The National Hockey League has reached the Stanley Cup Final with five former Buffalo Sabres on the rosters of the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers and the two-time Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers. The opening game on Wednesday saw four of the five players in action, as the most recent ex-Sabre Jeff Skinner, was a healthy scratch with the return of Connor Brown to the lineup.
Evander Kane was once again a pivotal performer in the Oilers 4-3 overtime win in Game 1, leading Edmonton with nine hits in the game and going +2 in the contest. The veteran winger also was able to keep his cool in the physical contest, which is a key for the Oilers, since the 33-year-old has a history of being a loose cannon and taking penalties at inopportune times.
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Former second overall pick Sam Reinhart led all Panthers forwards with over 29 minutes of ice time, but the runner-up for the Selke Trophy was -1 on the night with three shots on goal and two hits. Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov led Florida with seven hits on the night.
Power play goal for Florida!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) June 5, 2025
Scored by Brad Marchand with 07:30 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Nate Schmidt and Evan Rodrigues.
Edmonton: 1
Florida: 2#FLAvsEDM#LetsGoOilers#TimeToHuntpic.twitter.com/w4BaAa4ziu
The only former Sabre to get on the scoreboard on Wednesday was center Evan Rodrigues, who assisted on Brad Marchand’s power-play goal in the first period. The Oilers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game and force overtime, where Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl scored a power play late in the first OT period due to a Tomas Nosek penalty for delay of game/puck over the glass.
Game 2 will take place at Rogers Arena on Friday.
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