June 5 (UPI) — Connor McDavid slid the puck through the slot, finding Leon Draisaitl for a dramatic one-timer to lead the Edmonton Oilers past the Florida Panthers 4-3 in overtime Wednesday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The game-winner, which came with 31 seconds remaining in the first overtime period, came after the Oilers erased a 3-1 deficit, and they avoided taking devastating loss on the home ice of Rogers Place.
“Every game writes its own story,” Draisaitl said on the TNT broadcast. “I thought we hung in there and were mature. Obviously, we just needed one look and we capitalized on that.”
Draisaitl scored twice Wednesday and tied an NHL record for the most overtime goals (three) in a single postseason. Kasperi Kapenen and McDavid each logged two assists. Fellow forward Viktor Arvisson and defenseman Mattias Ekholm also scored.
The Oilers outshot the Panthers 46-32. They held a 24-8 shot advantage in the third period and overtime. Sam Bennett scored twice in the loss. Fellow Panthers forward Brad Marchand also found the net.
“I think we had our push,” Draisaitl said. “They had their little push in overtime. At the end of the third, our legs started to come a little bit, but I thought it was a fairly even game.”
LEON DRAISAITL WINS GAME 1 IN @ENERGIZER OVERTIME FOR THE EDMONTON OILERS‼️ #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/sFdPUR6WcP— NHL (@NHL) June 5, 2025
Draisaitl drew first blood when he slipped a backdoor snapshot past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky just 66 seconds after the opening faceoff.
The Panthers drew even nearly 10 minutes later when forward Carter Verhaeghe smacked the puck toward the net. Bennett redirected the puck into the goal off his skate to make the score 1-1.
The Panthers took their first lead of the title series when Marchand scored off a power play about two minutes later.
Bennett scored for a second time off a breakaway about two minutes into the second period. Defenseman Nate Schmidt set up that score with a pinpoint pass through the Oilers defense.
But the Oilers trimmed the deficit back to one when Arvisson scored off a slap shot 77 seconds later.
They then tied the score by beating Bobrovsky 6:33 into the third period. Kapenen skated along the right boards and sent a pass to McDavid to start that sequence. McDavid skated over the goal line toward the near post, slipped a feed through the crease and found Ekholm, who blasted a one-timer into the net.
McDavid, Draisaitl and the Oilers continued to pelt pucks at Bobrovsky for the remainder of regulation and the majority of overtime before finally breaking through.
Corey Perry got the puck to McDavid at the back of the left circle to start that play. McDavid prowled over the goal line, drawing the attention of Bobrovsky and the Panthers defense.
Draisaitl slowly hovered toward the slot before finishing the play with a blast just under Bobrovsky’s glove, sounding the horn for the final time of the night.
Bobrovsky totaled 42 saves for the Panthers. Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner made 29 saves. With his two scores, Bennett set a Panthers franchise record for goals (12) in a single postseason.
The Oilers (1-0) will host the Panthers (0-1) in Game 2 of the best-of-seven game series at 8 p.m. EDT Friday in Edmonton.
