EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers came up one goal short in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers last season and understand the stakes will not be as high when the two teams play for the first time since then at Rogers Place on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, Prime, NHLN, SCRIPPS).
Yet, the rematch may provide an indication whether the two teams are on the road toward another collision course in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"It's a regular-season game in the middle of December, so it's not as though it's some type of rematch for the Stanley Cup or anything," Oilers forward Connor Brown said. "But with that being said, it's going to be on everybody's minds on both teams. We're all going to be aware of that elephant in the room and I think the intensity and the energy will be up for sure."
Making it to Game 7 of the Final after falling behind 3-0 in the best-of-7 series, only to lose 2-1, took some getting over for the Oilers. The disappointment bled into this season with Edmonton losing its first three games and five of seven (2-4-1) before gaining traction. Edmonton (18-10-2) is on a five-game winning streak and 8-2-0 in its past 10 games with impressive wins against the Tampa Bay Lightning (2-1), Minnesota Wild (7-1) and Vegas Golden Knights (6-3).
"I like our game right now, I think we're playing well and we're starting to find our roles a little bit," Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. "We're starting to find our rhythm a little bit better, and we had good teams coming up and we're looking to continue that."
Draisaitl and captain Connor McDavid are both working their way up in the NHL scoring race. Draisaitl has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in his past 11 games. He has 45 points. (22 goals, 23 assists) in 30 games, moving into fourth after a three-point game (one goal, two assists) against Vegas on Saturday.
McDavid has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in his past 11. He has 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 27 games and is seventh in the League behind leader Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (50 points; 13 goals, 37 assists in 32 games).
"It's going to be another really good test," Draisaitl said. "They're a really good team and it's going to be another good test for us."