The Florida Panthers, who had been nearly flawless in the playoffs under coach Paul Maurice, suffered a rare collapse in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Panthers, who had been dominant when leading after one or two periods, let a 3-2 lead slip away, ultimately falling 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night.
Florida, defending their Stanley Cup title, had been unbeaten in 31 consecutive playoff games when holding a lead at the intermission break.
But the Panthers’ strategy of playing conservatively backfired as the Oilers stormed back with three unanswered goals, including a dramatic overtime winner by Leon Draisaitl.
Draisaitl sealed the victory with a power-play goal, finishing off a centering pass from Connor McDavid at 19:29 of overtime, moments after Tomas Nosek was penalised for delay of game.
“We’ve been really good all year at not sitting back with the lead, and for whatever reason we sat back tonight,” said Sam Bennett, who had scored twice, including a franchise-record 12th postseason goal.
Despite the Panthers’ early control of the game, they were outshot 24-8 in the final period and overtime, and Maurice pointed to a lack of competition on key plays.
“I think we had some real good pressure. They get it back and then there were some plays we didn’t compete,” Maurice said. “I thought we were a little safe with the puck.”
Coach Knoblauch spoke with the media after tonight's #Oilers overtime win in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, discussing the goalie interference challenge, Ekholm's effort & Kapanen's performance & more.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/EBholxNv5z
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 5, 2025
The loss marks a rare setback for Florida, who had not trailed in a series since their second-round loss to Toronto earlier this postseason.
They are now 8-3 on the road this postseason and will need to regroup ahead of Game 2 in Edmonton on Friday night.
McDrai = inevitable 😮💨 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/ab8zxK3bly
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 5, 2025
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