Oilers disappointed by loss to Panthers in Stanley Cup Final rematch

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers went looking for a measure of revenge against the Florida Panthers on Monday and were served another frustrating loss.

The 6-5 defeat here at Rogers Place was nowhere near as devastating as the 2-1 loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena this past June, but considering the Oilers were in control of the game, up two goals 9:24 into the second period, this one stung all the same.

“It’s disappointing obviously,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “I thought we had it in control, and we have to find a way to win that one.”

The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Oilers and had them reflecting on what they could have done differently. Fortunately for Edmonton, it only has two days to lament the defeat as opposed to an entire summer, with the Boston Bruins in town on Thursday.

“Some really bad mistakes,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Whether it was defense not getting the puck out, or not being supported, line changes where it should have been. Just costly mistakes that shouldn’t happen.”

Edmonton trailed Florida 2-1 on Monday, just as they had on June 24 in the winner-take-all contest for the Stanley Cup. On that night, the Oilers could not find a second goal. On Monday, they managed to score a second, third and fourth in a span of 3:04 in the second period and appeared to be on their way to a sixth consecutive win.

Then Zach Hyman, who already scored two goals in the game, had a shot from defenseman Evan Bouchard deflect up into his face, changing the mood on the bench.

“It’s never easy to see, to see a teammate in a pretty gruesome situation there,” McDavid said. “It’s great to see him back out there though, gutted it out. That was pretty nasty though.”

Hyman returned with a full face shield for the third period, his nose badly swollen, in the latest example of hockey player toughness.

Edmonton had given up a third goal in his absence, and then a fourth and fifth in his return.

Kasperi Kapanen, who was not involved in Game 7 last season, grabbed momentum back when he tied the game 5-5 at 8:02. Carter Verhaeghe, who played a pivotal role by scoring the opening goal of the Cup-clinching game, stuck another dagger in the Oilers, though, by scoring the game-winner at 13:05.

“That’s the word, disappointing,” Oilers forward Connor Brown said. “When you play good teams, it comes down to the little things, and it was just a few too many mistakes tonight.”

Florida came into Edmonton with little to prove, having won the game against Edmonton that really mattered. But the fourth of a five-game road trip was an opportunity to get its game back on track, having been shut out in its previous two games at the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames.

Florida managed to weather the storm against Edmonton and came up with big goals when it needed, all without captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed his second game with an illness.

“They’re a good team, you can see tonight how both teams made it far,” Panthers forward Sam Bennett said. “They’ve got so much speed, so much high-end talent, they’re going to put some pucks in the net, but I thought for the most part we defended well and did what we needed to do to win tonight.”

Edmonton was looking forward to the first meeting against Florida since the epic Final, when it erased a 3-0 series deficit to force a deciding game. Monday's game had more sentimental value to the Oilers than the Panthers, but Florida knew what to expect, having been in a similar situation last season after losing in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights.

“I was pretty angry playing against Vegas my first time last year,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said prior to the game. “There is nothing you can do about the year before, obviously, but you they took away your dream basically. I remember that was a very hard-fought game against Vegas last year. I expect tonight to be a very intense game with a lot of physicality. They have a lot of speed and skill, but I’m sure this one is going to be a pretty intense one.”

Tkachuk’s prediction was correct. The game had its share of big hits, great plays, mistakes and was highly entertaining.

It was not the type of shutdown hockey Florida used to win its first Stanley Cup championship. It was the type Edmonton is looking to emulate in its quest to end a Stanley Cup drought dating back to 1990.

“I thought it was an entertaining game, I thought it was fun to be a part of, two good teams that were playing hard and playing fast,” McDavid said. “Obviously, we’d like to clean up the defensive side a little bit, but I thought it was an entertaining game, obviously we would have loved to find a way to win, too. We put ourselves in a good spot to do that and it didn’t come through.”