Panthers up 2-0, Taking Care of Business on Home Ice
Photo Credit: booksmakersreview.com
The Panthers are in full control of the Stanley Cup Final after their win on Monday night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They now have a commanding 2-0 series lead going to Edmonton for game 3 on Thursday night.
Going back to game one, this game could be summed up in two words: Sergei Bobrovsky. The 35-year-old netminder for the Panthers put the team on his back with the best playoff performance from a goalie this entire postseason. The Oilers outshot the Panthers 32 to 18 in this contest, but it's important to note that Bobrovsky was able to shut down the Oilers fast start in the finals, giving his team a chance to win. In the first period, it was all Oilers out shooting the Panthers 12 to 4 in the first frame, but nothing could pass Bob. He finished the game with 32 saves to complete the game with the shutout.
With Bobrovsky being a brick wall in the net, it opened the door for the Panthers to not play their best game but to find a way to grind one out and come out with a win. The game-winning goal came four minutes into the game, from last year’s clutch playoff performer Carter Verhaeghe, who now has 10 goals in the playoffs. It was a spectacular set-up by complete 200-foot player, Aleksander Barkov; Starting in his own zone, Barkov outskated Connor McDavid and sauced over a beautiful pass on his backhand, where Verhaeghe buried it past Stuart Skinner.
That was all the Panthers needed to take game one 3-0. Evan Rodrigues would get his fourth of the playoffs in the second, and Eetu Luostarinen sealed the deal with an empty netter late in the third. The vibes after game one were that the Oilers played more than fine; they just got robbed by Bobrovsky, but for the Panthers, they knew that they would have to play much better in order to have a chance in game 2, and they most certainly did.
Game 2 was a slugfest in which the Panthers had full control over, and the Oilers looked out of sorts and fatigued. Although the Oilers drew first blood after a chaotic start to the game, Oilers forward Warren Foegele got a 5-minute misconduct for kneeing Eetu Luostarinen. Player safety and the NHL will have a decision to make on Foegele to see if there will be any kind of punishment.
The five-minute major would be short-lived after Oliver Ekman-Larsson took a tripping penalty against Mattias Janmark. This is where the Oilers shine, with more ice at 4 on 4, being the faster team with the two best players in the world. They shined, but it was a player you would least expect to look off Leon Draisaitl on a 2 on 1 break. Mattias Ekholm went five-hole on Bobrovsky to take a 1-0 lead early in the first. It would be the first five-hole goal Bobrovsky would give up all playoffs.
The Panthers responded for the rest of the game, punishing the Oilers and icing out all four lines to wear down the Oilers top players, and it worked to perfection. With Darnell Nurse leaving early due to injury and only playing four minutes of total ice time and Foegele getting tossed out, the bench got short. The Oilers don’t have the depth the Panthers do, which results in them playing their top players for a longer time, which is not a recipe for success against the deepest team in the league.
The Oilers escaped the first with a 1-0 lead, but that would change midway through the second period, where Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola almost had an own goal shooting the puck on his net, then he would join the rush at the other end of the ice and blow one bast Skinners glove hand to tie up the game even.
The Panthers would continue their dominance into the third period, where swiss army knife Evan Rodrigues would score twice, and his second was a powerplay goal to make the score 3-1 Panthers late into the third. This would break the Oilers 34-kill penalty streak.
Going back to how this powerplay opportunity happened for the Panthers, it was a penalty by Leon Draisaitl on Aleksander Barkov, which would leave Barkov out for the rest of the third. The league announced that there will be no punishment that is suspension-worthy, although we can all see the Panthers getting back at this in Game three.
The goal by Rodrigues pretty much put this game away, and Aaron Ekblad would put the cherry on top with an empty netter to win the game 4-1 and take the 2-0 series lead. The Oilers stars have simply not been good enough to win either of these two hockey games. In two games, Draisaitl and McDavid have combined for one point. The most appalling stat from game 2 came from the entire forward group of the Oilers.
One factor of the Oilers game where they can always fall back on is their powerplay, but even that has been shut down by the Panthers up to this point, going 0 for 7.
The Oilers have been battle-tested since the start of the season, and anything is possible. It starts with taking care of business at home in an atmosphere like no other in Edmonton.
As the heart and soul of the Oilers team, McDavid said postgame, “I’m excited to see us fight through adversity and look forward to people doubting us again”. The Oilers are going to bring their best game into game 3 in an almost must-win situation, and we will see how the Panthers fight through the Oilers desperate play at home on Thursday night in Edmonton.