Oilers' Leon Draisaitl makes his feelings known ahead of Stanley Cup Finals rematch against Panthers

Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. They will face the Florida Panthers again. Last year, Florida beat Edmonton in seven games. Draisaitl says the Oilers are ready for the rematch.

Draisaitl said he has been watching the Panthers’ games. He knows how they play. He said their style is not new to the Oilers and called Florida an aggressive team that likes to pressure opponents.

"Yeah, I like watching hockey at home," Draisaitl said, "so obviously I've been been paying attention to their series, and you know, the way they play, it's not like anything new to us. You know, we know what they're about. They know what we're about. And try to find little tweaks throughout a series. I mean, every team has their own identity in a way. Obviously, they're an aggressive team."

The Oilers are using the break to get ready for the series.

"They look to, you know, be in your face. And, yeah, I mean again, nothing that we haven't faced already or nothing that we're not aware of. So yeah, just excited to obviously have a couple days to get ready here."

The Panthers are trying to win the Stanley Cup again. They won last year and want to do it consecutively. The Oilers are trying to win their first Cup since 1990. Connor McDavid is also looking for his first championship. The Oilers are one of the few teams to return to the Final after losing it the year before.

This series may come down to speed, defense and goaltending. McDavid is the fastest player this postseason. He leads the NHL in 20+ mph skating bursts. Draisaitl and a few others on the Oilers are also near the top in speed. Edmonton leads the league in total high-speed bursts. Florida’s defensemen, though, are the fastest group on the back end.

Leon Draisaitl credits team depth in Oilers’ win over Stars

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars 6-3 in Game 5 to win the Western Conference Final. Corey Perry scored first on a power play at 2:31. Mattias Janmark made it 2-0 with a breakaway goal at 7:09. Jeff Skinner scored his first playoff goal at 8:07 to make it 3-0.

Dallas responded with a goal from Jason Robertson at 11:40. Roope Hintz made it 3-2 with a power-play goal in the second. Connor McDavid scored on a breakaway at 14:28 to make it 4-2. Robertson scored again early in the third to make it 4-3. Evander Kane added a goal at 3:21 to extend the lead. Kasperi Kapanen scored an empty-net goal with 20 seconds left.

"We knew we were going to need everybody," Leon Draisaitl said via NHL.com.

Draisaitl praised the depth and goaltending.

The Oilers will play the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. Game 1 is on Wednesday in Edmonton.