The Edmonton Oilers conclude their seven-game road trip on Saturday night against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena, a rematch of the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Finals. Edmonton comes off a 2-1 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, highlighted by strong goaltending from Calvin Pickard. The Panthers secured a 1-0 shutout over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
The Edmonton Oilers aim to end their extended seven-game road trip on a positive note when they face the Florida Panthers on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. MT. The matchup revives the intensity of the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, where Florida emerged victorious both times to claim back-to-back titles.
Edmonton's most recent outing was a hard-fought 2-1 overtime defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Forward Trent Frederic opened the scoring just 1:32 into the first period, marking his first goal in 19 games and giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead. The team clamped down defensively, with their penalty kill going 3-for-3 to extend a strong 19-for-21 streak over the last eight games. Goaltender Calvin Pickard delivered a standout performance, making 33 saves in regulation and setting a season-high, though reports vary slightly on the total at 34 including overtime.
Pickard reflected on the effort: "I feel like it's probably the most shots I've had all year, but probably the least amount of big chances that we gave up. So it was really good. We were staying tight, good in the middle, the penalty kill was good, and we had good sticks."
The Lightning tied the game at 2:52 of the third period on Nick Paul's goal, then Jake Guentzel scored at 1:43 of overtime after a key save by Andrei Vasilevskiy. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch noted positives: "There are a lot of things to be happy about. We've been talking about how to play better defensively... I saw a lot of good defensive plays tonight, and obviously, Pickard had a heck of a game."
Meanwhile, the Panthers notched a 1-0 shutout win over the New Jersey Devils, powered by Sergei Bobrovsky's 32 saves for his 51st career shutout. Sam Reinhart scored the lone goal and extended his five-game point streak to eight points (4 goals, 5 assists). Bobrovsky credited the team: "You’re not going to have a shutout without the teammates in front of you. They did a great job in front -- offensively and defensively."
Florida holds an 8-2-1 home record this season, contrasting their 3-6-0 road mark, setting up a challenging environment for the Oilers.