SUNRISE, Fla. – Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl knocked Florida’s Aleksander Barkov out of the game. The Panthers guaranteed that they would respond by delivering the biggest blow.
And the Stanley Cup Final took a close turn on Monday night.
Evan Rodrigues scored two goals in the third period, Niko Mikkola and Aaron Ekblad also scored and the Panthers used another sharp finishing shot to pull away and beat the Oilers 4-1 for a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots for Florida, which was 1-8 all-time in Cup finals games before this series began — and is now two wins away from capturing its first championship. Score in two games: Florida 7, Edmonton 1.
“A work of six players against the best players in the world,” said Ekblad.
But the victory came at a price for Florida as a country The Panthers lost Barkov, their captain when Edmonton forward Draisaitl lunged at him midway through the third period and hit him in the head. Barkov remained down for some time, needed help getting to the bench and went down the tunnel to the Florida locker room for further evaluation.
Florida coach Paul Maurice offered no update on Barkov’s condition and was much quieter than he usually is after wins.
“This isn’t The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Maurice said of Barkov’s success. “My feelings don’t matter.”
Mattias Ekholm scored and Stuart Skinner saved 24 shots for the Oilers, who now have to face some serious history.
Edmonton has only successfully recovered from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series once – against San Jose in the second round of the 2006 playoffs. And teams that started the Stanley Cup Final down 2-0 have come back winning just five times in 54 previous situations.
“I think we felt like we came here and played well enough to separate ourselves,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “That doesn’t always happen.”
The series resumes with Game 3 in Edmonton on Thursday night.
“We can certainly be better,” Draisaitl said. “It all starts with me. … I certainly have much more to give. Not my best tonight. Obviously own it.
Draisaitl only received a minor penalty for roughing the hit that knocked Barkov out of the game. Rodrigues scored a goal to make it 3-1, the first power-play score Edmonton has allowed in the last 34 times was a one-man loss.
Connor McDavid had a chance to get Edmonton within one on a breakaway with about 6 minutes left. He was stopped by Bobrovsky, and then he and Matthew Tkachuk They fought a bit at the tables after the play – the Panthers still seething from the hit on Barkov.
“I have no answer or comment on that,” Tkachuk said when asked what he thought of Draisaitl’s attack on Barkov and whether he had any level of concern that the Florida captain would miss time.
Said McDavid of the success: “I thought it was part of the game.”
Ekblad added: “We hope he’s okay.”
Emotions were high all night. Edmonton’s Warren Foegele was ejected in the first period for a knee blow that briefly knocked Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen out of the game; that ejection, plus an injury to Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, left them with just 11 forwards and five defensemen for much of the game.
Rodrigues scored early in the third game to take a 2-1 lead, setting the tone for yet another Florida comeback. The Panthers — who trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes — are now an NHL-best 5-2 when trailing after one period in these playoffs.
Ekblad sealed it with an empty net with 2:28 remaining.
“It’s supposed to be difficult. It should be difficult,” McDavid said. “I’m excited to see what our group is made of.”
Just like in Game 1, one team profited on the first shot. It was in Florida on Saturday, and this time in Edmonton.
There wasn’t much: Ekholm skated nearly the entire length of the ice with the teams playing 4-on-4, taking a seemingly harmless shot which got between the pads of Bobrovsky’s legs and squirted into the back of the net. McDavid – playing in the building where he was drafted in 2015 – got one of the assists on the goal, his 27th assist this postseason.
Midway through the second, the Panthers hit a wall. Mikkola took two doses per shift; one was on the wrong network and the other more than atoned for that near miss.
Moments after inadvertently deflecting a backhand towards Bobrovsky – who was alert enough to save his teammate the embarrassment of an own goal – Mikkola received a throw from Anton Lundell and found Skinner to lead Florida to a 1-1 draw. .
“Bob was awake,” Mikkola said.
Shots were 22-7 Florida after 40 minutes, the Oilers – who led the league in shots on goal this season – were held to a season low entering the third. Bobrovsky was tested much more in the third period than he was in the first two periods, but he was up to the task again and scored two goals or fewer for the 12th time in his last 13 games.
And Florida, for the first time, is two victories away from the World Cup.
“It’s special,” said Rodrigues. “Trying to embrace that. Trying to stay in the moment. These are two big wins for our team, but I think we’ve already turned the page and are getting ready for Game 3.”
