The Big Guns Showing Up In Game 1 Is A Good Sign For The Oilers

I don't know about you, but after Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals rematch between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers, we're in for another classic series.

However, things are already very different in this series, compared to last year's edition, and not just because the Oilers came out on top in the series-opening overtime thriller.

However, there's a big difference this time around.

It's easy to forget this, but back in 2024, the Oilers not only dropped the first three games of the series, but they were hardly getting any production from their best players, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Remember, the Oilers only scored one goal through the first two games of the series, and that was scored by blueliner Matias Ekholm. So, one of the biggest storylines early was that McDavid — inarguably the best player in the world — and his fellow scoring machine, Draisaitl, had gone silent on the biggest stage.

Of course, McDavid turned it on starting with an assist late in Game 3 and went on to score 11 points (3G, 8A).

However, that slow start from the superstars created that 3-0 hole to the Panthers that, while they almost got out of it in the end, was just too deep for the Oilers.

Now, smash-cut to 2025, and the one-two punch of McDavid and Draisaitl already have their fingerprints on this series, with Draisaitl potting the opener just over a minute into a regulation.

McDavid assisted on the tying goal from Ekholm in the third, and then, late in overtime, No. 97 teed up his old buddy Draisaitl for the latter's record-tying third overtime game winner this postseason.

This kind of production from McDavid and Draisaitl will be key with Zach Hyman out of the Oilers lineup.

There's a long way to go, and the Florida Panthers aren't the kind of team to roll over and die, but it looks like Edmonton has already overcome one of their biggest shortcomings from the last Stanley Cup Final.