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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.

More: Full schedule
Conn Smythe Watch
Key stats, matchups
ESPN experts’ picks
Series betting intel

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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2:25

Matthew Tkachuk hypes Stanley Cup Final rematch: ‘We’re the two best’

Matthew Tkachuk joins “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss why a rematch between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers is “an incredible final.”


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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1:21

Leon Draisaitl excited to have another chance to win Stanley Cup

Leon Draisaitl breaks down what he’s looking forward to in the Oilers’ matchup vs. the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.


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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0:37

Fortenbaugh’s best bet for Panthers-Oilers Stanley Cup rematch

Joe Fortenbaugh explains why he’s taking the Panthers to repeat as champions against the Oilers.


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

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Schwarber reaches 1,000-hit milestone with HR

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Schwarber reaches 1,000-hit milestone with HR

NEW YORK — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber topped Mark McGwire for most home runs among a player’s first 1,000 hits, hitting long ball No. 319 during Friday night’s 12-5 victory over the New York Yankees.

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not,” Schwarber said.

Ten days after lifting the National League to victory in the first All-Star Game swing-off, Schwarber keeps going deep. He hit a pair of two-run homers Friday night, with the first drive, his milestone hit, starting the comeback from a 2-0 deficit. He got the ball back after it was grabbed by a Phillies fan attending with his friends in Yankee Stadium’s right-center-field seats.

“I saw it on the video and then I see the dude tugging,” Schwarber said. “I’m like: ‘Oh, they all got Philly stuff on.’ That was cool.”

He met the trio after the game, gave an autographed ball to each and exchanged hugs. When he went to get a third ball to autograph, one of the three said he just wanted the potential free agent to re-sign with the Phillies.

“You show up to the field every single day trying to get a win at the end of the day, and I think our fans kind of latch on to that, right?” Schwarber said. “It’s been fantastic these last 3½ years, four years now. The support that we get from our fans and it means a lot to me that, you know, that they attach themselves to our team.”

Schwarber tied it at 2-2 in the fifth against Will Warren when he hit a 413-foot drive on a first-pitch fastball.

After J.T. Realmuto‘s three-run homer off Luke Weaver built a 6-3 lead in a four-run seventh and the Yankees closed within a run in the bottom half, Schwarber sent an Ian Hamilton fastball 380 feet into the right-field seats.

Schwarber reached 1,000 hits with eight more homers than McGwire. Schwarber has 36 homers this year, three shy of major league leader Cal Raleigh, and six homers in seven games since he was voted All-Star MVP. He has 33 multihomer games.

“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Comes up with big hit after big hit after big hit. It’s just — it’s amazing.”

Schwarber, 32, is eligible for free agency this fall after completing a four-year, $79 million contract. He homered on all three of his swings in the All-Star Game tiebreaker, and when the second half began, Phillies managing partner John Middleton proclaimed: “We love him. We want to keep him.”

“He’s been an incredible force all season long,” Realmuto said. “What he’s meant to his team, his offense, it’s hard to put in words.”

A World Series champion for the 2016 Chicago Cubs, Schwarber has reached 35 homers in all four seasons with the Phillies. He’s batting .255 with 82 RBIs and a .960 OPS.

He also has almost as many home runs as singles (46).

Schwarber had not been aware he topped McGwire for most homers among 1,000 hits.

“I had no clue. I didn’t even know it was my 1,000th, to be honest with you,” he said.

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A’s Kurtz becomes first rookie with 4-HR game

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A's Kurtz becomes first rookie with 4-HR game

Nick Kurtz of the Athletics became the first rookie in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game, part of a spectacular Friday night for the 22-year-old that will go down as one of the greatest offensive displays the sport has seen.

Kurtz also matched the MLB record with 19 total bases in the 15-3 triumph against the Astros in Houston.

“It’s arguably the best game I’ve ever watched from a single player,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “This kid continues to have jaw-dropping moments.”

Kurtz didn’t make an out all night, going deep in the second, sixth, eighth and ninth innings. He also doubled — a 381-foot drive that would have been out in six major league ballparks — and singled on his 6-for-6 night to equal Shawn Green, who had four homers, six hits and 19 total bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 23, 2002 at Milwaukee.

Kurtz and Green are the only players with six hits in a four-homer game.

“It’s hard to think about this day being kind of real, it still feels like a dream,” Kurtz said in a postgame television interview. “So it’s pretty remarkable. I’m kind of speechless. Don’t really know what to say.”

It was the 20th four-homer game in major league history and second this season. Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez did it on April 26 against Atlanta. No player has ever hit five home runs in a game.

Kurtz finished with eight RBIs and six runs scored.

The 6-foot-5, 22-year-old slugger has 23 homers in 66 games this season. The fourth pick in last year’s amateur draft out of Wake Forest, he made his major league debut April 23 and hit his first homer May 13.

He is the youngest player with a four-homer game. Pat Seerey of the Chicago White Sox was 25 when he homered four times on July 18, 1948.

