Oilers vs. Panthers Game 6 Information

• Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
• Start Time: 6:00 PM MT
• Location: Sunrise, Florida
• Venue: Amerant Bank Arena
• Watch: CBC/SN (Canada), TNT (USA), Fubo (Stream)

Projected Line Combinations

• Oilers: There were a handful of notable changes when Edmonton took the ice ahead of Game 6 in Florida. Kasperi Kapanen was back on Leon Draisaitl’s wing with Evander Kane on the other side, while John Klingberg skated alongside Jake Walman. Viktor Arvidsson and Troy Stecher appear to be the ones coming out of the lineup for Kapanen and Klingberg, while Max Jones skated on the top line with Connor McDavid and Corey Perry as a placeholder for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
• Panthers: There haven’t been too many lineup changes made by Florida throughout this series. After losing Game 1, the Panthers shook things up to ignite their offence. Evan Rodrigues moved onto a gritty checking line alongside Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk, while Carter Verhaeghe jumped up to the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. The other notable change was A.J. Greer coming into the lineup in favour of Jesper Boqvist in Game 3. Since Greer’s return from injury, the Panthers have been more comfortable using their fourth line.

Projected Starting Goaltenders

• Oilers: Stuart Skinner confirmed after the team’s morning skate that he’s getting the start for the Oilers in Game 6. Skinner has a .860 save percentage over four starts in the Stanley Cup Final with a record of 1-2. He was pulled in Game 4 after allowing three goals in the first period and Calvin Pickard led Edmonton to a comeback victory in overtime. Pickard got the start in Game 5 and allowed four goals in the loss, so it’s back to Skinner with the season on the line.
• Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky wasn’t challenged much in a commanding win by the Panthers in Edmonton in Game 5, stopping 19 of 21 shots in a 5-2 victory. Bobrovsky has a .912 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Final, which is identical to the .912 save percentage he’s posted over 22 games in the playoffs. The future Hall of Famer has played every minute of Florida’s playoff run and will be in the mix for the Conn Smythe Trophy, especially if the Panthers win the Stanley Cup in a low-scoring Game 6.

Thoughts and Notes Going into Game 6

• The Oilers have come back to win a series after going down 3-2 twice in the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era. They won Game 6 on the road and then Game 7 at home to finish off the L.A. Kings in 2022, ending a five-year drought without a playoff series victory. They also took down the Vancouver Canucks on the road in Game 7 last year after a must-win Game 6 at home. Head coach Kris Knoblauch, who was hired by the Oilers amid a disastrous 3-9-1 start to the 2023-24 season, has seen firsthand how the team performs in elimination situations. The Oilers went 46-18-5 after the coaching change, highlighted by a 16-game winning streak, and then marched all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, where they nearly became the second team ever to win the Cup after falling behind 3-0.
• “I think our guys are resilient,” Knoblauch said after the Oilers practiced on Monday. “That’s been a term used to describe these guys for a long period of time, with how many elimination games they’ve had. For some reason, when their backs are up against the wall and they’ve hit rock bottom, or they’re facing elimination, they respond and play really well. That goes back to pretty much my first day with the organization. They were near the bottom of the standings. Things couldn’t get much worse and it didn’t look like they were going to make the playoffs. Then, of course, they respond and play extremely well and win a ton of games. We won a ton of games last year in the playoffs and numerous elimination games, whether it was against Florida or Vancouver. When their backs are against the wall, they play their best and they don’t panic.”
• Last year’s incredible run ended with a 2-1 loss to the Panthers in Florida in Game 7. The Oilers were smothered by Florida’s forecheck and strong defence, and Stuart Skinner was solid, but not better than Sergei Bobrovsky. In order to avoid watching the Panthers celebrate again on home ice, the Oilers need to find a solution to both of those same concerns. Edmonton was held to two goals on 21 shots in Game 5 despite having the crowd and last change advantage on their side. Calvin Pickard allowed two goals in the first period and the Oilers never regained the momentum. The Oilers scored twice in the third period, but the Panthers quickly countered both of those with goals of their own.
• “I’m excited about the opportunity,” Connor McDavid said on Monday. “We’ve bounced back. A lot’s been made about that. We talk about that all the time. But for whatever reason, our group doesn’t like to make it easy on ourselves. We put ourselves in another difficult spot and it’s our job to work our way out of it.”
• A win in Game 6 would send the series back to Edmonton for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Friday. The Oilers faced being down 3-2 heading into Game 6 in both 2006 and 2024 and they managed to keep the series alive both times. They hammered the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 in 2006 and blew out the Panthers 5-1 in 2024. Both of those commanding Game 6 wins came at home, while the Oilers will need to win in Florida this time around.

Presented by Litco Law