The stage is set, and the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are gearing up to face off in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-will-host-panthers-for-game-1-of-stanley-cup-final-on-wednesday">the Stanley Cup Final</a> for the second year in a row, with plenty of firepower on both sides. Aleksander Barkov (17 points), Sam Bennett (16 points), and Matthew Tkachuk (16 points) lead the way for Florida, while Connor McDavid (26 points), Leon Draisaitl (25 points), and <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/ryan-nugent-hopkins-is-on-fire-stuart-skinner-fantastic-again-and-oilers-lose-zach-hyman-in-game-4-win">Ryan Nugent-Hopkins</a> (18 points) are the top three scorers for Edmonton.
With 18 points through three rounds, Nugent-Hopkins sits fourth in NHL playoff scoring, and after 14 seasons and 90 postseason appearances, it’s safe to say this is the best playoff hockey the 32-year-old has played.
That said, during the regular season, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch mentioned that when a player <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/3-oilers-who-stepped-up-during-mcdavids-absence-but-who-still-needs-to">reaches around five or six expected goals</a>, they’re almost guaranteed to score and heading into the last series against the Dallas Stars, Nugent-Hopkins hadn’t scored since the final game of the first round against the Los Angeles Kings.
I’d been tracking Nugent-Hopkins’ expected goals (xGF) before the Dallas series, and he was sitting at almost exactly six xGF and based on Knoblauch’s theory, I felt the longest-serving Oiler was about to pop and he absolutely did, scoring a power-play goal in Game 1. The puck was on and off his stick in a flash, picking his signature spot low blocker and beating Jake Oettinger. It also seemed like that tally gave him a boost of confidence, because from that point on, he didn’t just pop — he took off like a rocket.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS!
The Oilers convert on the power play and make it 2-1 in the second period.
📹: Sportsnet <a href="https://t.co/rK0pAehcrN">pic.twitter.com/rK0pAehcrN</a>
&mdash; Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07 (@OilersNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/OilersNation/status/1925363836854706663?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He tipped home an Evan Bouchard point shot in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-vs-dallas-stars-game-2-a-tactical-review">Game 2</a>, finishing the night with two points. From there on out, he put on a passing clinic, showing everyone — just in case they needed a reminder — why he went first overall in 2011. In <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-stars-game-3-tactical-review">Game 3</a>, he registered three primary assists off some beautiful passes, and in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-one-win-from-stanley-cup-final-after-game-4-victory-over-stars">Game 4</a>, he added two more helpers, both of them filthy setups. The first came when he received the puck near the slot, and everyone in Rogers Place and watching at home was shouting, or at least thinking, “SHOOT!” Instead, he froze the opposition and calmly slid the puck over to Leon Draisaitl, who buried his iconic one-timer.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
ANOTHER POINT FOR NUGE!! HE SETS UP COREY PERRY FOR A TAP IN GOAL ON THE PP!
🎥: Sportsnet | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoOilers</a> <a href="https://t.co/YKSXbbkQZv">pic.twitter.com/YKSXbbkQZv</a>
&mdash; Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07 (@OilersNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/OilersNation/status/1927538967219454039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
His second assist of the night was <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-have-dallas-stars-on-brink-of-elimination">a beautiful feed to Corey Perry</a> — faking a shot, dragging the puck, and passing it perfectly onto Perry’s stick. On that play, he displayed both his skill and high hockey IQ, likely aware of his former teammate, Cody Ceci’s tendencies, knowing the D-man would likely be fooled by the fake, which created the opening for Perry’s tap-in.
Additionally, with his second assist in Game 4, he became the first player in 35 years to start a conference final with four multi-point games and Draisaitl had high praise for his teammate, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sm9jB6h9po">saying</a>:
