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Pre-Scout: Oilers need to prove game against Florida Panthers means more than most
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Photo credit: © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Michael Menzies
Nov 22, 2025, 11:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 22, 2025, 10:46 EST
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There are Xs and Os. There are style, tactics, and a game plan. And then there’s will. There’s want. There’s taking punishment and doling out punishment. 
Maybe with the Oilers set to play their seventh game in eleven calendar days, Saturday night’s game won’t feature as much of this intense battle — but I hope for their sake, the group has been looking ahead to this game. 
This is the game on the trip that mattered, and if the Oilers drag themselves into the fight like they did in a gut-wrenching OT loss to Tampa Bay, they’ll be alright. 
The two-time reigning Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers are going through their own fugue state to begin the year. 
In the tight Eastern Conference, FLA’s record of 11-8-1 isn’t playoff spot worthy. It makes a logjam look uncrowded. 
But it’s still Florida, whether they have Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk at their disposal or not. This is the game to get up for. 
Easier days will lie ahead after tonight. They will be allowed to play at home again, despite the schedule-maker’s wish. 
Let’s see it tonight. 

Panthers clawing back

Florida shut out the New Jersey Devils 1-0 on Thursday night. For a while, it looked like both teams were going to be coming off of 1-0 wins, but alas… It was a real bounce-back defensive and goaltending effort for the Panthers. 
Sergei Bobrovsky was coming off allowing five goals on 15 shots in an 8-5 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. He made 12 saves in the first period alone, and Sam Reinhart’s goal was the only one required. 
It was the sixth win in the last 10 games for the Panthers. 
“The game was great,” Bobrovsky said. “You don’t get a shutout without your teammates, and they did a great job in front of me offensively and defensively.”
Bob has gone through his ups and downs, but is 10-5, despite a sub-900 save percentage (.893). 
Even though this is the fifth game of a Panthers homestand, it might not be a bad time to play FLA, all things considered. Edmonton’s baptism by fire and walking wounded heading into Sunrise can be the exact thing that galvanizes a team through easily the toughest part of their schedule. Either way, they don’t have a choice. 

Marchand doesn’t age

Brad Marchand is just a hockey sicko. The indefatigable veteran is having arguably the best start of a season in his career, rocking a 13-10–23 stat line to lead the Barkov and Tkachuk-less Panthers in scoring. 
Thursday snapped an 11-game point streak for the 37-year-old, on a run where he scored his 1000th point, and continues to make his case to don the Maple Leaf one more time. 
As HC Paul Maurice has said, “they’ve needed it.” 
  • Sam Reinhart 11-6–17
  • Anton Lundell 5-11–16 
Sam Bennett? Not so much. The reigning Conn Smythe trophy winner has never been a regular-season monster (career high 51 points last year), but with the top names out, he’s struggled. 
A mere 4-3–7 is underwhelming after minting an eight-year, $64 million contract in the off-season. Yes, he changes playoff games, but there are 82 games before then, too. I’m curious where his status lies in the eyes of Team Canada right now.  
A similar can be said for Carter Verhaeghe. Three years ago, he scored 42 goals. Since then, 34 and 20 goals, respectively, and just two this season. He’ll enter Saturday on a 12-game goalless drought.

Gustav yourself a year

Meanwhile, on the backend, a year ago, Gustav Forsling was rightly called one of the league’s most underrated players. Now he’s legitimately one of the best shutdown defencemen in the NHL, leading Panthers skaters in 5-on-5 icetime. 
The stick-on-puck, shot-blocking dynamo is also picking up more assists lately, 0-9–9. The Oilers are all too familiar with how Forsling is. 
Seth Jones put his name back to the forefront with his post-season, and is minute-munching the most for the Panthers in all situations. He’s 25th in average icetime in the NHL this year, a benefit for the Panthers having a top-4 D of Forsling-Ekblad, Mikkola-Jones. The distribution is handy. 

Notes:

  • FLA’s special teams are fairly average. PP at 20.8% (16th in the league before Friday’s games) and PK at 78.9% (21st) 
  • Panthers have a very good expected goal share at 54.29% at 5-on-5, but aren’t performing quite to that level in actual goal share. They also have one of the lowest expected Goals Against totals (second-best), 5-on-5, according to MoneyPuck. The Panthers can shut you down. 
  • Panthers forward Jack Devine made his NHL debut Thursday, finishing with two shots on goal in 8:20 of ice time. The former seventh-rounder out of Denver has 12 points in 13 games in the AHL this year. 
  • Part of the reason was because of an injury to Eetu Luostarinen, who suffered a freak “barbecuing mishap.” He was burned badly enough that he is listed as week-to-week.
  • Bobrovsky’s 31-save shutout was the 51st of his career. All-time, he’s tied now with Curtis Joseph, Tomas Vokoun (criminally underrated), Rogie Vachon, and Montreal Maroons legend Dave Kerr. 
  • If healthy all season, Bob will likely have sole possession of sixth all-time in wins. He has 439 right now, which is ninth. If he wins 21 more times this year, he’d leapfrog Terry Sawchuk, CuJo, and Henrik Lundqvist. The Hall of Fame will be calling.   
  • Florida defenseman Jeff Petry was honoured in a pregame ceremony to celebrate his 1,000th NHL game on Monday. Off the top of your head: how many games as an Oiler? The answer: 295. 
  • The Winter Classic (if that stat grabs you) is in Florida on Jan. 2 as they host the New York Rangers. It will be the first Winter Classic where spectators will be asked to bring sunscreen. 
  • Also, the NHL moved these games to Jan. 2 to avoid direct competition with college football playoff games. This is a proactive move by the NHL — and I dog them a lot for their big brain ideas — but I think they need the stones to keep the date of Jan. 1. If it’s a tradition worth having, save the date. 
  • The jersey confusion, as well as some of the franchise’s internal merch, led to this lovely botched Marchand sweater. 
  • The Oilers won just one of four games in FLA last season (regular & playoffs). In the last ten in FLA, the Oilers have won three (regular & playoffs). Florida comes to Edmonton on March 19th. 

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