Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk Makes Blunt Admission After Oilers’ Game 1 Win originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Florida Panthers let a 3-1 lead slip away in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and lost 4-3 in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers.

To win at this time of the year players put their bodies through so much. In this series, with the history of the two teams, having met in the Stanley Cup Final last year, the Panthers edging the Oilers in seven games, there was a feeling going in that it was essentially a rivalry continued as opposed to renewed.

Game 1 between the Oilers and Panthers was an absolute banger. Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring early, which already gave this series a different feel from 2024 after he was held off the board in seven games against the Panthers last year.