Answer Edmonton immediately, a slap shot from Viktor Arvidsson made it 3-2 at 3:17.
Skinner kept it in a one-goal game and made some major stops during the period. This included charging out the net and giving the blocker a quality look with a rebound shot from Luostarinen.
Finding the Oilers’ cohesive goal in the third period, Matthias Ekholm took a pass from McDavid and fired a shot through the traffic into the back of the cage, making it 3-3 at 6:33.
The Oilers made a strong push and led 14-2 on goal in the final 20 minutes.
“They pushed,” said Merchand. “They are obviously a very good team. It doesn’t take long for them to score. I’m not surprised they had the push they made. They’re a great team.”
In overtime, the action remained tough as both teams had opportunities.
It was all a game, so Bobrovsky and Skinner also kept making saves for saves.
However, after the Panthers sent the puck over the glass to delay the game’s penalty late in the extra frame, the Oilers were given the opportunity they had been waiting for.
Draysightle, who never scored in last year’s Cup final, scored the second goal of the game, taking a perfect pass from McDavid, scoring at 19:29, giving the Oilers a 4-3 victory.
Before the loss, the Panthers were 29-0 after leading two periods in the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
Now they are looking forward to rebounding in Game 2.
“These games are tight,” coach Paul Maurice said. “I don’t think you’ll have control in the third season of the tight game. We were in pretty good condition 3-1. I think we got some real good pressure and they got it back.
They said that
“I thought there were a few places where I could control the pack a little more, just the balance between when it was possible and when it was not possible.” – Paul Maurice
“We made the first and second great (penalty) kills. There were a lot of good things. We put it behind us and prepare for the next game. The next game is a big game.” – Sergei Bobrovsky
“I think there’s always a bit of a tweak between the series about how the other teams play. Even after passing before the scout, the game took a little time and today was one goal.” – Eetu Luostarinen
“It was a one-goal game, a tight game. We could have gone either way. They made the third best push.” - Sam Bennett
Cat statistics
-Sergei Bobrovsky has created 11 Heidanger saves per NaturnStattrick.com.
– The Panthers led 41-35 with a chance to score.
-Aleksander Barkov went 25-16 (64%) on the Facoff Circle.
– All Panthers skaters scored at least one hit.
– Florida controlled 75% of 5-for-5 shot attempts when Nate Schmidt was on the ice.
What’s next?
The Panthers will try to pull along with the Oilers as the two teams re-rout at Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, held at Rogers Place on Friday at 8pm.
The official watch party is located in the Amerant Bank area.
Click here for more information.
