NHL Final Rematch Set: Oilers/Panthers

The 2025 NHL final will be a rematch of the 2024 entity, as again it will be contested between the Florida Panthers, last year’s 7 games winner and the Edmonton Oilers.

Each team, sans home advantage won its “semi,” in 5 games in this ‘offs season, in which all 6 NHL “quarters” and “semis” were won by the team without home advantage, by definition the Oilers and Panthers, doing so twice and actually each team won all 3 series to reach the final w/o home “adv,” certainly a first.

Florida wrapped Carolina (a woeful (1-16) in losing 4 straight “semis’) (5-3) in #5 at Carolina,—- (Florida, the team, unlike last season without home advantage in the upcoming final, is (8-2) on the road in these ‘offs and it is they who get the chance to join the 1995 New Jersey Devils (the ’95 Houston Rockets, in this incredible note and I will post an NBA update next, also accomplished that feat, almost surely as the only two teams in major North American sports leagues to do so) as the only NHL team to win all 4 ‘offs series sans home ice advantage? (ode to the great George Gervin, for that matter an even greater master with a far more important gift to us, George Gershwin) advantage) getting a beautiful game winning goal from Carter Verhaeghe on a beautiful pass from Alexsander Barkov in #5.

Edmonton (Oilers) took out the Dallas Stars in the semi-final round for the second straight season (The Stars did win 5 of the 6 series vs the Oilers, contested in just 7 seasons (’97-2003, which means not much/little now), with Corey Perry, he to play in his 6th final (his teams (1-4) in such) “opening” last night, after he had a goal and an assist, getting the Oilers up (2-0) in #4, as “Edm” jumped (3-0) and then almost immediately “insured” (3-2) and (4-3) leads, in a (6-3) #5 victory.

“Mucho” more (“Macho Man?”) on what ought to be a stellar NHL final, as clearly the two top teams though just 6th and 7th in the “reg” (that seems to mean less and less as think Dooley Wilson in Casablanca and see our picture next), will clash for the crown.