SUNRISE, Fla. — By the time he was old enough to watch NHL games growing up in Sweden, Oliver Ekman-Larsson began dreaming about playing in the Stanley Cup Final.

Now he’s here, a member of the Panthers in a series against the Oilers that marks the furthest distance between two teams in a final in NHL history. That would not have mattered to that kid yearning to be in this spot.

“I would probably go back and forth to Sweden if I got a chance to play in the Stanley Cup Final,” he said.

OK, it’s not quite that far, but the 2,543 miles (4,092 kilometers) between the Panthers and Oilers home arenas eclipses the old record set by the Canucks and Bruins in 2011 — a series that went the full seven games. Four years after that, the Oilers drafted Connor McDavid in the same home arena they’ll play Game 1 in Saturday night, a full-circle moment for the face of the sport.

“We spend a lot of time on that plane,” McDavid said. “We’re one of the most traveled in the league, so it’s only fitting that we’re going to play in the furthest Stanley Cup Final of all time.”

But this Cup final is not just one being played in opposite corners of North America. Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl runs a drill during Wednesday’s practice in Edmonton, Alberta. The Oilers take on the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final today in Sunrise, Florida. Jason Franson/ The Canadian Press