“We’ve been really good all year at not sitting back with the lead, and for whatever reason we sat back tonight,” said the Florida Panthers forward, Sam Bennett, after his team squandered a solid 31-game streak of winning when leading at an intermission. His two goals against the Edmonton Oilers during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final weren’t enough. As for why the Panthers were not themselves on Wednesday, Matthew Tkachuk may have hit the bullseye on that.The Panthers have a lower margin for error now. After all, as of 2023, the team that had won Game 1 of the finals had gone on to life the Stanley Cup 75.6% of the time. But then again, it was the Panthers who put a dent in that number last year, thanks to their comeback from a 3-0 series deficit against the Oilers. But it’s a different Oilers they are facing this year. They have more depth, they are harder on their forechecks, and they have fed off the energy of an electric Rogers Place, which is also different this time of the year.Even before the puck drop in Game 1, 20,000 Edmonton Oilers faithful raised the roof of Rogers Place with a simple but earnest chant, “WE WANT THE CUP!” It has been 35 years since they last saw their team bring Lord Stanley home, and now they are hungrier than ever, and Tkachuk, for one, felt that. Sportsnet’s Gene Principe took to X on June 5 to share how the atmosphere at Rogers Place got to Tkachuk. “You see more people here outside than you do when we play here in December,” Tkachuk said. The reporter also added how Tkachuk said, “it’s not us against just @Edmonton Oilers but thousands inside/outside the building.” After all, Wednesday’s game marked the first Cup Final opener in Canada since the Canucks hosted the Bruins at Rogers Arena in 2011. So as the Oilers entered the rink, the decibel level was 113.6, and Leon Draisaitl made sure that he didn’t take too much time in paying back in kind.When @TKACHUKycheese_ was asked about playing in Edmonton."You see more people here outside than you do when we play here in December." He added it's not us against just @EdmontonOilers but thousands inside/outside the building(@RogersPlace) https://t.co/Zy6y4FS1i3— Gene Principe (@GenePrincipe) June 5, 2025 Just 66 seconds into Game 1, the German opened the scoring for the Oilers. He was also scored the winner with just 31 seconds left on the clock during OT, thanks to a slick assist by the usual suspect Connor McDavid. “It’s nice to know that when those two get together midgame, that the results are pretty good. But yeah, it’s something that we can’t rely on,” the Oilers coach, Kris Knoblauch, pointed out.But while Matthew Tkachuk and co. exited the rink to the sounds of La Bamba on Wednesday, it’s hardly the time for the Oilers to rest on their laurels.What are Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers planning ahead of Game 2?The signs were there since the beginning of the third period, as the Panthers were outshot 24-8. However, it all came down to one penalty, as late into the OT, Tomas Nosek was penalized for sending the puck out of the rink. Draisaitl’s goal came just 72 seconds after that. But does that change what Coach Paul Maurice thinks of Nosek? Not really. “He’s got lots of people sitting at his table and reminding him how good he’s been.” And much like his coach, Tkachuk, too, isn’t planning on dwelling on past mistakes. He plans on learning and moving on instead.Matthew Tkachuk began, “We’ve got a lot of battle scars on us from the last few years, and we’ve been through way worse.” After all, in Round 2 of the NHL playoff series, Florida lost the first two games to the Toronto Maple Leafs and were staring down a 2-0 and 3-1 hole in Game 3, but clawed their way back by eventually making it to the Finals. “We can be better, we can adjust a few things and come out tomorrow and try to get a win here and get some momentum going back home,” Tkachuk added.And if it’s just about a few adjustments and sharper execution, not only Tkachuk but the rest of the roster believes it, too. “This team, I think, has an incredible ability to be able to not only learn from what they have done and apply their experience into situations like this,” said D-man Nate Schmidt. The Oilers may have started loud, but Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers are quietly crafting their reply. This series is going to be one for the ages.The post Matthew Tkachuk Complains About Edmonton Crowd After Florida’s Streak Broken in Stanley Cup Game 1 appeared first on EssentiallySports.