McDavid and Draisaitl put Oilers on their backs to beat Panthers and win Stanley Cup Final Game 1

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — When the Edmonton Oilers needed a spark to open the Stanley Cup Final, Leon Draisaitl scored just more than a minute in.

When they needed the tying goal after falling behind to the defending champion Florida Panthers, Connor McDavid delivered the perfect pass.

And when Game 1 was threatening to drag into a second overtime, McDavid found Draisaitl for the winner.

Draisaitl and McDavid took over Wednesday night when it mattered most, delivering a series-opening 4-3 victory that put them three wins from the championship they've been working toward for a decade.

“They don’t take many nights off, that’s for sure,” teammate Brett Kulak said. "They usually are our top guys every single night, and the bigger the stage the better they get.”

Playing through pain, Draisaitl did not score a goal in the final last year, when Edmonton lost the first three games, got back even and dropped a heartbreaker in Game 7 to fall short. Healthier now than during that run, he needed only 66 seconds to get on the board.

“There's maybe nobody better,” McDavid said.

An MVP finalist from a dominant regular season, Draisaitl was one of the best players on the ice all game and finished it with a power-play goal 19:29 into OT.

“He's a top-three player in the world,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “He just looks very confident, very comfortable and he’s doing his thing.”

So was McDavid, who fed Ekholm for the equalizer with 13:27 left in regulation. McDavid skated the puck through the zone and made everything happen late in overtime, too, with Draisaitl on the receiving end of a pass and thankful McDavid and everyone else made it easier for him to hammer a shot home.

“It’s a special feeling,” Draisaitl said. “It’s great for right now but we’ve got to look ahead and get ready for Game 2.”

Edmonton forward Kasperi Kapanen, who nearly scored a few minutes earlier when he got in all alone, was almost speechless trying to explain what it's like watching McDavid and Draisaitl summon more playoff magic.

“I don’t really have words for you guys,” Kapanen said. “These guys are generational talents and future Hall of Famers, for sure."

McDavid has taken home the Hart Trophy three times, led the NHL in scoring five times and last year won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP in a losing effort. Draisaitl has also won the Hart, the Art Ross for most points and the Rocket Richard for the most goals.

What they have not won together is the Stanley Cup, the trophy that was brought out onto a table on the ice just before puck drop. Thanks to McDavid and Draisaitl, the Oilers are another step closer to the franchise's first title in 35 years, and them raising their play at the most crucial of times was not at all surprising to those around them.

“I’ve seen them do it many times,” goaltender Stuart Skinner said. “Hopefully I’m able to see them do it a lot more.”

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (second left) celebrates his game-winning goal against the Florida Panthers with teammates in 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)

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl, from left to right, Evan Bouchard, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins celebrate Draisaitl's winning goal during the first overtime period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers, in Edmonton, Alberta, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers' Aaron Ekblad (5) and Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) battle for the puck during the first overtime 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)

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (not shown) scores on Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) as Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) looks on and Panthers' Seth Jones (3) defends 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)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)