<blockquote>“He touches every part of the game you can think of. Obviously, ‘Nuggy’ in a way sacrifices a lot of offence throughout the year, for, you know, doing everything the right way, being in the right position, and doing all the little things that a lot of guys don’t want to do. He prioritizes that, and obviously we know he’s capable of putting up numbers, scoring, and making great plays. So, obviously right now it’s everything at once — it’s clicking, and he’s been the best player in the series.”</blockquote>
The Burnaby, BC native didn’t register any points in <a href="https://bola.oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-dallas-stars-game-5-a-tactical-review">Game 5</a>. Still, he showed his strong defensive side, with some stellar PK work, including some key intercepts and big clears, helping the Oilers solidify the win and punch their ticket to <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilersnation-radio-oilers-punch-their-ticket-to-the-stanley-cup-final">the Stanley Cup Final</a>.
Without question, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-potential-conn-smythe-trophy-candidates-stanley-cup-final">Nugent-Hopkins was one of the hottest Oilers</a> in the last series against the Stars, tying for the team lead and ranking among the NHL’s top scorers last round with nine points, alongside the dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl, while also playing in all situations and finishing the series with a +5 rating.
Additionally, &#8216;Nuge&#8217;s&#8217; advanced metrics from the Stars series show that he’s not just aging like fine wine with his baby-faced looks — his 5v5 play is aging just as gracefully. Here’s where Nugent-Hopkins ranked in the NHL last round at 5v5, according to Natural Stat Trick:
— 1st in shots for per 60 minutes 
— 3rd in goals for per 60 minutes 
— 5th in scoring chances per 60 minutes 
— 6th in expected goals for per 60 minutes
<h2>Oilers Should Benefit from a Confident Nugent-Hopkins Looking to Redeem Last Year’s Final Performance</h2>
Nugent-Hopkins carrying this momentum into the Stanley Cup Final against Florida would be massive for the Oilers, especially since both teams are deep, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/the-long-winding-road-jeff-skinners-first-stanley-cup-playoff-goal">with 19 different players on each side</a> having scored in the playoffs so far.
Taking a look back at his point production from last year’s Finals, Nugent-Hopkins would likely be the first to admit that it wasn’t good. He scored just once in seven games — his goal coming as the Oilers’ sixth in their 8–1 blowout in<a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/instant-reaction-oilers-keep-stanley-cup-dream-alive-with-huge-game-4-victory"> Game 4 </a> — and finished the series with just two points and a -5 rating overall.
Diving a bit deeper, at 5-on-5 against the Panthers last year in the Finals over seven games, he was out-chanced 32-33 in scoring chances and heavily out-chanced 6-14 in high-danger chances. Also, the Panthers scored four goals while he was on the ice, while his line produced only one. Overall, Nugent-Hopkins had an underwhelming showing in the Finals last year — it wasn’t all on him, but two or three more goals from him could’ve made all the difference, especially in the tight 4-3 loss in Game 3 or the crushing 2-1 defeat in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/instant-reaction-oilers-fall-short-in-game-7-as-panthers-hoist-stanley-cup">Game 7</a>. That’s the thin margin between glory and heartbreak.
But here we are, and you can bet the Oilers will be using last year&#8217;s Game 7 loss as fuel. That said, with <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/devastated-for-him-oilers-captain-connor-mcdavid-talks-hyman-injury-perrys-age-and-more-ahead-of-game-5">Zach Hyman out for the season</a> with a wrist injury, head coach Kris Knoblauch rolled out the Nugent-Hopkins–McDavid–Perry line in Game 5 of the last round against the Stars, a trio I’d expect to stay together for Game 1 versus the Panthers, and with good reason.
All three players should be feeling very good about their game — McDavid leads the playoffs with 26 points, Corey Perry leads his team with seven goals, and the Oilers have a red-hot Nugent-Hopkins heading into the Finals, who may be the most confident he’s ever been in the postseason.
All in all, the outcome of the upcoming series against Florida doesn’t depend solely on how Nugent-Hopkins plays, but he’s an extremely important factor who could make all the difference. That said, nothing would make Oilers fans happier than seeing the player who has bled orange and blue for the last 14 years — with nine different head coaches during that span — finally lift that shiny, 35-pound Cup.
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&nbsp;

