Oilers open Stanley Cup Final with OT win over Panthers

After not getting their first win until the fourth game of last year’s Stanley Cup Final, the Edmonton Oilers looked to begin this year’s final on a different note – and that they did.

A part of that change was Leon Draisaitl, who, after not scoring in last year’s series against the Florida Panthers, found the back of the net twice on Wednesday to power Edmonton to a 4-3 win and a 1-0 series lead over Florida.

Leon Draisaitl’s third OT winner of this #StanleyCup Playoffs went hard 😤 pic.twitter.com/7YsIfNLV7Y

— NHLPA (@NHLPA) June 5, 2025

Edmonton opened the scoring early in the first period when Draisaitl buried his shot a little more than a minute into the game.

The Oilers’ lead was short-lived as Sam Bennett then tied the game before Brad Marchand capitalized on a man advantage to give Florida a 2-1 lead just past the halfway point of the first period.

The Panthers had momentum going into the second frame and used it to take a 3-1 lead two minutes into the period.

Edmonton immediately responded with a Viktor Arvidsson score to cut the lead to one goal.

Early in the third period and playing in only his second game of the playoffs, Mattias Ekholm got his first goal of the postseason to tie the match and eventually force overtime.

The extra frame saw both teams get multiple chances, but it was not until the final minutes that a Florida player sent the puck over the glass and was handed a penalty.

The Oilers attacked the net on the man advantage and Connor McDavid passed the puck across the crease for Draisaitl to fire a rocket and net the overtime winner.

Edmonton now has a 1-0 series lead and will look to double that lead Friday evening.