20 questions that will determine 2024 Stanley Cup winner - ESPN

The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers begin the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+). The Cats are seeking their first Stanley Cup. The Oilers are seeking to win one for the first time since 1990.

Who wins the Cup? Great question.

Here are 20 more questions whose answers will determine whether Florida or Edmonton hoists hockey's chalice in a few weeks, ranging from data-driven queries to player performances and strategy to more ethereal concepts.

The Panthers' run to the Stanley Cup Final last season saw them shock the world with a first-round upset of the Boston Bruins, the best regular-season team in NHL history, followed by an 8-1 run that eliminated both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes. They looked like a juggernaut heading into the Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. But under the hood, the Panthers' engine was falling apart.

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad as playing on a broken foot with two dislocated shoulders. Fellow blueliners Radko Gudas and Brandon Montour were injured, with the latter needing postseason surgery. Center Sam Bennett was banged up. Then came the biggest blow: Matthew Tkachuk, their unquestioned MVP, broke his sternum in the Final and was a nonfactor after Game 3.

They were haunted by what might have been. So, the mission became «get healthy and get ready,» because the Panthers were going to finish the story on their terms this season.

For the Oilers, it wasn't about getting back but getting there in the first place. Edmonton had lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion in consecutive postseasons. What once felt like certainty that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl would eventually win a Cup started to become more pessimistic. It's often said that teams