Panthers, Oilers goalies have made ‘high-end saves’ with tied series shifting to Florida
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EDMONTON — In the aftermath of the Florida Panthers’ wild 5-4 double-overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday, most of the talk was about the great offensive plays and players.
For Florida, Brad Marchand scored twice on breakaways, including at 8:05 of the second overtime, and Sam Bennett set an NHL record with his 12th road goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For Edmonton, Connor McDavid had three assists, including his dazzling stickhandling and feed to Leon Draisaitl on the power play. Draisaitl had two more points (one goal, one assist), and Corey Perry scored with 18 seconds left in the third period to force overtime.
But Panthers coach Paul Maurice pointed out that in a game in which the teams combined for nine goals, 88 shots on goal (46-42 Oilers) and 178 shot attempts (94-84 Florida), there were two individuals whose contributions were mostly overlooked.
“I don’t think that we talk about the two goalies enough in this series,” Maurice said. “There were some good saves made at both ends. High-end saves.”
Maurice’s opinion had not changed after reviewing some of the video Saturday morning.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 42 of 46 shots for the Panthers in Game 2, including 13 in the first overtime. Stuart Skinner stopped 37 of 42 for the Oilers, including 11 over the two overtimes.
FLA@EDM, SCF Gm2: Bobrovsky robs Bouchard in 2nd
Marchand slipped a backhand between Skinner’s pads to tie the best-of-7 series 1-1 heading to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, for Game 3 on Monday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
“I’m still going through the game, but I’m already at a point in it where there’s some really good shots that don’t look like much and there are great saves at both ends,” Maurice said.
Through the first two games of the Cup Final, Bobrovsky has stopped 84 of 92 shots for a 2.86 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
Skinner has stopped 66 of 74 shots for a 2.90 GAA and an .892 save percentage.
One of Bobrovsky’s best saves Friday came on Kasperi Kapanen driving to the net on a 2-on-1 less than a minute before Marchand’s game-winner. It was one of many important saves the 36-year-old made over the course of the night.
After allowing three goals on the first 10 shots he faced in a back-and-forth first period in which the teams combined for seven power plays, Bobrovsky gave up only Perry’s tying 6-on-5 goal on the final 36 shots he faced over 75:28 of playing time.
“He gives us a chance every night,” Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. “That’s all you can ask for, right? Some big saves, key saves at key moments and we’re not taking him for granted, that’s for sure.”
That’s why when most of Florida’s players jumped off the bench to mob Marchand after he scored his winning goal, defenseman Nate Schmidt headed toward Bobrovsky instead.
“Just wanted to hug ‘Bob,’” Schmidt said. “I just wanted to give him a big hug. He was so good for us, and, in the back half of the game, (he) was great.”
The last two goals Skinner allowed were on Marchand breakaways. The first came short-handed at 12:09 of the second period to give the Panthers a 4-3 lead.
Like in Edmonton’s 4-3 overtime victory in Game 1 on Wednesday, the 26-year-old did his best work in the second to keep his team within one goal. Florida controlled play in the second with persistent pressure on its forecheck, outshooting the Oilers 14-9 and building a 35-13 advantage in shot attempts.
The only shots that got past Skinner in that period were Dmitry Kulikov’s point shot that deflected in off Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard at 8:23 to tie it 3-3, and Marchand’s short-handed breakaway.
“Stu’s game has been really good, and we’ll need him to continue to do that for us to have an opportunity to win this,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We take a lot of pride in our defense. We think we’re a pretty good defensive team, but there’s still going to be chances that we’re going to give up.
“And Stu has been phenomenal since coming back in (during the Western Conference Second Round against the Vegas Golden Knights), and we need him to continue doing that.”
FLA@EDM, SCF Gm2: Skinner makes big save and Klingberg clears the crease
Each goalie has provided a calming presence through games filled with chaotic sequences and demonstrated an ability to rebound after allowing a goal. Skinner gave up three on the first eight shots he faced in Game 1 before stopping the final 24 he faced.
It was Bobrovsky’s turn to bounce back in Game 2 after a slow start.
“I think because he’s been here so long the players here have seen if one gets by him that he doesn’t like, that has no impact on the next save,” Maurice said. “His ability to kind of move on, to be present but then move on, is incredible. I think it helps that he’s a veteran guy that’s been through so much in his career, he’s seen so much. In that game, the ones that beat you aren’t that important; it’s the next one, and he has just this fantastic way of being calm.
“He’s kind of this Zen dude in the net, and he’s just very present with what he does.”
FLA vs. EDM
FLA vs. CAR | EDM vs. DAL
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OTT vs. TOR | FLA vs. TBL | MTL vs. WSH | NJD vs. CAR
STL vs. WPG | COL vs. DAL | MIN vs. VGK | EDM vs. LAK
