The Florida Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions, aren't showing signs of panic after dropping Game 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final to the Edmonton Oilers. Despite a 4-3 overtime loss in Edmonton on Wednesday, the Panthers are drawing on their experience and maintaining a focused outlook as the series progresses.

Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice stated he liked "pieces" of his team's performance in Game 1, but acknowledged there's room for improvement, particularly in protecting leads. The Panthers held a 3-1 lead early in the second period, but saw it evaporate as the Oilers mounted a comeback. Edmonton outshot Florida 14-2 in the third period, demonstrating their determination to tie the game.

Panthers center Sam Bennett, who scored two goals in Game 1, emphasized the need to avoid complacency with a lead. "Don't sit back," Bennett said. "We've been really good all year at not sitting back with the lead and for whatever reason we sat back tonight." Winger Brad Marchand echoed this sentiment, stating, "They just pushed. A couple pucks we didn't really get deep. Gotta be a little bit better making plays under pressure, getting our legs going a little bit more. We got caught just kind of flipping pucks, and they'd regroup and come back at us."

The winning goal came late in overtime on a power play goal by Leon Draisaitl after a delay of game penalty was called on Florida’s Tomas Nosek. While Nosek's penalty was unfortunate, the Panthers knew the game wasn't lost solely on that play. "That stuff happens in the game of hockey," Marchand said. "You know, it's a bad break."

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 42 saves in the game, also kept a level head. "We had great [penalty] kills in the first and the second. There were lots of good things,” Bobrovsky said. “We put it behind us and get ready for the next game. The next game is a big game.”

The Panthers are drawing on their recent experiences, including last year's Stanley Cup Final victory over these same Oilers. They also remember nearly losing a 3-0 series lead in that series, underscoring the importance of maintaining focus throughout the entire series. "It's going to be a long series," said Bennett. "I don't think we expected this to be easy. You can learn some things from [Game 1], and then we're just going to move on… It was a one-goal game, a tight game. It could've went either way. They had a good push in the third."

The Panthers know that Game 2 in Edmonton on Friday will be crucial before the series shifts to Florida for Games 3 and 4. As Marchand stated, "It's one game. You can't get stuck in the past here. So, we'll regroup, refocus and get ready for the next one."