Edmonton, Alberta - When Matthew Tkachuk looked around Edmonton before the Stanley Cup final, he thought the Florida Panthers were not just fighting the Oilers.

"This is the 20+ guys we oppose you, the 20,000 people on the rink, the 20,000 people outside the rink. It's just us against everyone," he said Thursday. "That's what makes you such a fun and meaningful game when you win."

Tkachuk's Panthers led the Oilers 1-0 in their series after losing 4-3 overtime in Edmonton on Wednesday night. This is just their third loss in 11 playoff games, starting the first three playoff series from South Florida.

"We've said a bunch of them. That's the 'we're against the world' mentality, but you especially feel like it's stuck in the series," Tkachuk said. "Your back isn't necessarily against the wall, but you see it as big time and you have to win in a hostile environment. I feel like that's when we're at our best. So hopefully we can use it to our strengths."

The Stanley Cup final game is already different from what it felt last season, which gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead. While defending champion Florida believes it has improved since last season, Takahu noted that this is different from the Oilers that the Panthers beat in seven games.

"I think last night everyone saw people including us, they're a very, very, very good team. They have some dangerous players. Even if their top players play together, they have other lines to play. Not always that." "They defended the hard shots and the goalkeepers did a great job. They're better. We're better. I think it's going to be a great series."

One focus for Florida after Game 1 was how they wasted two goals leading the Oilers, who won the game in the third inning before Leon Draisaitl's overtime goal was over. The Panthers were 31-0 under playoff head coach Paul Maurice when they led the first stage or the second quarter in the game.

"We browsed some videos and saw things we could do better with the neutral zone. Maybe there was more time to attack the zone," said defenseman Seth Jones. "But they played a great game. They did a great defensively. They blocked a lot of balls. We know, there wasn't a lot of space there, there weren't really a lot of games.

Tekakuk said the Panthers could be more consistent on the previewer and earn more area time to prevent the Oilers from fighting back.

"Tomorrow we did something really good, and we just took a little longer," Turkcook said. "They definitely performed better than we were in the game and probably won. They decided more of the game. That's it. Go back to the drawing board. Play better tomorrow than they do."

The second game is scheduled to be held in Edmonton on Friday night. The winner of the first match in the Stanley Cup final won 76% of the matches. The first game winner won 10 of the last 13 Stanley Cup finals, including the last four.