The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers’ disdain for one another is real. It isn’t manufactured. The NHL sent a memo to both teams during last year’s Stanley Cup Final to tone down their on-ice verbal assaults.

The intensity was obvious.

The teams might respect each other’s talent, but it was clear in the Panthers’ celebrations days after the Cup victory how much they enjoyed beating Edmonton and chirping them. The Panthers stole the Oilers’ dream two years in a row, and that pain will linger with the Oilers forever. Any time these teams meet, it is impossible for the players to forget those feelings, and the Oilers need to channel that anger and frustration into playing a hard, intense, committed game.

The Oilers are battling Anaheim and Vegas for home ice advantage in the Pacific Division. The Ducks have 78 points, Edmonton 77 and Vegas 76. Tonight’s game matters a lot to them. The Panthers will miss the playoffs. They are 15th in the Eastern Conference, and while they have nothing to play for standings-wise, you know Matthew Tkachuk and his teammates would love nothing more than to beat the Oilers on their home ice. When a team is playing out the season with nothing to play for, as was evident by how poorly they played in Vancouver on Tuesday, having a chance to beat the Oilers, again, will be a strong motivator.

The Panthers have an on-ice arrogance. It is why they’ve won consecutive Stanley Cups. They have lots of skill and can beat you with deft passing and timely scoring, but they are equally comfortable, and maybe more suited, to play an in-your-face, cross-the-line-when-needed, chippy, physical and chirpy game. Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov and AJ Greer thrive in that environment. Make no mistake: The 2024 and 2025 Panthers were incredibly deep teams who could match the opposition’s skill, but the Panthers also excelled in intimidation and nastiness. It is a great combination, and I think the Oilers would benefit from playing a more emotional game at times.

Darnell Nurse should use his size and strength to intimidate, and he should cross the line from fair play to cheap and dirty more often. Same with Trent Frederic, Vasily Podkolzin, Max Jones, Jake Walman and Connor Murphy. Zach Hyman could crash the crease accidentally-on-purpose like Bennett. The Panthers have bullied the NHL, with great success, the past few seasons, and I expect they will again next season when healthy. Beating the Panthers tonight won’t erase the two Cup losses, but Edmonton should have no shortage of motivation to want to dominate them tonight.

The Oilers have never backed down from the Panthers, but rarely have they been the initiator. With Jonah Gadjovich out of the lineup, the Panthers don’t have a nuclear deterrent to worry about. The Oilers should be the initiator. Get in Tkachuk’s face and rattle his cage. The Oilers have more toughness and size in their lineup tonight, and they should bully the Panthers. Don’t take multiple dumb penalties but go after Tkachuk and Anton Lundell or Gustav Forsling. The Panthers were never shy in going after Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, so instead of waiting to respond, the Oilers should flip the script and be the aggressor.

We’ve seen games between the Panthers and Lightning that involved multiple goals and fights. Same with the Lighting and Sabres last month which had 15 goals, five fights and numerous scrums and big hits. Those highly emotional games bring teams together. You stand up for yourself and your teammates. Everyone gets involved. The intensity increases. Your fight or flight impulses ramp up and an emotionally charged game that brings teammates together is something I believe would benefit the Oilers.

And there is no better team to do it against than the one who broke your heart two years in a row.

SNAPSHOTS…

— Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is one point shy of becoming the 197th player in NHL history with 800 points. He will be the seventh Oiler to score 800 points, joining Wayne Gretzky (1,669), Connor McDavid (1,197), Leon Draisaitl (1,053), Jari Kurri (1,043), Mark Messier (1,034) and Glenn Anderson (906).

— Connor McDavid is one assist shy of 800 career assists, two goals shy of 400 goals, and he’s three points shy of 1,200 points. He could achieve all three tonight. When he reaches those milestones, he will be the 36th player with 800 assists, the 54th player with 1,200 points and the 115th player with 400 goals.

— McDavid is fifth among active players in assists with 799 and trails Anze Kopitar (859), Evgeni Malkin (868), Patrick Kane (879) and Sidney Crosby (1095). He is seventh in points and 15th in goals.

— The Oilers had 13 players register a point in Tuesday’s 5-3 victory over San Jose. That is a season-high for the team. Adam Henrique was the only skater with two points.

— Florida will become the sixth team to win the Stanley Cup and then miss the playoffs the following season. The others were the 1967 Maple Leafs, 1969 Canadiens, 1995 Devils, 2006 Hurricanes and the 2014 Kings. Oddly enough, the Oilers lost to two of the six franchises in the 2025 Panthers and 2006 Hurricanes.

