Recap of Stanley Cup Playoffs from 29 May

May 30, 2025

Connor McDavid scored the series-clinching goal and hit the 100-assist mark in his postseason career to help the Oilers defeat the Stars and book their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year. Click here to read more notes on Edmonton’s journey to the League’s championship series.* The Oilers and Panthers are set for a rematch of last year’s championship series and will become the second set of opponents in the past 40 years to face off in back-to-back Finals. Sidney Crosby captured his first Stanley Cup in the NHL’s last Final rematch after the Penguins rebounded from a loss to the Red Wings in 2008 with a seven-game triumph in 2009.
* The puck drops on Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, June 4 at 8 p.m. ET. The Oilers will become the first Canadian team to host the opening game of the Final since the Canucks did so against the Bruins in 2011. The full schedule for the championship round can be found here.

OILERS ADVANCE TO SECOND STRAIGHT FINAL AGAINST PANTHERS

Connor McDavid (1-1—2) and Leon Draisaitl (0-2—2) each had multi-point performances to help the Oilers eliminate the Stars and set up a Stanley Cup Final rematch with the reigning champion Panthers. It marks the second rematch in the NHL’s championship series in the past 40 years (also PIT vs. DET in 2008-09) and 11th in League history.

* The Oilers, in search of becoming the first Canadian team to win a championship since the 1993 Canadiens, are the eighth club in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to reach the Stanley Cup Final after losing their first two games of that postseason. The others include the 2018 Capitals, 2014 Kings, 2011 Bruins, 2006 Hurricanes, 2002 Red Wings, 1993 Canadiens and 1992 Penguins.

* Edmonton is the only Canadian team to make consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances since 1979-80 (when they joined the NHL and the playoff field expanded to 16 teams). This marks the Oilers’ third set of consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances, following three straight from 1983 to 1985 (2-1) and then back-to-back from 1987 to 1988 (2-0).

* Edmonton is the seventh team since the start of the NHL’s expansion era (1967-68 onward) to return to the Stanley Cup Final after losing the season prior. In fact, this is the first time in that span that the losing team from the Stanley Cup Final has returned to the championship series in consecutive years, with the Oilers following the Panthers who rebounded from a defeat in 2023 to win the Cup in 2024.

McDAVID LEADS THE WAY IN EDMONTON’S SERIES-CLINCHING VICTORY. . .

After assisting on Edmonton’s opening tally, Connor McDavid scored a highlight-reel goal of his own – just as he did in the clinching game of the Western Conference Final against Dallas one year prior – which served as the game winner. The Oilers captain became the ninth player in franchise history with multiple series-clinching goals in his career and trails only Ken Linseman (4), Mark Messier (3) and Jari Kurri (3).

* McDavid reached a max speed of 22.09 mph on his breakaway. Entering Game 5, he had already produced 31 bursts of 22 mph or faster during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs – 18 more than the next-closest player, Roope Hintz (13 entering play), who McDavid outskated before finding the back of the net. More stats like these can be found on NHL EDGE.
* McDavid can become the first player in NHL history with eight 100-point seasons prior to winning his first Stanley Cup – Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman currently top the list with six apiece. He is also now just four wins away from becoming the first player in NHL history to earn his first Stanley Cup after capturing five Art Ross Trophies; only five players in League history have as many Art Ross Trophies and a Stanley Cup in their career: Gretzky (10), Gordie Howe (6), Lemieux (6), Phil Esposito (5) and Jaromir Jagr (5).

* The Oilers captain also collected his 100th playoff assist in the contest and became the fourth active player to reach the mark following Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov and Evgeni Malkin. In reaching the milestone in just his 90th postseason game, he became the second-fastest player in NHL history to achieve the feat, behind only Gretzky (70 GP).

