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!
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— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) June 5, 2025
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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