Panthers endure uncharacteristic playoff collapse in losing Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final to Oilers

For nearly three full years under coach Paul Maurice, the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers were unbeatable in the playoffs when holding a lead through either of the first two periods.

Until Wednesday night.

After a 4-3 overtime loss to Edmonton in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers blamed themselves for playing too conservatively in allowing the Oilers to score three straight goals as Florida squandered a 3-2 advantage entering the third.

“Just not let up. Don’t sit back,” said Sam Bennett, who scored twice — including his franchise-record 12th goal of this postseason. “We’ve been really good all year at not sitting back with the lead, and for whatever reason we sat back tonight.”

It was an uncharacteristic collapse for a Florida team that had won 31 consecutive playoff games under Maurice when holding the lead at an intermission break. Worse yet, the Panthers actually blew a two-goal lead in a game Leon Draisaitl sealed by converting Connor McDavid’s centering pass 19:29 into overtime.

The winning goal came on a power play, 72 seconds after Tomas Nosek was penalized for delay of game after lifting the puck over the glass.

Maurice was more concerned with how the Panthers performed well before Nosek went into the penalty box. Florida was outshot 24-8 from the beginning of the third period on.

“I think we had some real good pressure. They get it back and then there were some plays we didn’t compete,” Maurice said. “I thought we were a little safe with the puck.”

Florida dropped to 8-3 on the road this postseason and trails a series for the first time since losing the first two games of its second-round meeting with Toronto, which the Panthers rallied to win in Game 7.

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is Friday night in Edmonton.

As for Nosek’s penalty, Maurice called it a tough break, and made a point to remind the player how valuable he was in helping the Panthers rally against Toronto. Nosek didn’t make his playoff debut until Game 3 of the Maple Leafs series.

“That line came in and changed everything for us. We’re not here without Tomas Nosek,” Maurice said. “He’s got lots of people sitting at his table and reminding him how good he’s been.”

The question for the Panthers is how they appeared to wear down as the game progressed in a rematch of last year’s final, which Florida won in seven games. Just when it appeared Florida had grabbed the momentum by building a 3-1 lead on Bennett’s second goal two minutes into the second period, Edmonton responded with Viktor Arvidsson’s goal 1:17 later.

And the Panthers looked gassed in the third when Mattias Ekholm converted McDavid’s centering pass to tie the score at the 6:33 mark.

The 46 shots allowed were the most permitted by Florida in the playoffs since giving up 65 in a 3-2 win over Carolina that took four overtimes in Game 1 of the 2023 Eastern Conference final. And they came a game after the Panthers allowed 52 shots in Game 5 of a second-round series-clinching 3-2 OT win over Toronto.

Draisaitl’s power-play goal was just the eighth allowed by Florida in 62 chances this postseason.

Maurice remained calm in assessing how evenly matched the teams are in a series he believes has a chance to go the distance.

“It has the potential to be just a spectacular seven-gamer,” Maurice said. “It was honest, it was hard, it was fast and it was tight. It was an overtime game.”

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Florida Panthers' Brad Marchand (63) is chased by Edmonton Oilers' Connor Brown (28) and Darnell Nurse (25) during the third period in Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final series in Edmonton, Alberta, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers' Aaron Ekblad (right) and Edmonton Oilers' Evander Kane (91) rough it up as Sam Reinhart (13) looks on during the first overtime period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final in Edmonton, Alberta, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett (9) celebrates Brad Marchand's goal against Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner as Brett Kulak (27) and Jake Walman (96) look on during the first period in Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final series in Edmonton, Alberta, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes the save on Edmonton Oilers' Kasperi Kapanen (42) during the first overtime period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final in Edmonton, Alberta, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Kasperi Kapanen, right, puts a shot wide of the net as Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky poke-checks him during the first overtime period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, in Edmonton, Alberta, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Harrison Smith's 14th year as a steadying presence and energizing force in the secondary for the Minnesota Vikings has hardly been smooth.

The undisclosed health-related matter that sidelined him during training camp was a major setback to his conditioning, putting him in catch-up mode for most of the first half of the season. The Vikings defense was more vulnerable than usual over those early games, too.

Then with the offense struggling through the developmental process with quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings stumbled through November to drop to 4-8 and precipitate their elimination from playoff contention.

But lately?

“I’ve been playing football a long time,” Smith said after Minnesota's victory over the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day, “and I have not had fun like that in my whole career.”

Smith received the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for that performance in his 206th regular-season game, after logging three passes defensed, two tackles for loss, one sack and one interception. He last won that award in 2018.

With career totals of 21½ sacks and 39 interceptions, Smith is just the second player in NFL history to hit those marks, behind Pro Football Hall of Fame member Ronde Barber, who had 28 sacks and 47 interceptions. Smith is also one of four players all time, with Barber, Brian Dawkins and Charles Woodson, to total at least 50 tackles for loss, 100 passes defensed and 200 regular-season games played. Smith (202) also trails only Jim Marshall (270) and Mick Tingelhoff (240) on the team’s all-time list for career starts.

Following the interception against the Lions, Smith was feted on the sideline in a circle of his teammates. He was the recipient of multiple ovations from the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd. Afterward, as Smith tried to sum up what that experience meant to him, his voice cracked several times before he had to pause to compose himself.

“The fans here have never experienced a Super Bowl. They always show up, and for them to keep showing up ... it just shows how much they love the team, how much they love everything that goes into it," Smith said. “We’re out of the playoffs, and everybody shows up in white. They do their part, and one of these days they’ll get it.”

The scene sure felt like a farewell. But so did Smith's emotional postgame remarks after the Vikings were ousted from the playoffs last season.

Could he envision himself returning for a 15th year?

“I can’t speak on that right now. I’m a very much in-the-moment type of guy,” Smith said.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who has forged a close relationship with the six-time Pro Bowl safety, has made no secret of his desire to keep Smith in place.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has turned over some of the play-calling and decision-making to Smith on the field before and after the snap, and an increased emphasis on blitzing in recent weeks has paid plenty of dividends.

"He has an unbelievable feel of the system. He has an unbelievable feel of what ‘Flo’ and the defensive staff really want to do, and he’s out there playing a game within the game,” O’Connell said. “It’s been spectacular to watch. It’s been awesome from my perspective to watch what he’s able to do at this point in his career mentally, and then physically he’s making a lot of plays as well.”

The uncertainty about next season for the defense stretches beyond Smith, with other expensive veterans facing the possibility of being released for cost savings with the Vikings projected to be well over the salary cap approaching the 2026 league year.

Then there's Flores, whose contract will soon expire, making him a free agent. Though his landmark discrimination lawsuit against the NFL that’s still in the court system nearly four years later continues to loom over any interviews he gets for head coach openings, there's also an opening for another club to try to lure him away with a break-the-bank offer for a lateral move.

O'Connell said this week that he doesn't anticipate such a scenario playing out and hopes to have him as long as he can before he's hired again as a head coach.

“I love Minnesota. I love this team. I love working for and with K.O.," said Flores, who was head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-21 and joined the Vikings in 2023. "This place has shown me a lot of love, and I show them right back, and so I don’t know how much more there is to it. From a football standpoint, it fits. There’s always a, let’s call it, business part of this. But the football all lines up. We’ll just see where it all goes.”

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Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) throws under pressure from Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores stands on the sideline before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)