With a 6-3 win over the Stars last night, the Edmonton Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the Florida Panthers- a repeat of last year’s Finals.

The Stars fell asleep in this series after winning game one, losing the remaining four games. Even last night, the Oilers jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period and never looked back. Stars’ starting goaltender Jake Oettinger was pulled after allowing goals on the Oilers’ first two shots of the game.

The night before, the Florida Panthers finished off the Carolina Hurricanes. After jumping out to a 3-0 series lead, Florida dropped one game at home before winning the series in Carolina.

Both teams enter the final series with similar situations. The Panthers finished the regular season third in the Atlantic with 98 points, and the Oilers finished third in the Pacific with 101 points. Neither team had a dominating regular season but entered the playoffs as cup favorites because of what happened last season.

This matchup is a duplicate of last season’s Stanley Cup Finals. The Panthers are looking to threepeat and the Oilers want their revenge. The anticipation has built for these two teams because of the dramatic seven-game series from a year ago.

The Panthers jumped out to a three-game-to-none lead. The Oilers used their second game on home ice to stun the Cats 8-1, and start chipping away at the series. Two games later, the series is tied 3-3. Game seven was the only game separated by a single goal, then the Panthers finished off the Oilers 2-1.

It feels like the Oilers have the edge with how dominant their offense has been this season, even into the playoffs. Panthers’ star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will have to stay sharp facing the league’s leading goal scorer, Leon Draisaitl, and postseason point leader, Connor McDavid.

The final series is set to begin Wednesday, June 4, starting in Edmonton.

Featured image via nhl.com