The defending champion Florida Panthers blew another third-period lead, but this time they won the overtime.
As a result, the Panthers head home with a 1-1 tie in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final. Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night in Sunrise, Florida (8 p.m. ET, TNT).
Brad Marchand scored the winning goal Friday night at 8:05 of the second overtime to down the Edmonton Oilers 5-4. It was his second breakaway goal of the game, with the puck sliding between the pads of Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner.
“To be honest, I blacked out. I don’t even know where it went,” he told TNT after the game. “Obviously a fortuitous bounce and we’ll take it.”
Edmonton’s Corey Perry scored with less than 18 seconds left in the third period to tie the game. That forced overtime for the second game in a row.
The Oilers led 3-2 after a wild first period in which the Panthers were undisciplined and unable to stop Edmonton’s stars.
Connor McDavid made a spectacular play around Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov and No. 1 defenseman Aaron Ekblad to feed Leon Draisaitl for his 10th goal of the playoffs.
The Panthers regrouped after the first intermission, though. They were disciplined, they controlled the boards, they spent a lot of time in the Oilers’ zone, and they took the lead.
Dmitry Kulikov tied the game and trade deadline acquisition Marchand put the Panthers ahead 4-3 with a short-handed breakaway goal.
“We have so many different leaders on the team that can manage different situations,” Marchand said. “We definitely have that confidence in our group that we can be resilient in situations.”
Highlights from Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers:
Brad Marchand scores a second breakaway goal in the game. Panthers tie the series.
He stops Kasperi Kapanen in tight.
He was hurt earlier in the second overtime.
He’s bent over on the bench after being hit by a shot.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are on the same line.
Corey Perry has a double-overtime goal in his career during the Stanley Cup Final.
Oilers control play early, but Panthers have the better chances late. Brad Marchand hits the post and Stuart Skinner stops Sam Reinhart on a breakaway. Ice looks chippy. Remember, they only scrape the ice at the midpoint of playoff overtime periods.
Sergei Bobrovsky stops Darnell Nurse to keep the game tied.
Faceoff at center ice.
The puck might have hit Florida’s Nate Schmidt, so it might not be icing. Big delay as proper Oilers players get on the ice. Edmonton gets the puck out of the zone so it doesn’t matter.
He stops Sam Reinhart on a breakaway.
He stops Sam Reinhart, plus a rebound.
Stuart Skinner saves the Oilers after a turnover.
Edmonton leads in shots 8-4. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are playing together.
Score tied 4-4.
Carter Verhaeghe and Corey Perry have five playoff overtime goals. Brad Marchand has four and Leon Draisaitl has three, including in Game 1.
The Panthers seemed to do everything right that period. But the Oilers are the Oilers and won’t be denied. Corey Perry ties the game with 18 seconds left. There will be a second consecutive overtime game in the Stanley Cup Final.
Corey Perry ties the game. We’re headed to overtime.
He stops a one-timer by Leon Drasaitl to keep score tied.
There’s 1:31 left. Faceoff outside the Florida zone and Stuart Skinner goes off again.
Edmonton has an extra skater out there with 2:21 left.
He stops Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a shot from in front.
Still 4-3 Panthers.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are on the same line in this period. Draisaitl gets a near breakaway but can’t control a bouncing puck.
Edmonton starts with a power play, which is killed. Remember that the Oilers won Game 1 after a third-period comeback.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice isn’t a believer in momentum and the second period showed why. The Panthers weren’t looking that great in the first period and they turned it around in the second period. They stayed disciplined, they controlled play, had a 14-8 edge in shots and they scored twice to take a 4-3 lead. Brad Marchand got the go-ahead goal on a short-handed breakaway. Florida will be short-handed to start the third period.
Evan Bouchard is called for a retaliatory cross-check. But Carter Verhaeghe is called for hooking and it’s 4-on-4. Edmonton will have more than a minute of power-play time to start the third period.
Kris Knoblauch has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the same line. They quickly get a good chance.
Brad Marchand scores on a short-handed breakaway after a feed from Anton Lundell. Florida kills off the rest of the penalty.
Niko Mikkola is called for holding. The Panthers need to stay out of the penalty box. Let’s see if it costs them. Note: It doesn’t.
Florida has been getting a lot of zone time in this period and it connects to tie the game on a wrist shot from point by Dmitry Kulikov at 8:23. Matthew Tkachuk was setting the screen in front. Panthers have two goals tonight from defensemen.
Evander Kane, Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard are dangerous on the rush, but Bobrovsky stops Bouchard’s shot.
Panthers start on power play, and it’s killed. Evan Bouchard gets a chance as he comes out of the penalty box.
McDavid’s assist on Leon Draisaitl’s goal is worth watching. He makes moves around Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad, sending Ekblad tumbling, before he feeds Draisaitl.
That was the highest-scoring first period since the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, per TNT. The Oilers have the lead because of a big game by their stars. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard have combined for seven points. McDavid’s play on the Draisaitl goal is highlight reel-worthy. But the Panthers kill a 5-on-3 late in the period to stop the damage and will start the second with a power play. Shots are 15-10 Edmonton and the Oilers are also leading 15-8 in hits.