The stage is set, and the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are gearing up to face off in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-will-host-panthers-for-game-1-of-stanley-cup-final-on-wednesday">the Stanley Cup Final</a> for the second year in a row, with plenty of firepower on both sides. Aleksander Barkov (17 points), Sam Bennett (16 points), and Matthew Tkachuk (16 points) lead the way for Florida, while Connor McDavid (26 points), Leon Draisaitl (25 points), and <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/ryan-nugent-hopkins-is-on-fire-stuart-skinner-fantastic-again-and-oilers-lose-zach-hyman-in-game-4-win">Ryan Nugent-Hopkins</a> (18 points) are the top three scorers for Edmonton.

With 18 points through three rounds, Nugent-Hopkins sits fourth in NHL playoff scoring, and after 14 seasons and 90 postseason appearances, it’s safe to say this is the best playoff hockey the 32-year-old has played.

That said, during the regular season, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch mentioned that when a player <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/3-oilers-who-stepped-up-during-mcdavids-absence-but-who-still-needs-to">reaches around five or six expected goals</a>, they’re almost guaranteed to score and heading into the last series against the Dallas Stars, Nugent-Hopkins hadn’t scored since the final game of the first round against the Los Angeles Kings.

I’d been tracking Nugent-Hopkins’ expected goals (xGF) before the Dallas series, and he was sitting at almost exactly six xGF and based on Knoblauch’s theory, I felt the longest-serving Oiler was about to pop and he absolutely did, scoring a power-play goal in Game 1. The puck was on and off his stick in a flash, picking his signature spot low blocker and beating Jake Oettinger. It also seemed like that tally gave him a boost of confidence, because from that point on, he didn’t just pop — he took off like a rocket.

https://twitter.com/OilersNation/status/1925363836854706663

He tipped home an Evan Bouchard point shot in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-vs-dallas-stars-game-2-a-tactical-review">Game 2</a>, finishing the night with two points. From there on out, he put on a passing clinic, showing everyone — just in case they needed a reminder — why he went first overall in 2011. In <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-stars-game-3-tactical-review">Game 3</a>, he registered three primary assists off some beautiful passes, and in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-one-win-from-stanley-cup-final-after-game-4-victory-over-stars">Game 4</a>, he added two more helpers, both of them filthy setups. The first came when he received the puck near the slot, and everyone in Rogers Place and watching at home was shouting, or at least thinking, “SHOOT!” Instead, he froze the opposition and calmly slid the puck over to Leon Draisaitl, who buried his iconic one-timer.

https://twitter.com/OilersNation/status/1927538967219454039

His second assist of the night was <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-have-dallas-stars-on-brink-of-elimination">a beautiful feed to Corey Perry</a> — faking a shot, dragging the puck, and passing it perfectly onto Perry’s stick. On that play, he displayed both his skill and high hockey IQ, likely aware of his former teammate, Cody Ceci’s tendencies, knowing the D-man would likely be fooled by the fake, which created the opening for Perry’s tap-in.

Additionally, with his second assist in Game 4, he became the first player in 35 years to start a conference final with four multi-point games and Draisaitl had high praise for his teammate, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sm9jB6h9po">saying</a>:
<blockquote>“He touches every part of the game you can think of. Obviously, ‘Nuggy’ in a way sacrifices a lot of offence throughout the year, for, you know, doing everything the right way, being in the right position, and doing all the little things that a lot of guys don’t want to do. He prioritizes that, and obviously we know he’s capable of putting up numbers, scoring, and making great plays. So, obviously right now it’s everything at once — it’s clicking, and he’s been the best player in the series.”</blockquote>
The Burnaby, BC native didn’t register any points in <a href="https://bola.oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-dallas-stars-game-5-a-tactical-review">Game 5</a>. Still, he showed his strong defensive side, with some stellar PK work, including some key intercepts and big clears, helping the Oilers solidify the win and punch their ticket to <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilersnation-radio-oilers-punch-their-ticket-to-the-stanley-cup-final">the Stanley Cup Final</a>.

