifted,” Swayman said.
“At the right time, he made the right timeout,” Carlo added. “He believes in us a lot.”
Game management is critical in the postseason. And in Game 1 it was Montgomery who seemed to outduel Maurice in that respect. How will Florida’s bench boss counter?
The intricacies and gamesmanship of coaching aren’t always visible on the outside. In Montgomery’s case with the timeout, it was just a perfectly executed example of knowing what your players need to stay on track. And it’s maximizing their potential in every situation to get a victory over the line.
If Montgomery hadn’t slowed the Bruins down, and Florida had broken Swayman with another goal, there was enough time left for the Panthers to come all the way back (and let’s not forget Boston was tied for the league lead in regular-season overtime losses when leading after two periods).
That must have been top of mind for Montgomery in Game 1. And it might have saved Boston from a potential gut punch.
Can Boston maintain momentum?
The Bruins had emotion on their side entering this series, in more ways than one.
While Florida had been cooling its heels since beating the Lightning over a week ago, Boston rolled into Round 2 off that dramatic overtime victory in Game 7. Add to that an extra side of new dad energy from Carlo — who arrived for Game 1 just hours after his second child was born — and the Bruins were feel-good favorites for the night.
The challenge for Boston now is to channel that same energy even after some of the original luster has been lost.
Montgomery was open about how Boston “made a lot of mistakes” in Game 1 that were not catastrophic thanks to Swayman’s stellar performance. Florida was one of the league’s premier teams all season, and there’s little doubt it’ll have a counterpunch ready to deliver in Game 2. The Panthers were the stronger team out of the gate in Game 1, too, and if not for Swayman holding the Bruins in it early, the result might not have gone Boston’s way.
How the Bruins handle what Florida does differently now moves to the forefront. Boston undisputedly set a tone in Game 1 with physicality, confidence and swagger. But if the Bruins don’t clean up some areas, as Montgomery alluded to, then Florida is too strong a team not to take advantage of its opponent’s errors.
The 2025 Stanley Cup Final will last at least six games, as the Edmonton Oilers won another overtime thriller over the Florida Panthers in Game 4.
With the series tied 2-2 heading into Game 5, it’s now a best-of-three, making Saturday’s game all the more pivotal. Which team will move within one W of the greatest trophy in sports?
Here are notes on the matchup from ESPN Research, as well as betting intel from ESPN BET:
More from Game 4: Recap | Grades
Matchup notes
Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers
Game 5 | 8 p.m. ET | TNT/Max
What a difference a game makes! Heading into Game 4, the Panthers were -260 favorites to win the Cup, with the Oilers at +215. Now, the two teams are both -110. Sam Bennett (+150) and Connor McDavid (+240) remain atop the Conn Smythe leaderboard — but Connor’s teammate Leon Draisaitl has joined him at +240 after he tallied the OT game winner (his second of the series).
In history, when a Stanley Cup Final has been tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win 19 out of 26 times (.731 win percentage).
The Panthers have won their last three series that were tied 2-2: 2022 first round vs. the Washington Capitals, 2024 conference finals vs. the New York Rangers and 2025 second round vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Oilers have won their last three series when they were trailing 2-1: 2024 second round vs. the Vancouver Canucks, 2024 conference finals vs. the Dallas Stars, 2025 first round vs. the Los Angeles Kings.
The Oilers became the seventh team to overcome a three-goal deficit to win a Stanley Cup Final game, and the first since the Carolina Hurricanes did it to them in Game 1 of the 2006 finals. They are only the second team to accomplish this feat on the road, joining the 1919 Montreal Canadiens at the Seattle Metropolitans.
The two teams have combined to score 32 goals thus far, which is the fourth most through the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final in NHL history.
The OT game winner Draisaitl scored in Game 4 was his fourth such goal this postseason, setting a single-year record. He now owns the record for a single regular season (six, set in 2024-25) and a single postseason.
After coming in to replace Stuart Skinner to begin the second period, Calvin Pickard ran his record this postseason to 7-0. He is the first goalie to win a game in relief since Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up the W after replacing Ben Bishop on 2015.
Draisaitl and McDavid make it five players in NHL history to score 30 points or more in consecutive postseasons (2024 and 2025), joining Nikita Kucherov (2020 and 2021), Mario Lemieux (1991 and 1992) and Wayne Gretzky (1983 through 1985, plus 1987 and 1988).
Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk became the ninth player in Stanley Cup Final history to score two power-play goals in a period and the first since Tampa Bay’s Brad Richards in Game 6 of the 2004 finals.