— We’ve seen 281 of the 1,082 NHL games played this season extend past regulation time, which equates to 25.9 per cent of games needing OT/SO. The NHL record of 307 was set in 2014, and it looks like this season will crush that. Since returning from the Olympics, we’ve seen 45 of 174 games (25.8%) reach overtime, however in the past 14 days, that has jumped to 29.3 per cent with 32 of 109 games going to OT. If more games reach OT, then it makes it much harder for teams chasing playoff spots or positions to gain ground. It is why Ottawa’s regulation loss last night was devastating for them. They are now five points behind Detroit and Boston with 15 games to play. The Senators have one game in hand, but they will need Detroit or Boston to implode to get in.

— Teams who have reached OT the most this season:

26: Minnesota

25: Los Angeles

24: Philadelphia

22: Columbus, Montreal and Vegas

21: Pittsburgh

20: Toronto

Teams with the most loser points include Pittsburgh (16), LA (15), Vegas (14), Minnesota, Philadelphia, Toronto and Chicago (12).

— Roby Järventie was recalled today on an emergency basis because Kasperi Kapanen has an illness. If Kapanen isn’t ready, Järventie will play. If Kapanen plays, Järventie will be loaned back to Bakersfield.

— The Panthers have virtually nothing to play for down the stretch, but tonight is a game that is easy to get up for, said Tkachuk.

“There is big respect for each other going to the Cup final the last two years, but whenever that happens, whenever you play a team two years in a row the dislike ramps up,” said Tkachuk this morning. “They have probably become our number one rival just because of the magnitude of the game and the intensity of the last two playoffs. Great team over there. Some incredible players and I’m sure they will be right back there this year.
“We have a certain expectation here, and we have a certain culture set. You have to get up for these games, and it is hard not to get up for this one. It is a team we’ve played the last two years, but we have created something here we don’t want to ruin by not having our best year. We are all grinding through this together. It sucks. It is not ideal, but why not enjoy your day, why not come in and work as hard as you can, try to get the win, and you can have a good night? That is the mindset right now with 15 games to go and not quitting on each other.”

— Niko Mikkola, Evan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen sat out in Vancouver, but all three will play tonight. They want to win.

LINEUPS…

Oilers…

Podkolzin – McDavid – Savoie
Hyman – RNH – Roslovic
Samanski – Dickinson – Kapanen/Järventie
Jones – Henrique – Frederic

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Murphy
Walman – Stastney

Ingram

Knoblauch changed his lines during the San Jose game and ran with McDavid, RNH, Dickinson and Henrique as his centres, and he will start that way tonight. It makes sense as Samanski is not at the level of Dickinson or RNH just yet. If I were Knoblauch, I’d start my fourth line tonight. They had a good game on Tuesday, and I’d try to get the tone physically right from the start. A team gets amped up when depth guys get to start, so why not mix it up?

Panthers…

Verhaeghe – Bennett – Tkachuk
Luostarinen – Lundell – Boqvist
Greer – Rodrigues –Samoskevich
Reinhardt – Nosek – Kunin

Forsling – Ekblad
Mikkola – Jones
Kulikov – Benning

Bobrovsky

Sergei Bobrovsky played his 800th game in Vancouver on Tuesday. He is the 18th goalie in NHL history to reach that milestone and the second active goalie on the list. He will pass Harry Lumley (803) this season and will move ahead of Sean Burke (820) and Jacques Plante (837) next season. He could pass Jonathan Quick (827) if Quick opts to retire. Bobrovsky is still 466 games behind Martin Brodeur’s record of 1,266 games played, which is a record I doubt will be broken. Andrei Vasilevskiy turns 32 in July, and he is 680 games back of Brodeur’s record. Connor Hellebuyck turns 33 in May, and he is 653 back. He’d need to play 60 games a year for another 11 seasons to catch Brodeur.

The Panthers have been ravaged by injuries this season. Alex Barkov hasn’t played a game. Seth Jones and Sam Bennett returned to the lineup in Vancouver, while Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand and Jonah Gadjovich are still out. Mikkola, Rodrigues, and Luostarinen sat out in Vancouver as they are dealing with nagging issues, but they will play tonight.

TONIGHT…

Photoshop by Tom Kostiuk

GAME DAY PREDICTION: Oilers need a win, and the Panthers have nothing to play for, but tonight will be an easy game for them to get up for. They’d love nothing more than to hand the Oilers another loss. It will be a fiery game, and Edmonton wins 4-3.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Tkachuk yaps, and there are multiple scrums. The crowd gets into it more than a normal regular season.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Adam Henrique scores his first goal in 45 games. The crowd gives him an extended cheer after his goal.