Evan Bouchard is called for cross-checking. Panthers get a couple shots and 41 seconds of the power play will carry into the second period.
Niko Mikkola goes off for roughing. Then a Seth Jones penalty makes it 5-on-3. First part is killed off and now the second part. Panthers needed that.
The Oilers need just 24 seconds to connect as Leon Draisaitl scores after a great play by Connor McDavid. Two points each for McDavid and Draisaitl and three points for Evan Bouchard.
Looks like Mattias Ekholm pushes Sam Bennett into Stuart Skinner, who’s down for a while. Oilers going on power play.
The Panthers like to have their defense to get up in the play and it pays off again. Seth Jones sneaks in from the point and is wide open for an Eetu Luostarinen pass. Defenseman Nate Schmidt gets his second point of the game.
Evan Bouchard’s initial shot is blocked by Aleksander Barkov and then he rips a shot past a screened Sergei Bobrovsky. That’s goals on back-to-back shots for Edmonton. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl get the assists.
Small scrum breaks out after Sam Bennett goes for a rebound. Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse and Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk head to the penalty box.
Evander Kane ties the game with a shot to Sergei Bobrovsky’s glove side at 7:39. That’s six playoff goals for Kane, who missed the entire regular season after multiple surgeries.
Aaron Ekblad is called for holding the stick. But the power play doesn’t last long as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is called for tripping. It’s 4-on-4. Everyone out of the penalty box now. Sam Bennett gets a good shot off but Stuart Skinner makes the save.
Red-hot Sam Bennett scores on the power play after a Nate Schmidt pass. That’s 13 goals for Bennett in the playoffs, including a record 12 on the road. The goal ends Edmonton’s nine-game streak of scoring first. Oilers are upset that Bennett kicked Mattias Ekholm’s stick away from him.
Evander Kane called for high-sticking Carter Verhaeghe 37 seconds into the game.
Florida’s Aleksander Barkov line vs. Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl line.
Edmonton fans are starting early with the “Sergei, Sergei” chants – before the national anthems.
The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will face off at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local) at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, on Friday.
TNT and truTV are broadcasting Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final. Kenny Albert will provide play-by-play, while Eddie Olczyk, Brian Boucher, Darren Pang and Jackie Redmond will provide analysis and reporting.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice is starting the Aleksander Barkov line and Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch is countering with the Leon Draisaitl line. Maurice has moved Carter Verhaeghe to the top line and Evan Rodrigues to the second line. In Game 1, it was the Barkov line vs. the Connor McDavid line to start. Draisaitl scored 66 seconds into the series opener. Maurice moved Carter Verhaeghe to the top line and Evan Rodrigues to the second lline.
Oilers’ Stuart Skinner (7-4, 2.49 goals-against average, .904 save percentage) vs. Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky (12-6, 2.17, .912). Skinner has a five-game winning streak.
The Oilers have four of the top five scorers in the series: McDavid has a league-best 28 points, followed by Leon Draisaitl (27) and Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with 18 each. Draisaitl has a team-high nine goals.
The Panthers have 10 players with double-digit points, led by Sam Bennett (18) and Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk (17 each). Bennett is the playoffs’ leading goal scorer with 12.
No Canadian team has won since 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Los Angeles Kings in five games. A Canadian team has reached the Final eight times since then, including the Oilers three times. They’re the second team with home-ice advantage, joining the 2011 Vancouver Canucks. They hold the first series lead since the Canucks led 3-2 that year.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch will put Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together later in games if Edmonton needs an offensive boost.
“It’s nice to know when those two get together mid-game that the results are pretty good,” he said.
But Knoblauch doesn’t do it all game long so he can spread the offense out.
The two used to go out together on the shift after a penalty kill, but McDavid has started killing penalties.
The Panthers forward is tracking toward a return but will sit out a second consecutive game on Friday. “We think if he tracks out, he’ll be available for Game 3,” coach Paul Maurice said.
Jesper Boqvist has taken Greer’s place on the fourth line.
Panthers forward Tomas Nosek said it was “tough” after the Oilers scored in overtime on the power play after his delay of game penalty.
“You don’t want to be the one guy who cost us the game, but obviously everybody can make a mistake,” he said, adding, “It’s in the past and now looking forward to just keep doing my job and focusing on tonight’s game.”
He said his teammates were “very helpful” and supportive of him.
“Most of the guys came to me and said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ ” he said, according to TSN.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice was asked Friday about the Dallas Stars’ firing of coach Peter DeBoer. Maurice and DeBoer are friends.
“He’ll be all right. He’s a good coach. I think elite teams, you’ve got to push them real hard to get them where they get to, then at some point,” he said, trailing off. “You get a summer off, pick your spot, he’s going to be OK.”
All times Eastern; (x-if necessary)
All odds via BetMGM (as of Friday, June 6)
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