If Game 1 was about Sergei Bobrovsky, Game 2 belonged to the entire Florida defense.
The Panthers stifled Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night to secure a 4-1 victory in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Evan Rodrigues scored two goals as Florida secured a 29-19 edge in shots on goal. The Panthers now hold a 2-0 lead, with the series scheduled to move to Edmonton for Game 3.
Oilers strike first despite stagnant offense
Florida set the tone early, putting up six shots on goal before Edmonton scored the first. But it didn’t pay off on the scoreboard as Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped every shot, opening the door for Edmonton to strike first.
With both teams playing 4-4 after two penalties, Edmonton secured a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period. Mattias Ekholm passed the puck past Bobrovsky on an assist from McDavid with 8:43 left in the period.
After allowing zero goals on 32 shots in Game 1, Bobrovsky left Edmonton’s first shot in the net on Monday night.
Florida finished the first period with a 9-4 edge in shots on goal, but Edmonton led 1-0 on the scoreboard. McDavid, who went scoreless in Game 2 alongside the rest of his Oilers teammates, recorded an assist and two shots on goal in the opening period.
Panthers advance to chaotic first goal
Florida continued to control the puck in the second and finally got on the scoreboard in a chaotic sequence midway through the period. Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola nearly scored on his own goal when he spun and sent the puck back to Bobrovsky. Fortunately for Florida, Bobrovsky was ready for it and deflected the puck to the right at the goal line.
Panthers winger Vladimir Tarasenko corralled the puck around the table and sent it to Anton Lundell. Lundell then passed the puck through the opposing blue line and returned it to a waiting Mikkola, who past Skinner to put the Panthers on the scoreboard.
Mikkola’s goal was just his second in 42 career postseason games.
“He was awake,” Mikkola told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan about Bobrovsky’s save from the potential own goal. “So, it’s okay… He’s ready for it. Whatever happens, he’s always there for me.”
Florida had a golden chance for another goal on a power play late in the period when center Sam Bennett connected with an Evan Rodrigues pass right in front of the net. But Bennett sent the puck directly into the legs of Skinner, who stopped the shot from close range.
Oilmen Make the Wrong Kind of History
The game went into the third period tied 1-1, with Edmonton finding itself on the wrong side of Stanley Cup history. The Oilers had just seven shots on goal in the first 40 minutes of the game. According to ESPN, this marked the fewest shots made in two periods of a Stanley Cup Final game since the NHL began recording the statistic in 1960.
Florida had 21 shots on net in the same period, but only got one past Skinner. That changed quickly at the start of the third period.
Rodrigues’ agitation guarantees victory for the Panthers
As the clock hit less than 5 p.m., Rodrigues took control of the puck behind the Edmonton net and launched a shot from the left wing. The shot was blocked back on his stick, and he sent another that went over Skinner’s right shoulder and into the right side of the net, giving Florida a 2-1 lead.
Almost 10 minutes later, Rodrigues did it again, this time on a power play. He received a pass from Lundell in front of the net and looped it past Skinner’s left shoulder for a 3-1 lead.
The power-play goal was Florida’s first in five attempts Monday night. He broke the Oilers’ streak of 34 straight penalties this postseason.
Minutes later, the Oilers went to an empty net. They took Skinner out of the goal with 5:53 left. Aaron Ekblad took advantage with an empty-net insurance goal with 2:28 remaining to increase the lead to 4-1 and end any hopes of an Edmonton comeback.
After allowing a goal on Edmonton’s first shot of the game, Bobrovsky did not allow another. Through two Stanley Cup Final games, he now has 50 saves on 51 Oilers shots. McDavid led Edmonton’s offense with three shots and an assist, but it wasn’t enough to challenge Florida’s tough defense.
Florida spread the puck around as nine Panthers recorded multiple shots on goal. Rodrigues scored in both, while Ekblad’s empty net was his first goal in four shots on net.
The Oilers have significant adjustments to make on both sides of the ice before the series moves to Game 3 on Thursday night in Edmonton.
