Patriots rival catches ricochet shot from Oilers coach

The Edmonton Oilers have waited since 2006 to return to the Stanley Cup Final, whereas the Florida Panthers will make their second straight appearance. In both team’s cases, they went home empty-handed after being defeated by their opponents.

While the Panthers are favored to win on DraftKings sportsbook at -135 and are playing with a chip on their shoulder after losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights last season, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch doesn’t necessarily think Florida has the edge going into Game 1 on Saturday night.

In fact, he referenced a New England Patriots rival’s failures in the postseason as a reason why he’s not convinced experience doesn’t always translate to a championship win.

“Yeah, experience is good. I don’t know how much experience is beneficial. You can ask the Buffalo Bills how important Super Bowl experience is,” Knoblauch told reporters earlier this week. “I think the biggest thing is having the confidence to play. When our guys are playing their best, they should have confidence.”

The Bills lost four consecutive Super Bowls from 1991-94, and haven’t been back to the NFL’s big game since.

The Panthers and the Oilers met twice in the regular season with Florida earning a win in both games. But it’s a clean slate for both teams and what happened in the regular season doesn’t matter — something the Panthers are familiar with after eliminating the Boston Bruins despite losing to them four times this year.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals begins Saturday night at 8 p.m. EST.