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Brad Marchand - Florida Panthers - In Play! magazine
Brad Marchand’s ninth and 10th career tallies in the Stanley Cup Final (the most among active players) became the second player age 37 or older to score in each of the first two games of the League’s championship series. File photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
07
Jun

Stanley Cup Final – June 6, 2025 – MARCHAND’S MAGIC LIFTS PANTHERS TO DOUBLE-OVERTIME WIN

Playing in his fourth fourth Stanley Cup Final and first with the Panthers, 37-year-old Brad Marchand scored twice – including his fifth career playoff overtime goal and first in a multi-OT game – to help the Panthers earn a split in Edmonton. Marchand, 37, became the second-oldest player in NHL history with a multi-OT winner in the Final, behind Igor Larionov (3OT).

  • Marchand became the seventh player in NHL history with five career playoff overtime goals and pulled into a share of the lead among active players, equaling teammate Carter Verhaeghe and Final foe Corey Perry, as well as Patrick Kane. Marchand (5-3—8) also tied Kane (5-3—8) for the most career overtime points among active players.
  • With his parents in attendance for his 22nd career game in the Stanley Cup Final, Marchand treated them to his ninth career multi-goal game in the postseason and second in the Final – the other was in 2011 when he became the first rookie in NHL history with multiple goals in Game 7 of the Final. Both those tallies in 2011 were scored against Roberto Luongo, now Florida’s special advisor to the GM, who posted on X after the game: “Favorite player of all time.”
  • Another tie back to Marchand’s first trip to the Final came on his first tally of the night, which was his second career shorthanded goal in the Final (tying the NHL record). It was scored exactly 14 years after his first such tally (Game 3 of 2011 SCF vs. VAN).

FINAL STARTS WITH BACK-TO-BACK OT GAMES FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2014

After Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers skated to an overtime win in Game 1, Brad Marchand and the Panthers returned the favor in Game 2 by handing Edmonton its first overtime loss this postseason (4-1 in 5 GP) as well as the franchise’s first-ever overtime defeat in the Stanley Cup Final (4-1 in 5 GP).

  • Game 2 marked the 23rd multi-overtime contest in Stanley Cup Final history and first since Game 5 of the 2020 Final, when Corey Perry scored in double-overtime for the Stars (with a primary assist to John Klingberg), defeating the Lightning in a game played at Rogers Place in Edmonton due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • It also marked Edmonton’s fifth overtime game of the 2025 postseason, trailing only 1991 for the franchise’s highest total in a single playoff year (6). Meanwhile, Florida skated in its third overtime contest of these playoffs – the only postseasons in which the Panthers played more overtime games were their last two runs to the Stanley Cup Final (7 in 2023 & 4 in 2024).

RECORD-SETTING ROAD WIN FOR PANTHERS GUARANTEES NO SWEEPS IN 2025

The Panthers set a franchise record with their ninth road win of these playoffs, one shy of the Stanley Cup Playoffs benchmark last achieved by the 2019 Blues.

  • This will mark the 26th consecutive Stanley Cup Final to require at least five games. The lengths of the 25 Final series from 1999 to 2024: five games (6), six games (11) and seven games (8).
  • This is the fifth postseason since 1987 (when all rounds went to best-of-seven) without any sweeps, following 2020 (excludes SCQ), 2016, 2002 and 1991.
  • When a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final is tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 holds an all-time series record of 23-7 (.767). Overall, two-thirds of Game 3 winners breaking a 1-1 deadlock in a best-of-seven go on to claim the series (.663; 244-124) – Edmonton is 16-2 after doing so (.889), while Florida is 2-1 (.667).

McDAVID, DRAISAITL AND BOUCHARD CONTINUE TO SHINE ON NHL’S BIGGEST STAGE

Connor McDavid (0-3—3), Evan Bouchard (1-2—3) and Leon Draisaitl (1-1—2) have been pillars of the Oilers offense during Edmonton’s stretch of back-to-back appearances in the StanleyCup Final and were pivotal in the club’s overtime push.

  • McDavid (6-25—31), who wowed the Rogers Place crowd to help the Oilers take a second-period lead and became the first player to reach the 30-point mark this postseason, also became the sixth player in NHL history to collect three or more assists in a Stanley Cup Final game multiple times. The others: Wayne Gretzky (4x), Gordie Howe (3x), Phil Esposito (2x), Bernie Geoffrion (2x) and Doug Harvey (2x).
  • Bouchard collected all three of his points in the first period and matched the NHL record for most points in a single frame in Stanley Cup Final history by a defenseman – a mark he also tied during the second period in Game 5 of the 2024 Final. He is first defenseman in Stanley Cup Final history with multiple three-point periods – and one of only four players of any position to achieve the feat, following McDavid, Geoffrion and Stan Mikita.
  • Draisaitl joined Sam Bennett as the second player to reach a double-digit goal total this postseason, hitting the 10-goal mark for the third straight postseason. He became the third player in NHL history to score 10-plus goals in three consecutive playoffs, joining Mike Bossy (4 from 1980-1983) and Gretzky (3 from 1983-1985).
  • Corey Perry entered the Stanley Cup Final with goals in back-to-back games, but despite being held scoreless in Game 1, the 40-year-old helped McDavid collect his third assist of the evening by scoring the latest tying goal in the Stanley Cup Final history (19:42 of P3). The previous record was by Tod Sloan in Game 5 of the 1951 Final (19:28 of P3).

NHL SCOUTING COMBINE CONCLUDES SATURDAY WITH FITNESS TESTING

Anton Frondell (No. 1-ranked international skater) and Victor Eklund (No. 2-ranked international skater), who are teammates on Djurgarden in Sweden’s second division, were two of six players who met with the media Friday before the 2025 NHL Scouting Combine presented by Fanatics concludes with fitness testing Saturday.

  • Eklund and Frondell played against each other when they were kids. Eklund remembers Frondell making an unforgettable between-the-legs play when they were 10 years old before becoming teammates. Skating for Djurgarden, the pair asked the coach to play together. “I think I told him like 10 times. He was like, yeah, yeah I don’t know. Then we actually got to.”
  • Matthew Schaefer (No. 1-ranked North American skater), Michael Misa (No. 2-ranked North American skater), James Hagens (No. 3-ranked North American skater) and Jake O’Brien (No. 4-ranked North American skater) were also part of a press conference on the eve of final fitness testing.

Washington Capitals’ Spencer Carbery Wins Jack Adams Award

Spencer Carbery of the Washington Capitals is the 2024-25 recipient of the Jack Adams Award as “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success,” as selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.

Carbery believed he was sitting down for an end-of-season interview when members of his family – including his wife and children – surprised him with the trophy.

Carbery is the fourth Washington head coach to win the Jack Adams Award, following Bryan Murray (1983-84), Bruce Boudreau (2007-08) and Barry Trotz (2015-16). He also becomes the first individual to capture coach of the year honors at the ECHL, AHL and NHL levels, after winning the ECHL’s John Brophy Award in 2013-14 (South Carolina Stingrays) and the AHL’s Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award in 2020-21 (Hershey Bears).

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