After three strong games to start the finals, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky faltered a bit in Game 4; his .857 save percentage was his lowest since Game 2 of the second-round series against the Maple Leafs (.800).
Brad Marchand scored four goals through the first three games of the series — including the game winner in double OT in Game 2 — but was held off of the scoresheet entirely in Game 4. Will the change of venue back to Edmonton result in his getting back on the board?
Scoring leaders
GP: 21 | G: 14 | A: 7
GP: 20 | G: 11 | A: 21
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Greg Wyshynski
SUNRISE, Fla. — Leon Draisaitl is at his best when describing the Edmonton Oilers‘ worst moments.
They were “waxed” and “spanked” in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final by the Florida Panthers, when they lost 6-1. They “put us on our heels early and we were lollygagging around” in the first period of Game 4, when Florida built a 3-0 lead and chased starting goaltender Stuart Skinner for the second straight game.
“It’s certainly not the time to lollygag around, right?” Draisaitl asked rhetorically.
Indeed, it is not, which might be why Draisaitl didn’t let the Oilers linger in overtime too long before ending Game 4 with his 11th goal of the playoffs — shoving the puck towards the Panthers’ net, having it deflect off defenseman Niko Mikkola and behind Sergei Bobrovsky at 11:18. Edmonton won 5-4, tied the series at 2-2 and completely flushed any lingering embarrassment over that Game 3 “spanking.”
In the process, Draisaitl continued to rewrite the NHL record books and loudly stated his case as the Stanley Cup playoffs’ most valuable player.
As of Friday morning, Draisaitl had the second-best odds at winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, according to ESPN BET (+225), trailing Florida center Sam Bennett (+140) and ahead of teammate Connor McDavid (+260), who won the award in a losing effort last season.
Oilers defenseman Jake Walman believes that it’s not just Draisaitl’s scoring but his all-around game that’s what makes him such a driving force for the Oilers.
“He’s a beast who can do it all for us,” Walman said. “There have been stretches in this postseason when he’s played great defensively too.”
Edmonton has a plus-4 in goal differential with Draisaitl on the ice in the postseason.
“It’s incredible. He’s a horse out there for us,” said forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has played with Draisaitl since the 29-year-old center was drafted third overall in 2014 by Edmonton. “We can always lean on him. He always finds a way to get those big [goals].”
The numbers make that statement undeniable. Draisaitl’s Game 4 winner was his fourth overtime goal of this postseason, setting a new single playoff year record in the NHL. Incredibly, Draisaitl also holds the single-season record for overtime goals in the regular season (six), which he also set this season.
Draisaitl is just the fifth player in NHL history to score multiple overtime goals in a Stanley Cup Final series. Maurice Richard holds the record with three OT goals.
“He’s one of the best players in the world for a reason. He not only says what he’s going to do, he backs it up with his play and his actions. That’s what makes him an amazing leader,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “We get into overtime. In those tense moments, he has an ability to relax and just make plays. He gets rewarded for working hard.”
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Leon Draisaitl scores OT winner for Oilers in Game 4
Leon Draisaitl notches the game-winning goal with this one-handed effort in a pulsating Game 4 that levels the series for Oilers.
Draisaitl has been perhaps the NHL’s most dominant player when factoring in the regular season with the postseason. The Oilers star finished a close second to Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck in the voting for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, after a season in which Draisaitl led the NHL in goals (52) and was third overall in points (106). Draisaitl was the winner of the Hart in 2019-20, and this was the fourth season of 50 or more goals in Draisaitl’s 11-year NHL career.
Draisaitl is now second to Sam Bennett (14 goals) in postseason goals, after scoring his 11th in overtime of Game 4. He’s now tied with teammate Connor McDavid with 32 points in 20 playoff games to lead all scorers.
He has now reached 30 points in two straight postseasons, becoming only the fifth player in NHL history to accomplish that feat, along with McDavid (2024-2025), Nikita Kucherov (2020-2021), Mario Lemieux (1991-1992) and Wayne Gretzky (1987-1988 and 1983-1985). Draisaitl now has three 30-point playoff seasons in his career, tying him with McDavid and Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier for second all-time behind all-time leader Gretzky, who had six 30-point playoff campaigns.
It’s not just the amount of scoring for Draisaitl — it’s when he’s scoring. Consider that he has 16 points in the final two rounds of the playoffs, including a series-best seven points in the Stanley Cup Final. Draisaitl has points in 17 of 20 playoff games, and nine of his past 10 overall.
