Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) gives a hockey stick to a fan after defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4 to 1 in Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday, June 10, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida.
The Florida Panthers dominated the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, winning their opening home game in the best-of-7 series with the Edmonton Oilers to come within two wins of winning the Cup for the first time in the franchise’s 30-season history.
Now comes the next step: finding a way to keep the momentum going, now that the series hits the road for the next two games.
so far so good.
Florida took a 3-0 series lead by winning Game 3 4-3 on Thursday at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart each had a goal and an assist. Vladimir Tarasenko and Sam Bennett also scored, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 of 35 shots.
Read the whole story here.
Oilers within one
Edmonton will not go down quietly.
The Oilers now lead by a goal, 4–3, as Brett Kulak’s shot hit Ryan McLeod in front of the net and went past Sergei Bobrovsky.
5:17 minutes left…
Edmonton got one back in the third
The Oilers narrowed Florida’s lead to two goals at 6:02 of the third quarter when Philip Broberg’s shot bounced off Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola and into the net past Sergei Bobrovsky.
The game is still 4-2 Florida with 13:58 minutes remaining.
Florida blowing game open
Aleksander Barkov got the Panthers’ third goal of the second period, increasing Florida’s lead to 4–1 with 4:29 minutes left in the second period.
It was Barkov’s second point of the night.
The Panthers took a 3-1 lead in the second quarter
The Panthers took advantage of a Darnell Nurse turnover, and Sam Bennett scored on a feed from Matthew Tkachuk to put Florida ahead 3–1 with 6:03 left in the second period.
Bennett is now on a six-game point streak. Tkachuk’s assist has given him 20 points this playoffs.
Tarasenko gives Panthers the lead again
Vladimir Tarasenko put Florida ahead 2-1 at 9:12 of the second period when he scored into a nearly open net past Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner, who was out of position trying to play the puck.
It was Tarasenko’s fourth goal of the playoffs — he has scored one in every series the Panthers have played — and the primary assist went to Eetu Luostarinen.
Edmonton equalized in the second half
Warren Foegele tied the game with a goal 1:49 into the second period.
It’s Edmonton’s second goal in the series and first at five-on-five.
It’s the first time the Panthers have allowed a five-on-five goal since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers.
quick thoughts already
Florida withstood Edmonton’s five-minute lead late in the first half and eventually managed to score the game’s first goal.
Sergei Bobrovsky has been stellar in the opening period for the Panthers, stopping all 13 shots he faced — including three high-danger shots.
The Panthers started the scoring late in the first half
Sam Reinhart had the first scoring attempt just over a minute into the first period when he deflected a pass from Gustav Forsling into the net, beating Stuart Skinner from just in front of the net.
The goal came on a four-on-four play in which Matthew Tkachuk and Brett Kulak were both in the box for coincidental roughing penalties after a tussle broke out following a save by Sergei Bobrovsky.
It was Reinhart’s ninth goal of the playoffs and his first of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Each team starts with a big penalty kill
The score is 0-0 at the 13th minute. Florida has a slight edge in shots on goal (8-7) and each team has dished out a penalty — Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for interference, Florida’s Aleksander Barkov for delay of game.
What the lineup should look like
Based on the running errands held during pregame warmups, the two teams’ lineups should be as follows.
Florida Panthers
The front lines
Ivan Rodrigues-Alexander Barkov-Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe-Sam Bennett-Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Vladimir Tarasenko
Steven Lorentz-Kevin Stenlund-Kyle Okposo
Defense pairs
Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola-Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
Edmonton Oilers
The front lines
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Connor McDavid-Zach Hyman
Corey Perry-Leon Draisaitl-Ryan McLeod
Mattias Janmark-Adam Henriksen-Connor Brown
Warren Foegele-Derek Ryan-Dylan Holloway
Defense pairs
Mattias Ekholm-Ivan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse-Philip Broberg
Brett Kulak-Cody Ceci
Goaltenders
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Picard
Series schedule and brief description
Game 1Panthers’ star goaltender and Vezina Trophy finalist Sergei Bobrovsky had possibly his best performance of the playoffs, stopping all 32 shots he faced en route to a 3–0 win, his second shutout in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
It is the first shutout in the first game of a Stanley Cup Finals since Roberto Luongo turned away all 36 shots for the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins in the opening game of the 2011 Cup Finals.
Carter Verhaeghe, Ivan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen scored for Florida to give Bobrovsky the necessary support.
Game 2The Panthers came back from an early deficit to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4–1 and take a 2–0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Niko Mikkola tied the game in the second period and Evan Rodriguez scored twice in the third to give Florida a lead it would not relinquish. Aaron Ekblad finished the scoring by scoring into an empty net.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped the last 18 shots he faced.
Game 3: tonight
Game 4: Saturday, June 15, Rogers Place in Edmonton, 8 p.m., ABC, ESPN+
Game 5 (if necessary): Tuesday, June 18, Sunrise Amerent Bank Arena, 8 p.m., ABC, ESPN+
Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, June 21, Rogers Place in Edmonton, 8 p.m., ABC, ESPN+
Game 7 (if necessary): Monday, June 24, Sunrise Amerent Bank Arena, 8 p.m., ABC, ESPN+
Pregame Panthers Reading
Need an update before Game 3? Here are highlights from the Miami Herald’s coverage over the last few days.
After suffering an injury at the end of Game 2, Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will play in Game 3 against the Oilers.
The Panthers’ flight to Edmonton was delayed for more than three-and-a-half hours on Wednesday, but the team said it wasn’t as big a deal as you might think.
Anton Lundell, the Panthers’ “Baby Barky,” has performed well time and again during the playoffs.
History is on the Panthers’ side with a 2-0 lead in the series.
Niko Mikkola caused a wild rollercoaster of emotions in the second period of Game 2
Evan Rodrigues sparks Panthers comeback in Game 2
Edmonton Perspective
Here’s some useful information for the Oilers ahead of Game 3, courtesy of the Edmonton Journal…
Edmonton Oilers need to use biggest weapon; teammates are feeling Nurse’s pain
5 Things: How will the Edmonton Oilers turn this Stanley Cup Final around?
‘We’ve seen worse’: Two-nothing is nothing, say Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers coach demotes veteran d-man Ceci, shuffles line, but is it enough to beat Florida Panthers?
Here’s why the Edmonton Oilers shouldn’t be worried, and why they should be
Philip Broberg has been a revelation for the Edmonton Oilers
Oilers need to get to Bobrovsky in Game 2, among other things
This story was originally published June 13, 2024, 7:00 pm.
