Edomonton Oilers forward Connor Brown has been made available for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers.
Brown, who hasn’t featured since Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals series against the Dallas Stars, will make his return in Game 1 of the championship round on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old exited that game with an undisclosed injury on May 25 after a hard hit from Stars defenseman Alexander Petrovic.
The Oilers receive a significant injury boost with Brown’s comeback just days following the news that star winger Zach Hyman will miss the rest of the postseason with a wrist injury.
Brown sat out of the final two games of the series as Edomonton went on to close it out in style with a 4-1 victory to book their ticket back to the Stanley Cup.
“I feel good,” Brown said after returning to practice on Sunday. “Nice to get a practice in with the team. Obviously, I haven’t been practicing much. It’s nice to get it going. I’m excited.”
In 14 playoff games so far, Brown has eight points from five goals and three assists. In the regular season, he tallied 30 points from 13 goals and 17 assists in all 82 games.
WATCH: Alexander Petrovic sends Connor Brown to the ice with hard hit
Connor Brown went to the dressing room after taking this hit from Alex Petrovic pic.twitter.com/0dryQmYjMi
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 25, 2025
When was the last time the Oilers made the Stanley Cup Finals?
The 2025 Stanley Cup Finals is a repeat of the 2024 renewal as the Oilers once again go head-to-head with the Florida Panthers.
This time around, Edomonton are out for revenge after losing a heartbreaking Game 7 on the road and luckily for the Oilers, they’re considered the favorites in this match-up.
Oilers vs Panthers marks the 11th time in NHL history that teams meet in the Cup Final in consecutive seasons and the first since the Pittsburgh Penguins lined up against the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.
That year, the Penguins rebounded from a six-game loss to the Wings to turn the tables and win in seven.
The Panthers aim to become the first team to defeat the same opponent in the Cup Final in consecutive seasons since the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 4-0 and 4-2 in 1977 and 1978.
Last year, after going 3-0 up the Panthers lost three consecutive games to almost throw the series in the most dramatic fashion before recovering to seal the deal in Game 7.
The Oilers have home-ice advantage on their side in 2025. Florida is in the Stanley Cup Finals for the third year in a row, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in 2023 before getting over the hump in 2024.
Edomonton haven’t won the Cup since 1990 but everything looks to be in their favor ahead of Wednesday’s Game 1 at Rogers Place in Canada.
