The reigning champion Florida Panthers attempt to move one step closer toward repeating when they host the Edmonton Oilers for Game 4 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final on Thursday. Florida, which nearly squandered a 3-0 series lead against Edmonton in the Final last postseason, went up 2-1 in this year’s rematch on Monday with a dominant 6-1 victory.
Carter Verhaeghe, Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart each recorded a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who have scored at least five times in 11 of their 14 playoff wins and each of the last eight. Sam Bennett netted his league-leading 14th tally and enters Thursday with a four-game goal-scoring streak, while Brad Marchand and defenseman Aaron Ekblad also converted.
The 28-year-old Bennett, who has scored 21 goals in 39 games over the last two postseasons, is five tallies away from tying the NHL record for the most in one playoff year set in 1976 by Reggie Leach of the Philadelphia Flyers and matched in 1985 by Edmonton’s Jari Kurri. Bennett and Marchand are the second set of teammates in league history to open a Stanley Cup Final with a goal-scoring streak of three or more games, joining Steve Payne and Dino Ciccarelli of the 1981 Minnesota North Stars.
Corey Perry scored the lone goal in Game 3 for the Oilers, who are the ninth team in NHL history with 20 different goal scorers in one postseason. Superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were kept off the scoresheet in the same game for the first time in the 2025 playoffs, ending their respective seven- and eight-game point streaks. McDavid had notched multiple points in five consecutive contests, while Draisaitl did so in four straight prior to Monday.
McDavid has registered a league-high 31 points this postseason and posted 11 multi-point performances. The 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy winner is one multi-point game away from equaling his career high for one playoff year, which he set in 2022 and matched last year. Draisaitl is one such effort — and two points overall — behind McDavid in these playoffs after also having a career-best 10 multi-point outings last postseason.
Evan Bouchard has recorded a goal and four assists in the series after setting up Perry’s tally in Game 3. The 25-year-old leads all defensemen with seven goals, 15 assists and 22 points in this year’s playoffs.
The Panthers are hoping to join the 1979 Montreal Canadiens and 1985 Oilers as the only clubs to win back-to-back championships after facing a series deficit in the Final in their attempts to repeat. The Oilers are three victories away from becoming the first Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup since the 1993 Canadiens.
Here are some players with value to consider when making NHL player prop bets for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Nate Schmidt, Panthers: Over 0.5 assists (+250, bet365)
Schmidt has been one of the biggest surprises of the playoffs. The 33-year-old defenseman is third in the league with nine assists in 20 games after registering the same amount in 28 contests over the previous three postseasons with the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets. Schmidt, who recorded just 14 assists across 80 games during the 2024-25 regular season, has collected five assists in the series thus far and can tie the longest assist streak by a defenseman to open a Stanley Cup Final since 1968 with one on Thursday.
Carter Verhaeghe, Panthers: Over 0.5 assists (+150, bet365)
Verhaeghe also enters Game 4 with a three-game streak during which he has recorded four assists. The 29-year-old center has amassed a playoff career-high 12 assists, one behind team co-leaders Matthew Tkachuk and Evan Rodrigues. Dating back to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, Verhaeghe has picked up at least one assist in five consecutive postseason games against the Oilers.
Corey Perry, Oilers: Over 0.5 points (+105, bet365)
Perry is fifth on the Oilers with 13 points this postseason, his highest playoff total since he recorded 18 with the Anaheim Ducks in 2015. The 40-year-old veteran right wing, who intends to return for his 21st career NHL season in 2025-26, has landed on the scoresheet in five consecutive games (four goals, two assists) after failing to register a point in five straight contests. Going back to last year’s Stanley Cup Final, Perry had notched a point in five of his last seven playoff games against the Panthers.
Evan Rodrigues, Panthers: 1+ point (+104, FanDuel)
Rodrigues’ slow start this postseason has become a distant memory. The 31-year-old center recorded just one assist over his first seven playoff games but has been on fire ever since, collecting 14 points over his last 11 contests. Rodrigues enters Thursday with a four-game point streak during which he has picked up two goals and three assists and has appeared on the scoresheet in eight of his last nine outings. He registered at least one point (seven overall) in five of the seven games against Edmonton in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final and has done so in each of the first three contests of this year’s rematch, making him one of the top big-game players in recent years. I like him to continue adding to that narrative on Thursday.