Without question, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-potential-conn-smythe-trophy-candidates-stanley-cup-final">Nugent-Hopkins was one of the hottest Oilers</a> in the last series against the Stars, tying for the team lead and ranking among the NHL’s top scorers last round with nine points, alongside the dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl, while also playing in all situations and finishing the series with a +5 rating.

Additionally, 'Nuge's' advanced metrics from the Stars series show that he’s not just aging like fine wine with his baby-faced looks — his 5v5 play is aging just as gracefully. Here’s where Nugent-Hopkins ranked in the NHL last round at 5v5, according to Natural Stat Trick:

— 1st in shots for per 60 minutes
— 3rd in goals for per 60 minutes
— 5th in scoring chances per 60 minutes
— 6th in expected goals for per 60 minutes
<h2>Oilers Should Benefit from a Confident Nugent-Hopkins Looking to Redeem Last Year’s Final Performance</h2>
Nugent-Hopkins carrying this momentum into the Stanley Cup Final against Florida would be massive for the Oilers, especially since both teams are deep, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/the-long-winding-road-jeff-skinners-first-stanley-cup-playoff-goal">with 19 different players on each side</a> having scored in the playoffs so far.

Taking a look back at his point production from last year’s Finals, Nugent-Hopkins would likely be the first to admit that it wasn’t good. He scored just once in seven games — his goal coming as the Oilers’ sixth in their 8–1 blowout in<a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/instant-reaction-oilers-keep-stanley-cup-dream-alive-with-huge-game-4-victory"> Game 4 </a> — and finished the series with just two points and a -5 rating overall.

Diving a bit deeper, at 5-on-5 against the Panthers last year in the Finals over seven games, he was out-chanced 32-33 in scoring chances and heavily out-chanced 6-14 in high-danger chances. Also, the Panthers scored four goals while he was on the ice, while his line produced only one. Overall, Nugent-Hopkins had an underwhelming showing in the Finals last year — it wasn’t all on him, but two or three more goals from him could’ve made all the difference, especially in the tight 4-3 loss in Game 3 or the crushing 2-1 defeat in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/instant-reaction-oilers-fall-short-in-game-7-as-panthers-hoist-stanley-cup">Game 7</a>. That’s the thin margin between glory and heartbreak.

But here we are, and you can bet the Oilers will be using last year's Game 7 loss as fuel. That said, with <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/devastated-for-him-oilers-captain-connor-mcdavid-talks-hyman-injury-perrys-age-and-more-ahead-of-game-5">Zach Hyman out for the season</a> with a wrist injury, head coach Kris Knoblauch rolled out the Nugent-Hopkins–McDavid–Perry line in Game 5 of the last round against the Stars, a trio I’d expect to stay together for Game 1 versus the Panthers, and with good reason.

All three players should be feeling very good about their game — McDavid leads the playoffs with 26 points, Corey Perry leads his team with seven goals, and the Oilers have a red-hot Nugent-Hopkins heading into the Finals, who may be the most confident he’s ever been in the postseason.

All in all, the outcome of the upcoming series against Florida doesn’t depend solely on how Nugent-Hopkins plays, but he’s an extremely important factor who could make all the difference. That said, nothing would make Oilers fans happier than seeing the player who has bled orange and blue for the last 14 years — with nine different head coaches during that span — finally lift that shiny, 35-pound Cup.

<hr />

<h2>PRESENTED BY STAR MECHANICAL</h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-146181" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Article-2-SME.png" alt="" width="728" height="404" />

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&nbsp;

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