“This is the first time my godparents have been here, so they probably have to come in the rest of the year,” Kurtz said. “My parents flew in today. They’ve been here a bunch, but it was cool to have some family here for that.”

On Friday, Kurtz homered off each of the Astros’ four pitchers: Ryan Gusto, Nick Hernandez, Kaleb Ort and outfielder Cooper Hummel, who worked the ninth with the game out of hand. His longest drive was his third, a 414-foot solo shot off Ort in the eighth.

For his fourth homer, Kurtz hit an opposite-field line drive to the Crawford Boxes in left field on a 77 mph, 2-0 pitch from Hummel. The three-run shot made it 15-2.

“With a positional player on the mound, I’m just trying to move the ball forward,” Kurtz said. “You don’t want to be the guy that strikes out. That’s only my second at bat ever off a positional player, so I don’t know. Just trying to move the ball forward and get something that I can touch, and I hit another one.”

Kurtz’s double in the fourth inning hit just below the yellow line over the visitor’s bullpen, narrowly missing what would have been a fifth homer.

“Everybody was just like, laughing,” A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson said. “How is he doing it? This is not normal. He’s playing a different sport than us right now. It’s not baseball, it’s just T-ball what he’s doing right now.”

With the baseballs from his last two homers inside a plastic bag at his locker, Kurtz signed scorecards from all four A’s broadcasters and a lineup card. One of the scorecards and a bat were bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Kurtz has been the best hitter in the majors in July, ranking first in batting average (.425), on-base percentage (.494), slugging percentage (1.082), runs (22), doubles (13), homers (11) and RBIs (27).

He extended his hitting streak to 12 games, and his 23 home runs are the most for an A’s rookie since Yoenis Céspedes in 2012 and fourth most in franchise history.

Kurtz entered Friday as a -325 favorite at ESPN BET to win American League Rookie of the Year. His odds moved to -2500 after Friday night.

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Yankees land 3B, acquire McMahon from Rockies

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Yankees land 3B, acquire McMahon from Rockies

NEW YORK — The Yankees on Friday acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for minor league pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz, the teams announced.

The Yankees assumed the remainder of McMahon’s contract, which includes approximately $4.5 million for the rest of 2025 and $32 million over the next two seasons, a source told ESPN.

An All-Star last season, McMahon, 30, was batting .217 with 16 home runs, a .717 OPS and a National League-leading 127 strikeouts in 100 games for Colorado in 2025. After a dreadful start to the season through April, he has been significantly better, with a .246 batting average, 14 home runs and an .804 OPS. He hit home runs in the first two games after the All-Star break and another Tuesday. He is on pace to keep his four-year 20-homer streak alive.

Defensively, McMahon is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman whose four Outs Above Average is third in the majors this season. He joins a Yankees club that has been marred by sloppy defense. On Wednesday, the Yankees committed four errors against the American East-leading Toronto Blue Jays.

“He has had some ups and downs offensively this year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of McMahon. “I know, over the last month, he’s really swinging the bat well, but he’s a presence, and he can really defend over there at third and has for a number of years. So, we’re excited to get him.”

Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who began Friday with 36 home runs and an MLB-leading 86 RBIs, could be the best hitter moved before the July 31 trade deadline, but the Yankees were not particularly aggressive in pursuing him, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Though McMahon’s offensive production resulted in a 92 OPS+, which suggests he has been 8% worse than the average major league hitter this season, he’s still a significant offensive upgrade at third base for New York. The Yankees have had Oswald Peraza, one of the worst hitters in the majors, playing third base nearly every day since the club released DJ LeMahieu, another former Rockies player, earlier this month and moved Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base.

Peraza, though a strong defender, is slashing .147/.208/.237 in 69 games this season. His 24 wRC+ ranks last among the 310 hitters with at least 160 plate appearances this season.

McMahon has played his first eight-plus seasons with the Rockies. They selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft. He debuted four years later and became a regular in 2019. By then, the Rockies were descending to the bottom of the NL West. This year, they’re 26-76 and could finish with the most losses in major league history.

He leaves that environment for New York’s pressure cooker and a club with World Series aspirations, a change the Yankees hope can help McMahon.

“Hopefully, the environment is a great thing for him, that he falls into that and doesn’t have to be the guy,” Boone said. “Go do your thing. Go find the role. But it’s our job — my job, staff, coaches, players — to make sure they’re welcomed and get them as comfortable as possible.”

The price for McMahon — and his team control over the next two seasons — was a pair of pitchers who have not reached Double-A.

Herring, 22, has a 1.71 ERA in 89⅓ innings across 16 starts between Low- and High-A this season. He was a sixth-round pick out of LSU in the 2024 draft.

Grosz, an 11th-round pick in 2023, had a 4.14 ERA in 87 innings over 16 games (15 starts) for High-A Hudson Valley this season.

With third base addressed, the Yankees will seek to acquire pitchers to bolster their rotation and bullpen. Luis Gil‘s return should help. The right-hander, who has been out all season because of a lat injury, made his third rehab start Wednesday. Boone said there’s “a good chance” Gil gets another start in the minors before making his season debut.

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