Stanley Cup Final 2024: Edmonton Oilers look to finally snap Canada's 31-year drought, while the Florida Panthers desperately chase their first ever title... but who comes out on top?

By Jake Fenner

Published: | Updated:

Whichever way the 2024 Stanley Cup Final ends, a drought will be ended for one of the two long-suffering teams in it.

On one side there's the Florida Panthers - a team who has been this far twice and has fallen both times: once in 1996 to the Colorado Avalanche and last year to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Then there's the Edmonton Oilers - who haven't touched the Stanley Cup since 1990. They also carry the burden of Canada upon their shoulders, as the Great White North hasn't hoisted the trophy in 31 years.


Florida's physical play will match up against Edmonton's top line - which boasts the best player in hockey - in what should be a tough series for both sides.

Here, DailyMail.com previews the 2024 Stanley Cup Final - and predicts who will come out on top.

The Florida Panthers have returned to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in two years

Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers are back in the finals for the first time since doing so in 2006

 

Florida’s Road to the Cup

Last year, it could be argued that the Panthers got into the playoffs on a fluke - that were it not for the Pittsburgh Penguins losing a game, their run to the Stanley Cup Final wouldn’t have happened.

This year, there can be no such claims. Florida had been one of the five best teams in the NHL for a majority of the season and their core gelled brilliantly throughout the campaign.

Last year, there were issues with coaching when it came to Paul Maurice and fans weren’t always that happy with their end of the trade for Matthew Tkachuk.

This year, both of those issues have gone away as Maurice has coached brilliantly and Tkachuk has been one of the league’s best players.

Florida breezed through the first round with a Gentleman’s Sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning. They then muscled their way past the Boston Bruins in six games before doing the same to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The team plays a very physical game - some might say borderline dirty - and are excellent at disrupting zone entries and exits by throwing the body around.

Whoever they were going to play was going to have a tough time and now more than ever might be the best time for the Panthers to finally etch their names on Lord Stanley’s trophy.

The Panthers' physical play swept aside all comers to reach the finals yet again

 

Florida players to watch

The Panthers have a well rounded top line of Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov, and Sam Reinhart - who have combined for 23 goals and 23 assists for 46 points in these playoffs.

Selke-winner Barkov is one of the best faceoff takers in the game while Verhaeghe and Reinhart lead the team in goals.

The second line is bolstered by Matthew Tkachuk, who leads the team in points with 19 - which, coincidentally is the same number of penalty minutes he has.

On defense, the Cats are led by Gustav Forsling offensively with his 11 points in 17 games. Second-pairing D-man Brandon Montour is also equally capable of offense with nine points in 17 games.

In between the pipes there's Sergei Bobrovsky - who was outstanding last season but has looked just passable in these playoffs.

His .908 save percentage coupled with an average of 24.4 shots faced per game is better than his counterpart and a testament to how good the defense in front of him is.

Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers in points despite only playing on the second line

Aleksander Barkov is the top line center and just won the NHL's Selke Award

Meanwhile, in net, Sergei Bobrovsky has been passable but not a superstar as a goalie

 

Edmonton’s Road to the Cup

About a month into the season, if someone told you that the Edmonton Oilers would be in the Stanley Cup Finals, you’d be right to laugh a little bit.

Edmonton began the season going 3-9-1 and firing coach Jay Woodcroft. Their goaltending and defensive situation was rocky and goal scoring wasn’t coming as reliably as it should have.

All those issues appeared to resolve themselves by January - a month where they won 11 games out of 11 - and the team played more stable throughout the rest of the regular season.

After beating the Los Angeles Kings in five games, the Oilers went to seven games against the Pacific Division champion Vancouver Canucks. A three-goal outburst in the second period was all that was required for advancement to the Western Conference Final.

Edmonton needed six games to beat the Dallas Stars - winning three in a row to close out the series and earning the team’s first trip to a Stanley Cup Final since 2006.

The Edmonton Oilers will hope to break Canada's 31 year drought between Stanley Cups

 

Edmonton Players to Watch

This list begins with one name: Connor McDavid.

It would be wrong to say he’s the only name that belongs on this list, but he’s by far the biggest. McDavid is the best hockey player in the world right now and for good reason.

With 31 points, he leads all scorers in the playoffs - even though most of those have come from assists. He’s the best skater in the league and scored 132 points in the regular season - making him by far the best scorer still in the playoffs.

But McDavid isn’t the only one good at putting the puck in the net. In fact, Edmonton has the four top scorers in the playoffs this year.

Behind McDavid is his partner in crime, Leon Draisaitl. Even with him on the second line rather than his typical first-line spot, Draisaitl has been a star for Edmonton. His 10 goals leads the team and his 28 points are good for second place.

First-pairing defenseman Evan Bouchard is in third with 27 points and top-liner Ryan Nugent-Hopkins comes in fourth with 20 points.

Rookie netminder Stuart Skinner struggled at the start of the playoffs and has been inconsistent all season, but really came into his own in the Western Conference Finals. He may have a poor .897 save percentage overall in these playoffs, but across the six games of the past series, he had a combined save percentage of .916 - including two games of .950 or better.

Connor McDavid (center) is the best player in the NHL and is desperate for a cup in Edmonton

The Oilers' offense has been plowing past teams, even with second-liners like Leon Draisaitl

Stuart Skinner may not have the save percentage to show it, but he was stellar in recent games

 

So who’s gonna win it all?

Find out the pick from DailyMail.com for who will be hoisting the Stanley Cup below

The Panthers have the chance to win their first cup in their history. The Oilers have the chance to win their first since 1990 and break a drought of 31 years since the last Canadian team won the cup.

It’s a tough series to predict. The top line for the Oilers is by far their greatest strength and could give Florida fits if they’re rolling.

One thing we haven’t touched on is how Edmonton’s defense helps to power its offense. Of the combined lines of all four teams, the Oilers’ top pair of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard is the fourth most productive unit in terms of points scored - which could be Edmonton’s secret weapon. 

But at the same time, Florida has been really good at shutting down top lines (for reference, see: Boston, New York) and they have much more consistent scoring depth than the Oilers.

While Edmonton's top line is miles clear of Florida's in terms of points scored, the Panthers have the Oilers beat on lines two and three.

It's that depth that gives the Panthers the edge coming into this series - but don't expect this series to end early. The DailyMail.com prediction is: Florida in 7 games. 

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