“He’s as clutch as it gets,” said goalie Calvin Pickard, also a Game 4 hero for Edmonton with 22 saves and a win in relief of Skinner. “He’s been playing great. Always scoring big goals at big times.”
In the case of his Game 4 performance, Draisaitl not only came through in the clutch but also did in a building that hasn’t been friendly to him. He hadn’t tallied a point in any of his previous five Stanley Cup Final games on the road against the Panthers. He didn’t even generate a shot on goal in Game 7 last season or in Game 3 this postseason. He also failed to generate a shot attempt in Game 3, marking just the second time in 93 career playoff games that this occurred for Draisaitl.
On Thursday, he made up for lost time with three points, assisting on goals by Nugent-Hopkins and Vasily Podkolzin before scoring one of his own in overtime.
Florida coach Paul Maurice believes his team has defended Draisaitl and McDavid “reasonably well” in the series at 5-on-5.
“I think they’re still going to generate some action,” the coach said. “I think the even-strength chances are pretty tight through four games.”
One of the differences for Edmonton this postseason, after losing to Florida in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2024, is their confidence and comfort in playing in tight games and grinding series. If they get down, they don’t get flustered. If things aren’t clicking offensively, they’re patient.
“You just get comfortable in those situations knowing that you play one good game, you find a way to get a win on the road, and you go home and the series is tied. That’s really all it is,” Draisaitl said before Game 4. “Sometimes those games where you just get waxed a little bit, they’re almost easier to get out of, right? We didn’t play our best. They played their best. We weren’t even close to bringing our best. You park that, you move on.”
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Draisaitl comes up big with OT winner in Game 1
Leon Draisaitl nets the winning goal late in overtime to help the Oilers take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
For all the message-sending that the Panthers did in Game 3 — on the scoreboard, on the ice and with their mouths — the Oilers sent an important one about their resiliency with their Game 4 rally.
“It tells you that our group never quits. We believe that no matter how bad it is, if we get over that hump of adversity, we’re going to keep pushing, we’re going to keep coming, and eventually it’ll break,” Draisaitl said. “You don’t want to be in these situations too many times. But when they happen, I think we’re great at it.”
It helps to have someone like Leon Draisaitl scoring when it matters most.
“I don’t know what could convey what he means to our team,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “The leadership, the play. He has just elevated his game in the toughest moments.”
Cincinnati Reds left-hander Wade Miley said Friday that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, one day after reports stated a deposition from a lawsuit alleged he supplied Tyler Skaggs with drugs when both players were with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The deposition is part of a motion for summary judgment filed by the Los Angeles Angels, requesting a lawsuit from the Skaggs family be dismissed.
The deposition from Ryan Hamill, Skaggs’ agent, contains testimony that he was concerned in 2013 about Skaggs’ drug use. Hamill said he and Skaggs’ family confronted Skaggs about his drug use. Skaggs was then in his second season as a teammate of Miley with the Diamondbacks.
“He came clean,” Hamill testified. “He said he had been using — I believe it was Percocets — and he said he got them through Wade Miley.”
Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, at age 27 in a Dallas-area hotel. The autopsy found fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system.
Miley briefly addressed the issue before Friday’s road game against the Detroit Tigers.
“I hate what happened to Tyler, it sucks. My thoughts are with his family and his friends,” Miley said. “But I’m not going to sit here and talk about things that someone might have said about me or whatnot. I was never a witness for any of this. I was never accused of any wrongdoing.”
Former Angels communications director Eric Kay is serving a 22-year prison sentence in Texas after being found guilty on two charges of providing drugs related on Skaggs’ overdose.
The Athletic reported that the criminal proceedings against Kay included a recorded phone conversation in which Kay told his mother that Miley was a drug source to Skaggs.
Asked if Major League Baseball has contacted him regarding the allegations, Miley said, “I’d rather just focus on the Cincinnati Reds right now and baseball and what I have to do moving forward. I’ve got to get ready for a game on Sunday.”
Miley was mentioned in Kay’s criminal case, but he was never charged with a crime.
Skaggs was traded to the Angels after the 2013 season. He went 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 career starts.
Miley, 38, is with his eighth big league team and attempting to revive his career after Tommy John surgery in 2024.
Miley has a career 109-99 mark with a 4.09 ERA in 319 games (311 starts) since making his major league debut in 2011. This is his second go-round with the Reds. He was with the team in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, going 12-10 with a 3.55 ERA in 177⅓ innings over 34 starts (32 innings).
The Skaggs family is suing the Angels, contending that high-level team officials, as well as other employees, knew Kay was a drug user and should have known he was Skaggs’ source.
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