. . .WHILE OTHER OILERS ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE WINNING EFFORT
A handful of other Oilers players also made an impact in the series-clinching win and achieved notable feats in the process:

* Leon Draisaitl (0-2—2) boosted his 2025 postseason totals to 7-18—25 and kept pace with Connor McDavid (6-20—26) atop the playoff leaderboards. Draisaitl is looking to become the fifth player in the past 45 years to win a Stanley Cup in the same season he led the League in goals, following Wayne Gretzky (1987, 1985 & 1984), Alex Ovechkin (2018), Sidney Crosby (2017) and Mike Bossy (1981).

* Corey Perry opened the scoring in Game 5 with his seventh goal of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is now the most by a player, age 39 or older, in a single postseason (age at start of playoffs), surpassing Teemu Selanne (6 in 2011), Mark Recchi (6 in 2010), Ron Francis (6 in 2002) and Jean Beliveau (6 in 1971). Perry also became the first 40-year-old to score in back-to-back playoff games since Daniel Alfreddson in 2013 (2 GP).
* Stuart Skinner allowed 15 goals through his first three games of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs but has rebounded to a 6-1 mark since (.944 SV%, 1.41 GAA, 3 SO). He became the second goaltender in NHL history to record multiple series-clinching wins after losing his first three games of that same postseason, following Jonathan Quick (4 in 2014 w/ LAK).

* In just his second career postseason contest, Jeff Skinner (33 years, 13 days) capped a three-goal Oilers burst in a span of 5:36 and became the oldest player in Oilers history at the time of his first career goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, surpassing Steve Staios (32 years, 299 days in Game 3 of 2006 CF).

STANLEY CUP FINAL MATCHUP IS SET

After 1,392 games through the regular season and playoffs, the 2025 Stanley Cup Final is set: the Oilers and Panthers will produce just the second Stanley Cup Final rematch in the past 40 years and 11th in NHL history – a list that includes one instance of the same teams meeting in three straight championship series. Click here for the full schedule.

* The reigning champions are 7-4 (including Detroit winning and losing during the three-year stretch from 1954 to 1956) in the previous Stanley Cup Final rematches. However, the runner-up has won each of the two rematches since the 16-team playoff format was introduced. In 2009, Sidney Crosby captured his first Stanley Cup as the Penguins bounced back from a defeat against the Red Wings in 2008. Similarly, Wayne Gretzky also hoisted his first Cup in the second rendition of a championship series when his Oilers defeated the Islanders in 1984 after the latter secured their fourth straight crown during their matchup in 1983.

* The Panthers swept the season series against the Oilers, claiming both victories by a one-goal margin: first a 6-5 thriller in Edmonton on Dec. 16, followed by a 4-3 decision in Florida on Feb. 27. Carter Verhaeghe scored the game-winning goal in the final seven minutes of the third period in both contests. The Panthers have won four straight regular-season games against the Oilers dating to 2023-24, outscoring them 20-12 and tallying at least four times in each contest.

* The 2025 Stanley Cup Final will feature a dozen players that played in the 4 Nations Face-Off, including five who were part of the championship game: four Canadian teammates – Oilers captain Connor McDavid (OT winner) and the Panthers trio of Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand – as well as American Matthew Tkachuk (FLA). The Finnish representatives are the Panthers quartet of Aleksander Barkov, Niko Mikkola, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, while the Swedish contingent is comprised of Mattias Ekholm (EDM), Viktor Arvidsson (EDM) and Gustav Forsling (FLA).

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BRACKET CHALLENGE: IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS

The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge is nearing its conclusion as the Oilers and Panthers are the last two teams standing. Only 489 entries (0.052%) remain perfect entering the Stanley Cup Final.

* Of all brackets submitted at the start of the playoffs, 2.36% (22,084) had a rematch between the Oilers and Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final, with 78.1% of that group (17,248) selecting Edmonton to win the Cup and 21.9% (4,836) taking Florida.

* Within the Second Chance Bracket, which began at the start of the Second Round, 5,697 submissions had these two clubs meeting in the Final – just 7.02% of all brackets.