The scene shifts from Alberta to the Sunshine State for Game Three of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. The series is tied at one win apiece after the Edmonton Oilers and defending champion Florida Pathers split overtime decisions in the first two matches. Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been busier than Edmonton’s Stuart Sklnner over the first two games.
Arguably, there is still more pressure on Florida than Edmonton to prevail in Game Three. While home ice may not prove to be mean all that much, ensuring at least a split in Florida would put Edmonton in position to not have to win another game in Sunrise to be able to with the Stanley Cup.
What happened last game
Game Two in Edmonton was an instant classic. Scoring his second breakaway goal of the night, Florida’s Brad Marchand netted the game winner in double overtime. In a losing cause, Connor McDavid played brilliantly for the Oilers.
Path to the Stanley Cup Final
Western Conference Quarterfinal: Edmonton defeated Los Angeles, four games to two
Eastern Conference Quarterfinal: Florida defeated Tampa Bay, four games to one
Western Conference Seminal: Edmonton defeated Vegas, four games to one
Eastern Conference Semifinal: Florida defeated Toronto, four games to three
Western Conference Final: Edmonton defeated Dallas, four games to one
Eastern Conference Final: Florida defeated Carolina, four games to one
Stanley Cup Final schedule
Game 1 at Edmonton (June 4, 2025): Oilers 4 – Panthers 3 (OT) summary
Game 2 at Edmonton (June 6, 2025): Panthers – 5- Oilers 4 (double OT) summary
Game 3 at Sunrise (June 9, 2025)
Game 4 at Sunrise (June 12, 2025)
Game 5 at Edmonton (June 14, 2025)
Game 6 at Sunrise (June 17, 2025) – if necessary
Game 7 at Edmonton (June 20, 2025) – if necessary
Special teams playoff comparison
Power Play: Edmonton 14-for-50, 28.0 percent, Florida 15-for-62, 24.2 percent
Penalty Kill: Edmonton 35-for-53, 66.0 percent, Florida 59-for-68, 86.8 percent
Shorthanded goals scored: Edmonton 0 – Florida 1
Shorhanded goals allowed: Edmonton 1- Florida 0
Game Three projected lineup: Edmonton
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (?) – Connor McDavid – Corey Perry
Evander Kane – Leon Draisaitl – Kasperi Kapanen
Trent Frederic – Adam Henrique – Connor Brown
Vasily Podkolzin – Mattias Janmark – Viktor Arvidsson
Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Brett Kulak
Jake Walman – John Klingberg
Stuart Skinner
[Calvin Pickard]
Game Three projected lineup: Florida
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
Jesper Boqvist – Tomas Nosek -Jonah Gadjovich
Gustav Forsling -Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt – Dmitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
[Vitek Vanecek]
Three keys to victory
- Control the pace: Edmonton wants to play an up-tempo game against Florida. The Panthers prefer more of a physical grind and creating havoc down line. The ice in Sunrise could be sluggish, although the crew has worked overtime to keep the surface as well-maintained as possible. Slushy ice benefits the Panthers more than the Oilers.
- In-game adjustments: The Panthers have, by far, been the better second period team in the two games to date. Conversely, the Oilers dominated the third period of Game One and scored a late goal in Game Two to force overtime.
- Discipline and special teams: This is going to a recurring theme throughout the entire series. The Oilers have scored a power play goal in each game. However, so have the Panthers. Florida also scored the all-important shorthanded goal by Marchand.
