The biggest series and stage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is now upon us, and there will be a rematch of last year's Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers beginning Wednesday. Before officially previewing this year's Cup Final and giving my prediction, a brief overview of the conference finals to explain how we got here: Heading into the conference finals, I genuinely thought that both series in the east and west would be more competitive, but they were not. Both series ended in five games each. I should have been more aware that the Hurricanes had a lengthy losing streak in the conference finals and have a tendency to disappear at that stage ever since they won their first and only Stanley Cup in 2006. At least they ended that lengthy skid and won one game against the Panthers to avoid getting swept. In addition, I was a bit disappointed that the Stars' top players underperformed for the most part against the Oilers this year. On a side note, as for how this year's Western Conference Final concluded, the Sharks' second first-round pick in this year's draft, which was acquired by the Sharks from the Stars as part of the Mikael Granlund + Cody Ceci trade, will be the 30th overall selection.
The 2025 Stanley Cup Final is the first rematch between opponents since the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins faced each other in the big dance in 2008 and 2009. It is also the sixth consecutive Stanley Cup Final to feature a team from the state of Florida or Corey Perry. With the way both the Panthers and Oilers have been performing in the playoffs this year, a collision course towards a Cup Final rematch was bound to occur. The Panthers are seeking to defend their Stanley Cup from last year and have set themselves up well for this moment, led by their captain and top scorer in Aleksander Barkov. Other top playoff performers on the Panthers this year include Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Sergei Bobrovsky, who have also had huge impacts in Florida's deep run. On the other hand, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers are seeking revenge for their heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the Cup Final to the Panthers last year and are hungrier and more determined than ever to do so. Edmonton is also looking to win their first Stanley Cup since the 80s and become the first Canadian-based team since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 to win the Stanley Cup, which is a very real possibility. The Oilers are hoping to better their fortunes this year with the recent great play of Stuart Skinner in net, their depth scorers stepping up when necessary, three of their newest additions since last year in Jeff Skinner, Jake Walman, and Kasperi Kapanen, and by touching the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.
I am definitely looking forward to how this Stanley Cup Final rematch goes down, as it is a highly anticipated and intriguing championship series. Without further ado, the moment we have all been waiting for: the Florida Panthers will defeat the Edmonton Oilers in six games and will be your back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions. In most scenarios, I would not be thrilled about repeat champions, but in this scenario, I would be completely okay with and prefer it. Check back here once the Stanley Cup has been awarded for the final result along with my recap and reaction of the entire Cup Final series on CPF Hockey.
Sources: ESPN, NHL App
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